Just returned from 3 days in lovely Washington, D.C. where my daughter plans to spend all my money on college. Some comments follow.
The weather was beautiful Wednesday and Thursday, sunny and 70 degrees, and the Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom. It was quite a sight. The trees are planted along the river and large ponds of water. Thousands of people were out at mid-day strolling along the walkway around the tidal basin and enjoying the sight. I saw many taking pictures, but more with digital point-n-shoot cameras than anything else. They outnumbered film cameras by 20 to 1. I suspect many were Optio S's as they were so tiny and carried by Japanese tourists. (The trees are a 1910 gift from the Japanese Ambassador's wife to the city and there is a festival to celebrate the gift every year.) I took along a kit of LX, 20mm, 43mm, and 77mm lenses. I've got to remember to install the bright screens from Peter (in Sunny Brighton) as they make the job of focusing easier. I took the kit in my laptop bag but found a simple 'day traveler' from a US company called Eagle Creek and was very pleased at how useful it was. There was plenty of room for the limited lenses, LX, film, maps, etc. but not any real bulk. The whole bag measures 9x8x3 inches. I shot a couple of rolls of Kodachrome that afternoon and took them in for processing this AM. Kodak has cut back to only processing Kodachrome out of New Jersey, so my turn around time is now 10+ days instead of two! What a pain! I hope to have some good shots in a couple of weeks. Regards, Bob S.
