~7.9 mi @ ~17 min/mi
"Hanami!" – the Japanese word for flower-viewing, especially cherry blossoms – brings G-ji, K2, and Roadkill to Bethesda early Saturday morning. We warm up, meet Danger Man, and proceed to the Kenwood neighborhood where more than 1,000 trees are abloom. Little kids cease posing for photos and swivel their heads to stare at Roadkill's wizard hat. Some dogs admire the pointy cap; others decide it is too unnatural and bark violently.
"Excessive turrets!" - "Incongruous angles!" - "Distracting pillars!" - We critique mansion architecture and pause to applaud artistic garden choices. Branches arch low over streets. Flower beds are freshly mulched. A random-walk strategy covers the majority of the area within an hour.
"Maybe he's on the lookout for counterfeiters?" A secret service police vehicle idles at a corner. Trucks and cars pause politely for pedestrians. G-ji heads home, leaving K2, Danger Man, and Roadkill to amble west and rediscover cut-throughs. The local neighborhood association offers tables of free food to sample. We analyze superhero movies: Jason Momoa is easy on the eyes but everyone in "Aquaman" seems to solve problems by hitting or stabbing; "Shazam!" gets a positive review; advance ticket prices for "Avengers: Endgame" are simply silly.