I can't think of a pun for 'cherry blossoms'

I don't know how the cherry blossoms are fairing now after the odd weather we've had this week. They supposedly peaked last Thursday and Friday, but then we got zapped with a small cold snap and intermittent rain. I'll survey the damage this weekend.
For the last month, my grandmother has inquired about the cherry blossoms every time we've talked on the phone (at least once a week). She LOVES them. She's also quite irked that my mom is not expressing the same excitement over them - the moms are coming to visit in less than 2 weeks. Anyway, you may remember that I was at a loss as to what to get Gram for her 80th birthday. Well, of course I was informed the day before my trip to RI that the flowers had suddenly bloomed. I learned that their 'peak' is not like autumn in New England. It's not a gradual transition whose climax lasts for almost 2 weeks. The local news reported that the peak would last about 2 days. That left me no time to take any photos. Or so I thought. A certain friend of mine did not see my imminent departure to RI as an obstacle to photo-taking. Her response was, (on Thursday night) "just get up early and take the pictures before work. You know, sunrise IS the best time for that kind of photography." Awesome. I sort of just laughed at her. I was going to have a suitcase with me for cryin' out loud!

But then I went home and thought about it. And thought about how much my gram wanted to see the cherry blossoms. And how I was being whiny. I turned it into an adventure.

On Friday morning I got up around 6:30, made coffee for my Newport Yachting Center travel mug, finished last-minute packing, and headed for the 14th St. bus to take me down to the Tidal Basin. I maneuvered that suitcase around the tourists and elderly people who must have agreed that 7:30 am is the best cherry blossom viewing time. I took about 20 photos; most of them weren't that great because I didn't have time to run around the entire basin looking for the best shot. But a few were exactly what I had been hoping for. I spent Friday night on my parents' computer, photoshopping a couple of the best ones to bring out the colors. I printed them Saturday morning, stuck the best one in a frame and she got to unwrap it at the restaurant after we all surprised the hell out of her. I think she was very pleased.

On Sunday we took her to see IMAX: Deep Sea 3D; narrated by Kate Winslet and Johnnie Depp. It was really amazing. I'm so glad she suggested we see it. AND Alan Shawn Feinstein was there to greet us and tell us all how wonderful children are - to reward all the children in the theater for being so great, he passed out free hologram cards. Or as he called them, "cahhds".