levees and canals

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Looking East from the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon

The top half of the photo is a clear blue sky and a busy cityscape takes up the bottom half.

Sunday’s ride took me down the hill to meet L. and friends for her birthday brunch at our regular place–she’s fun and 41, as she says! I don’t personally celebrate Easter, but it looked like everyone else in the neighborhood did. There were lots of suits and ties, dresses and hats, kids squirming in clothes that looked cute and uncomfortable. I rolled up to the bike rack and had to ask a family of eight to make way so I could use it. We shared some words about the weather (it was amazing) and waited impatiently for the restaurant to open. When it did, they got themselves a big table at the back, and I grabbed the corner bar for us, ordered coffee, and stared at my phone until my friends showed up.

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Prettyboy Dam in the Hereford Zone of Baltimore County

I left my bike at home today and joined S. and J. for a hike in Gunpowder Falls State Park out in Baltimore County. Those two are fearless, but I’m a baby so we took a slow slide on mud and wet leaves above the river until we had our feet on more expansive flats. The air smelled like decaying leaves and fall and, according to S., just a little bit like licorice in a spots. We walked along, stopped to admire S.’s rock-skipping skills and J.’s apparent natural talent for the same, admired impressive mushrooms and wished for a Field Guild to Mushrooms, and enjoyed apples while sitting on a fallen tree. Continue reading →

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No Swimming Signs in Lake Pontchartrain at Lakeshore & Leon C. Simon

The weather was absolutely ridiculous today so after a morning at home with my book, I got on my bike, stopped in the Quarter for a margarita and a burrito, and then headed out toward Lake Pontchartrain to see what it looks like when a lake rises several feet because the river is flooding. Continue reading →

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People Watching the Mississippi River From Woldenberg Park

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the river is rising, so after an evening with friends I took the bike out to check on the flow. I sped along St. Claude–good lord, I love a bike lane–and headed to the top of the bridge over the Industrial Canal where the water was high, maybe even higher than a couple of days ago. Then again, maybe not. Continue reading →

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The Mississippi River and Downtown New Orleans From the Levee in Holy Cross

I’ve been a little down lately, I’m not going to lie. Too many endings all at once have me in a little bit of a spin, so I figured the best thing to do today is what I usually do, because usually, I feel pretty good. I woke up after a full 8 hours of sleep, read a bit of a book I need to review, wrote 300 words (gotta ease back into summer productivity), and then it was time for a bicycle ride without a particular destination. Continue reading →

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Dead End at the Industrial Canal on Galvez & Japonica

I don’t know when it happened, but I just hate being inside. Sometimes it’s because I’m afraid I’m missing out on something that might be happening out there, but more often just because I like to be outside. I’ve been sitting at home being sick and tired since Saturday: not ok. Thank goodness I woke up feeling considerably better, and J. and I were meeting at 1:00pm down in the Bywater–bike ride! Continue reading →

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Containers at the Carrollton Water Treatment Plant on Monticello and Claiborne

Today is my blog’s second birthday. I started the blog to gently mock my sister’s daily blog of her lunch (check it out–it’s actually sublime). I certainly didn’t expect to still be writing it, almost every day, two years later. But here we are, I’m still riding and writing, and both still bring me immense amounts of pleasure. One of the things the blog has done is forced me to pay attention as I move through the world. Continue reading →

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G. Joseph Sullivan Pumping Station #6 in Old Metairie

I woke up this morning with a major case of senioritis. The semester is almost over, but it’s not over. I, however, am over it. After classes–which went well in spite of my spring fever–I rode the Surly to lunch and then set out to try to get lost. It was a perfect day for that kind of ride, and it was exactly what I needed. I rode around Mid-City and then up Canal to Old Metairie for a frozen yogurt. Yeah, a long ride for TCBY, but sometimes we’ve just got to do it. Continue reading →

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Power Pole at St. Claude and Marigny

Power Pole at St. Claude and MarignySometimes riding my bike just feels like flying. That’s what it felt like tonight, as I rode down to the Marigny to meet friends for drinks. I’d spent the day reading, thinking, writing, cleaning, and cooking, so when night came around, it was time to just fly. Continue reading →

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Houses at Vicksburg Near Porteous

Houses in LakeviewI finished up some last-minute work on this semester’s syllabi yesterday and decided to spend the waning hours of my summer on my bike. It was surprisingly dry yesterday–N. said it was only 15% humidity–and the sky was blue, no thunderstorms threatening. Perfect. Continue reading →