Hey Sharks! Welcome to the annual blog check in lol. It’s been eight months since I last saw you. I guess this is one of those however/whenever posts. Or mood blogging lol. I miss being here. Believe it or not, I actually still check my blog daily. And I’m so surprised that I still get 5k to 8k views per month considering I am not actively posting or promoting. Thank you so much for being here.

I have so much to tell you. I don’t know where to start. I had so much anxiety before going on this trip. Because I’m new at travelling and a lot of things went awry during my first international trip last summer and that it really decreased my confidence when it comes to arranging the logistics of traveling to a new city.

But I know that locally, I’m good at booking things and I never had problems before, so the fact that this trip went smoothly (from start to finish) gave me such a boost in my confidence in coordinating things together. I feel like an actual adult lol. Like I have more positive feelings towards traveling now.

I booked this trip at the end of February because I was still waiting for when the peak bloom is going to happen. Thankfully, my friend Oscar came through. He used to live in DC and I asked him when’s the best time to see the cherry blossoms and I took his answer literally “End of March. Beginning of April.” If I had book it any later than that (Because the Cherry Blossom Festival still continues Mid April), I would not have seen the cherry blossoms because the cherry blossoms were already fading, I think three days after I got back home. And it could’ve rained and the cherry blossoms could’ve decided not to play the long game and it could’ve all disappeared before I got there.

So it was divine timing that I got to see the blooms. It was soooo pretty. Can you imagine being that pretty and flocks of people come to see you bloom just for a short time?

I’ve seen illustrations and various interpretations of cherry blossoms in decors, books, video games, and anime. But it’s not just a concept in my mind’s eye anymore. It’s real. She exists. And she’s so pretty.

And I fell in love with DC. It’s so clean and I didn’t feel scared whenever I crossed the street. The weather was so nice. The public restrooms I went to were super clean. This whole city is my love language. I can’t wait to see her again.

I still can’t believe I got to see the Cherry Blossoms during the Year of the Dragon.

During our trip to Georgetown, I wanted to go inside Lutece (Because you know, Bioshock Infinite) but it was so full by the time we got back to see the giant Transformers. Like people were pressed against the door. My dad was so excited about all the gears that were on the robots. I traveled with my dad because I’m not ready to do solo traveling just yet lol. I’m happy that other content creators out there have a good relationship with their parents like Taylor Wynn. I know she traveled with her mom before deciding on a new city to live in. But there are a lot of IG users that I follow that are doing invites to travel with them and I might think about joining those groups.

We went to Purple Patch after the FDR Memorial at Tidal Basin. And I hopefully don’t get hate for this mini-review. However, my dad and I agreed that the items we tried on the menu were the Americanized version of Filipino food. Not that it’s a bad thing. I’m actually curious how Americans see our food and I think if you live in an area where you have to serve the locals then I feel like you do have to cater to their taste palates. My dad was specifically craving the Pampangga version of sisig. And I was over here craving the street food version of tocino lol. I’m used to seeing tocino as very dark, crispy, and sugary sweet. This tocino is more meaty with less sauce/glaze. Like I said, I’m not mad at it. I think I’m just not used to the trendy or upscale version of our food lol. Give me okoy and bagoong any day. I still have the magazine page that my dad gave me before our trip of a review of Purple Patch while we were at the airport and it’s going inside my memory box of travels.

I think I will love you’s and leave you here. I put the rest of my thoughts on the captions of the mini Polaroids. This minication was chill and it was perfect. I didn't see the tourist-y stuff. I just wanted to see the cherry blossom and my dad liked it a lot too. So there was something in it for everyone. He's a history buff so he enjoyed going to all the memorials and reading about the Presidents. He used to tell me he loved reading biographies of past presidents. I think this will be my Father's Day and Birthday gift for him because I always get him #1 Dad merch lol. If I forget anything, I’ll come back and edit it next weekend.

I completely forgot about President Grant. He was behind the National Botanical Garden. But my phone was dying and I forgot the portable charger at the luggage storage and I needed to save the battery on my phone for the Uber. These were one of the times I wish I had an Apple Watch at least, but I looked it up if Uber is connected with Apple and it's not. It's such a bummer because I thought having that might help me out in situations like these. Anyway, never forget your portable charger.

I took Vader to see the cherry blossoms. Let me know your thoughts on where I should take Vader next. Leave me a comment saying “Vader takes ________ (new city)” and if you’re able to guess it right, I will buy one thing from your Amazon wish list.

Thank you for reading! Take care xo

THINGS I WANNA TRY/SEE NEXT TIME I’M IN DC/VA/MA:

Wisteria garden
National Cathedral
Old Fox bookstore
High tea 🫖 during cherry blossom season
Just a chance to walk around again and take in all the scenery.
Vivienne Westwood store
Go inside the Library of Congress. It was closed when we visited because I booked around the Easter Weekend.

CHECK OUT MY DC PLAYLIST:

Spotify | Apple

OOTD #1 & OOTD #2 OOTD #3 & #4:

NO. 1 Tieks by Gavrielli Nude Ballet Flats // Skirt: Pink Floral Mesh Tulle Applique from Amazon // Top: Sheer Pink Floral Applique from Walmart // Lululemon pink fanny pack (Gifted by my mentor/ co-worker // Pink fleeced tights from Amazon // Grey Harvard Pullover (my workplace) // Pink Shearling Corduroy Jacket from Celebrity Pink (Walmart) //Pink Bow from Amazon// Wave Rings from Pura Vida // Vader's Ashes infused with Amethyst Ring // Sofia Vergara x Foster Grant Women's Cat Eye Rose Gold Sunglasses // Thermals (Light Blue Grey & Black Ruffles) from Daiso
NO. 2 Tieks by Gavrielli Nude Ballet Flats // Skirt: Pink Midi Flowing Scallop Tulle Skirt from Amazon // Top: Brown Nude Glitter Turtle Neck from Target// Lululemon pink fanny pack (Gifted by my mentor/ co-worker // Pink fleeced tights from Amazon // Grey Harvard Pullover (my workplace) // Pink Shearling Corduroy Jacket from Celebrity Pink (Walmart) // Blue Bow from Amazon// Wave Rings from Pura Vida // Vader's Ashes infused with Amethyst Ring // Shoe Clip Ons (Rectangular + Diamonds) from Amazon // Sofia Vergara x Foster Grant Women's Cat Eye Rose Gold Sunglasses // Thermals (Light Blue Grey & Black Ruffles) from Daiso
NO.3 Breakfast At Tiffany's Pajama Set // Red Knit Crop Top Pullover from Target
NO. 4 Airport Fit: Tieks by Gavrielli Nude Ballet Flats // Grey midi skirt with a slit at the side from Walmart // White Ruffle Shoulder Sleeves from Celebrity Pink (Walmart) // Light Pink Tank top from Walmart // Pink Shearling Corduroy Jacket from Celebrity Pink (Walmart) //