[TICKING].
[ALARM].
[FIREWORKS].
♪ ♪
CHARLIE: HEY GUYS, I’M CHARLIE.
PATRICK: AND I’M PATRICK.
CHARLIE: AND TODAY WE’RE HANGING OUT IN WASHINGTON D.C.
EXPLORING THE CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL.
COOL, COOL, COOL, LET’S ROLL!
ALRIGHT, SO PAT AND I LIVE JUST NORTH OF CHICAGO,
WHICH IS AWESOME BECAUSE WE HAVE LAKE MICHIGAN AND
MILLENNIUM PARK AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF.
BUT IT’S NOT SO AWESOME BECAUSE OUR WINTERS ARE
ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL.
SO IT’S NO EXAGGERATION TO SAY WE’RE PRETTY PSYCHED WHEN
SPRING ROLLS AROUND.
LAST MARCH, PAT AND I HAD HAD ENOUGH,
THE SNOW HAD DRIVEN US TO OUR LIMIT,
WE WERE LOSING OUR MINDS.
WHEN ONE MORNING, PATRICK HAD THE PERFECT IDEA.
PATRICK: WHOAA!
CHARLIE: THE CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL IN WASHINGTON D.C.
SO IMAGINE THIS: YOU’RE IN THE CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA, SURROUNDED BY 3,700 CHERRY TREES,
ALL ABLAZE IN A THUNDEROUS FLORAL WAVE OF
PINK SPRINGTIME GLORY.
BASICALLY, EACH SPRING, CHERRY TREES ARE COVERED IN
LIKE A MILLION TINY BLOSSOMS, AND IN WASHINGTON D.C.
THERE’S LIKE A MILLION CHERRY TREES,
AND EVERY YEAR, EVERY SINGLE CHERRY TREE IN THE ENTIRE CITY
BLOOMS AT THE EXACT SAME TIME, AND THIS YEAR,
WE HAD TO BE THERE.
BUT IT’S MUCH HARDER TO CATCH THAN YOU’D THINK.
I MEAN, FOR ONE THING, THE TREES ARE ONLY IN BLOOM
FOR 2 WEEKS.
AFTER TWO WEEKS THE FLOWERS WILT,
AND THEN THEY JUST FALL OFF.
SO THERE’S REALLY ONLY TWO WEEKS WHERE YOU
CAN SEE ANYTHING AND ON TOP OF THAT,
THE PEAK BLOOM PERIOD IS ONLY 4 DAYS.
THAT’S WHEN 70% OF THE TREES ARE IN BLOOM,
WHICH MEANS, IT’S THE BEST TIME TO VISIT.
SO THAT MEANS THERE’S ONLY 4 DAYS WERE YOU CAN
SEE ANYTHING GOOD.
AND ON TOP OF THAT, PEOPLE HAVE ABSOLUTELY
NO IDEA WHEN THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
EVEN SCIENTISTS DON’T KNOW THE EXACT DATE,
BECAUSE THERE ARE A MILLION THINGS THAT DETERMINE
WHEN THE CHERRY TREES BLOOM.
SO IT’S PRETTY MUCH ALWAYS UP IN THE AIR.
ALL WE KNOW IS THAT MAYBE IT MIGHT HAPPEN SOMETIME
IN BETWEEN ROUGHLY MARCH 15TH AND APRIL 18TH.
AND WE CAN’T EVEN BE SURE WE’D MAKE IT ON TIME,
BECAUSE EVEN AFTER THE TREES BLOOM,
IF THERE’S A SUPER COLD DAY AND THE TEMPERATURE
DIPS BELOW FREEZING…
THE BLOSSOMS ARE GONNA DIE, SUPER-QUICK, JUST DEAD.
SO YOU CAN SEE HOW ENDING UP IN D.C. AT THE RIGHT TIME
COULD BE A LITTLE TOUGH.
BUT WE HAD A TRICK UP OUR SLEEVE:
THE INDICATOR TREE.
AMONGST THE 3,700 CHERRY TREES IN WASHINGTON D.C.,
THERE IS ONE TREE, THE INDICATOR TREE THAT,
FOR WHATEVER REASON,
CAN’T WAIT TO BLOOM WITH THE REST OF THEM.
CONSISTENTLY, THE INDICATOR TREE,
THAT’S THIS ONE, EVERY SINGLE YEAR,
BLOOMS EXACTLY 7 TO 10 DAYS BEFORE THE OTHER CHERRY TREES.
7 TO 10 DAYS, EVERY YEAR.
ONCE THE INDICATOR TREE BLOOMS,
YOU BETTER GET READY TO GO TO DC,
BECAUSE YOU ONLY HAVE TEN DAYS BEFORE THE
REAL PARTY STARTS.
AND WE HAD TO BE AT THAT PARTY.
SO, WE PREPARED OURSELVES TO GET THE
INDICATOR TREE’S SIGNAL.
FUEL IN THE CAR, BAGS WERE PACKED,
EVERYTHING WAS IN ORDER, AND WE WERE READY,
AT ANY MOMENT, FOR THE DAY TO COME.
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]
[MAKES BEEPING SOUND]
NEWSMAN: WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED
PROGRAMMING WITH THIS IMPORTANT PUBLIC SERVICE
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE IN
OUR NATION’S CAPITAL.
THE INDICATOR TREE HAS BLOOMED,
I REPEAT, THE INDICATOR TREE HAS BLOOMED.
CHERRY BLOSSOMS WILL SOON BE…
PATRICK: WHOA, CHARLIE, WE GOT TEN DAYS.
CHARLIE: OOO, GOOD CALL PAT.
INDICATOR TREE, TEN DAYS, THEN IT’S GAME TIME.
SO, WE WAITED FOR A BIT THEN…
RUN, RUN, RUN, GO, GO, GO!
PATRICK: ALRIGHT BUDDY LET’S GO!
CHARLIE: YEAH BUDDY!
SO WE HOPPED IN THE CAR, AND AFTER A QUICK 12 HOUR
DRIVE WE ARRIVED AT OUR FRIEND MIKE’S HOUSE IN D.C.
AND AWWWWW MAN DID WE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD,
YES, WE, DID!
BOOM, WE CRUSHED IT!
WASHINGTON DC, THOUSANDS OF CHERRY TREES,
PEAK BLOOM AND WE WERE THERE.
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY INSANE,
SO MUCH MORE INTENSE THAN WE EXPECTED.
THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT,
THE MONUMENTS LOOKED BEAUTIFUL,
AND THERE WERE FLOWERS EVERYWHERE, EVERYWHERE.
OUR FRIENDS MIKE AND ANN SPENT TWO WHOLE DAYS
SHOWING US AROUND THE NATIONAL MALL AND
WE HAD A BLAST AND WE LEARNED SO MUCH!
PAT’S GONNA BREAK DOWN THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR YOU.
PATRICK: HECK YEAH I AM!
CHARLIE: A LITTLE MORE BEHIND THE SCENES INFO ABOUT
THIS INCREDIBLE CHERRY BLOSSOM EXPLOSION FEST.
YOU READY PAT?
PATRICK: YOU KNOW IT!
CHARLIE: ALRIGHT, LET’S GO!
PATRICK: IS IT GOING?
IS IT, IS IT RECORDING?
WHERE SHOULD I LOOK, THERE?
CLOSE ENOUGH.
CHARLIE: ALRIGHT, WHAT YOU GOT ABOUT THE
HISTORY OF THESE TREES?
LIKE WHY ARE THERE THOUSANDS OF CHERRY TREES HERE IN DC,
SEEMS LIKE A LOT.
PATRICK: OH, I’VE GOT THE WHOLE BACK STORY.
TELL YOU WHAT, YOU BUY US TICKETS FOR THE PADDLE BOATS,
I’LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW.
CHARLIE: ALRIGHT, DEAL, LET’S HEAR IT.
PATRICK: SO, BACK IN 1909, FOR REASONS UNKNOWN,
JAPAN GIFTED THE UNITED STATES WITH
2,000 CHERRY TREES.
HOWEVER, WE FOUND THAT THEY WERE INFECTED WITH
INVASIVE SPECIES AND INSECTS.
SO WILLIAM TAFT, THE PRESIDENT AT THE TIME,
AUTHORIZED THE BURNING OF THE TREES.
THEY BURNED ‘EM.
JAPAN, INSTEAD OF GETTING ANGRY AT US FOR
BURNING 2,000 OF THEIR PRESENTS TO US,
THEY SENT 3,000 MORE TREES AND THIS TIME THEY
WEREN’T INFESTED WITH ANYTHING SO WE
STARTED PLANTING THEM ALL.
IT TOOK OVER 7 YEARS TO PLANT THOSE 3,000 TREES,
AND NOW, YOU HAVE THE TIDAL BASIN,
SURROUNDED BY THESE BLOOMING CHERRY TREES.
CHARLIE: THAT WAS AWESOME!
COOL, COOL, COOL, AND HOW COME THEY ALL BLOOM
AT THE SAME TIME?
I MEAN IT’S PRETTY CONVENIENT FOR US,
CAUSE IT LOOKS FANTASTIC,
BUT THERE’S GOT TO BE A REASON WHY, RIGHT?
PATRICK: OH DEFINITELY CHARLIE, DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY.
SO, THESE TREES BEHIND ME, THESE CHERRY BLOSSOMS,
THEY ALL REPRODUCE AT THE SAME TIME BECAUSE OF POLLINATION.
BIOLOGICALLY SPEAKING, THE MAIN PURPOSE OF LIFE
IS TO REPRODUCE.
BY ALL BLOOMING AT THE SAME TIME THEY HAVE A HIGHER CHANCE
OF BEING POLLINATED AND THEREFORE PRODUCING MORE
LITTLE CHERRY TREES.
CHARLIE: OH SUPER NEAT PAT, YOU GOT A FAVORITE TREE?
PATRICK: OF COURSE, THE INDICATOR TREE!
CHARLIE: OF COURSE, WE TOTALLY FOUND IT RIGHT?
PATRICK: OH HECK YEAH WE FOUND IT.
OKAY, SO WE FOUND IT, THIS IS THE INDICATOR TREE.
WE FOUND IT BECAUSE WE MATCHED IT TO A PICTURE ONLINE,
THAT KIND OF HELPED.
ALSO, ALMOST ALL OF THE PETALS HAVE FALLEN OFF.
IT BLOOMS TEN DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE OTHER TREES,
WHICH ARE IN FULL BLOOM RIGHT NOW.
ALSO, THERE’S A TAG ON IT THAT WE LOOKED ONLINE AND
THAT’S THE INDICATOR TREE SO,
SOME GOOD INVESTIGATIVE WORK BY US.
CHARLIE: YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT?
PATRICK: I FEEL FANTASTIC, I THINK I NAILED IT.
CHARLIE: THANKS MIKE, THANKS ANN, THANKS JAPAN,
THANKS INDICATOR TREE, AND THANK YOU D.C.
FOR AND AWESOME CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL.
WAY TO GO PAT!
PATRICK: GOOD JOB CHARLIE.
SO, I GUESS WE GO BACK HOME NOW?
CHARLIE: YEAH, I GUESS SO.
PATRICK: HEY, IT WAS A GOOD TIME MAN.
CHARLIE: YEAH, YOU’RE RIGHT PAT,
THAT WAS PRETTY AWESOME.
[FIREWORKS]
