In the Pink?

March 23, 2013
Macon, Georgia--"Cherry Blossom Capital of the World"
Macon is throwing "The Pinkest Party on Earth," but the guests of honor are not cooperating.

The streets downtown are lined with Cherry Blossom Festival banners, the pavement is stenciled with bright pink cherry blossoms and pink center lines, the visitor center is stocked with pink souvenir tee shirts and cherry earrings, and the residents are in a festive spirit with pink wreaths on their doors and big poufy pink bows on their mailboxes. 

The only problem is that the 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees around town that are supposed to be in glorious bloom did not get the message. We drive the 20 mile Cherry Blossom Trail, and estimate that perhaps .1 percent of the trees are blooming, with just two days of the festival remaining.

Here are pictures of the best trees we could find--just about the only ones fully blooming:

The lack of cherry blossoms did not dampen the party spirit of this pair of revelers, though. 

The pretty pink poodle--complete with an impeccable bubblegum pink pedicure, and accessorized with pink bows on her ears and a silk butterfly barrette on her shoulder--is the pride and joy of this fellow and his wife, who run a local dog grooming business.  She remains pink pretty much all year round, he says.   

Aha--this explains all the wooden pink poodle cut-outs we saw on local lawns during our Cherry Blossom Trail drive.  We have just stumbled into a brush with celebrity.

Macon is only three hours drive from Savannah, and we can imagine how breath-takingly beautiful it would be here if the trees were actually in bloom.  Maybe next year.