2008 National Cherry Blossom Festival
Tidal Basin – Washington DC – March 29 – April 12th.
In order to see the prime bloom this year, you needed to be at the tidal basin before the festival began. Peak bloom started a few days before the festival officially did. Not too bad for the planners who have to choose the date well in advance each year and hope mother nature cooperates.
For details, visit NationalCherryBlossomFestival.org
This was the first year that I had ventured near the tidal basin during the festival and I had decided this year to volunteer. I was assigned to bike valet. Mind you, my last bike was a 40 pound steel framed huffy so I really had no idea what kinds of cool bikes I would see. I did get some ideas however should I be in the market the way gas prices are rising. It was apparent that many more took advantage of WABA.ORG The Washington Area Bicyclists Association free Bike Valet this year that past. Last year at both locations they averaged 300 bicycles a weekend. On Saturday alone at the tidal basin location we had 224 bikes! Perhaps publicity was better, or perhaps the gas prices are driving others to use alternate transportation.
Volunteering was fun until Sunday night rolled around and I felt I was getting sick. It turns out that even though I was as careful as I could have been around the disease infested portable toilets, I fell victim to a nasty stomach flu which I just kicked today. :(
On that note, be sure to check out the festival and bring your own hand sanitizer! I will never leave home without it again!
As the company that provides the portable toilets, we find it incredibly offensive that you believe our toilets to be “disease infested.” Just to let you know, those toilets are cleaned up to 3X PER DAY during the festival. Maybe it is the people using them!!
I probably should elaborate on this. I am surprised that the actual company responded to my comment, guess there is likely bad press around this subject. I no doubt believe that a portable toilet is clean before being used, but just like my toilet at home, it both needs to be cleaned and flushed. I keep myself quite hydrated and while touching nothing with my hands inside the portable restroom, needed to open the door to get in. There were holders where a hand sanitizer likely used to be in some of the units, but none of the ones I used even had a dispenser installed. So while I agree I was sick because someone with the stomach flu opened the door to use it, it would have been nice to have had hand sanitizer available. I volunteered this weekend and this time brought my own sanitizer with me. To the company responsible, I understand the increased cost of having hand sanitizer, but feel that if you were to have it available and charged more for each unit accordingly, would still be competitively priced and earn the added appreciation of your customers.
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