I pushed open the heavy glass door, slipped on my sunglasses and turned right at the Cosi Restaurant to reach the service road.
Usually it's quiet back there but yesterday there was enough traffic to keep me on my toes, skirting puddles while steering clear of delivery trucks.
At the end of the block there's a fitness park, which is where I snapped this photo. Many of flowering trees took a hit in last week's frigid weather. About half of Washington's famed cherry blossoms were nipped, the first time this has happened in the trees' century-old history.
But this little guy survived. And seeing him there with a background of blue made me feel like it was truly spring, not just March 20.
It was a short walk. But it was enough.