This past weekend, a group of friends and I drove up to Washington D.C. for the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Cherry Blossom Festival has so many events that a weekend is hardly enough time to devote to every activity.

There is an annual parade, fireworks, and celebrations of United State’s relationship with Japan. You can also walk around the National Mall and the rest of the monuments and look at all the beautiful blossoming trees. You can also rent boats and paddle on the Potomac River. If there’s time in your schedule, there are a ton of incredible museums to visits and restaurants to try.

My friends and I, being college seniors on the verge of graduating, wanted to bridge the gap between adulthood and college kids. The first night we went on a river cruise down the Potomac, where we tried the event’s signature blossom margarita (my friends definitely recommend) and other tropical drinks. We hung out on the stern of the boat, watched the monuments and the cherry blossoms pass by, laugh a lot, and took a lot of pictures. After we got off the boat, we had dinner at Bangkok Joe’s, a Thai restaurant in The Washington Harbor. (I definitely recommend this restaurant. It’s a beautiful space with delicious food and lots of options.)  That night, we went out to Old Town Alexandria and hung out at bar, had some drinks, talked, and listened to a live band. (They played an Ed Sheeran song and I just about swooned.)

The next day, we went to a beer and wine festival in The Yards right next to the Nationals’ Stadium. This day was also my first time riding the DC metro and even though I love large cities, I still cannot operate a metro or subway system on my own. Upon entering the festival, you receive ten tickets that can be exchanged for a cup of beer or wine from multiple local companies. There was a band playing live music and a game of bingo raising money for charity (two of my friends got to spin the wheel and call out a number). We danced, tried food from food trucks, and gave meaning to our lives by eating no-bake cookie dough. (Bought from The Cookie Jar DC, absolutely delicious, a variety of flavors AND they ship nationwide!) My favorite drink from this entire festival was a Stella Cider that I went back and back again and sipped on throughout the afternoon. After we left the festival, we walked around the monuments, took more pictures with the cherry blossoms, and soaked up the last of the weekend sun.

I always enjoy time with my friends, but this weekend will probably become one of my favorite memories of college. I loved every moment of it and it kind of makes me wish we weren’t graduating in a month. Kind of.

I also want to thank my friends for taking pictures of me for my blog and pausing every five feet when I saw a picture I wanted to take. Love you guys so much, here’s your shout out!

The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs until April 16 and you can find more information here.

In the above photos I’m wearing:

Top: Forever 21, you can buy it here

Skirt: Jack by BB Dakoda, this is about six years old but there are a ton of floral pencil skirts out there

Shoes: Target from last summer, but similar style here and here and these are on sale