Here is where things stand as of yesterday. Photo by Jarrett Hendrix.

Dutiful chroniclers of cherry blossom progress that they are, the National Park Service announced that the trees officially moved into the “puffy white” stage on April 8. Since it usually takes between three to eight days to reach their peak from there (last year it only took three), they may well be in their full glory for the last two days of the festival.

Peak bloom is defined when 70 percent of trees have reached that stage, so there are still plenty of buds and early bloomers out to enjoy (see above).

The annual parade takes place on Saturday between 10 a.m. and noon, and it is followed by the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival. The festival closes out on Sunday with the Cherry Blossom ten mile run and 5K walk, as well as the new Anacostia River Festival.

Be prepared for the crowds and slow travel, though. There won’t be track work, but there will be tourists. Many, many tourists.

Plan to huddle in your neighborhood and wait out the damage? Options include heading over to these far less crowded spots or finding the closest cherry blossom trees to you.

Unwilling to leave the house entirely? Pull up this bizarre site called “Sakura Dream” from Japan’s Lux, which uses your location to pull up Google’s street view enhanced by virtual cherry trees in full bloom. Sure, it is slow, buggy, and in Japanese, but that won’t matter once you’re hypnotized by the falling petals.