Empty Lot For Sale at Prytania & Josephine

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Today’s ride took me up to the office and back, with a couple stops along the way. It started with sun, but by the time I got Uptown the skies had that steely blue thing going on, and I could mostly just think about my car down on Frenchman, parked in a spot still wet from earlier in the week, and you know what that means. I wonder what it’s like to live in a place with an infrastructure you can trust not to flood in a hard rain. Those places exist, right?

Anyway, I wrote a couple of recommendation letters and threw the rest of my office stuff in to one more box before pedaling home as fast as I could to beat the rain. Annnnnd the clouds were breaking up. Phew. I slowed my roll to enjoy the ride and stopped to take a picture of this lot for sale at Prytania and Josephine. There was a beautiful old church here until January when the place burned down. It had been empty and for sale since Katrina, but I guess there’s not much of a market for a church. The fire was intense, but walls and rubble were left strewn about the place. That lot was cleared in record time, and now here it is, just the ironwork sign and a leaning tree on empty land. Sometimes the bulldozers move quick; we’ll see if the property does. I continued on my way, happy for a day without rain.

Empty Lot Behind a Fence at Piety & Chartres

I got up early this morning, ate some breakfast, and then–gasp–hopped in my car for a drive to Pearl River for a horse riding lesson. I can’t remember every being on a horse in my life, so when one of those interwebz coupons showed up offering two lessons, I was on board. Continue reading

Empty Lot at Magazine and Andrew Higgins

It was a beautifully sunny day in New Orleans, which meant it was hot, hot, hot, and I was almost instantly drenched in my own glisten after about a block. Yep, some good old fashioned summer bicycling! After an appointment and lunch and then another appointment I headed downtown to the gym, partly for the weights and partly for the air conditioning and cold showers. Continue reading

Empty Lot at Claiborne and Cadiz

I rode home from work along Claiborne Avenue after grabbing a quick lunch and a few minutes of the Copa Mundial at the local burrito place. It’s a wide street–three lanes in each direction–and there’s even a shoulder. The asphalt is smooth. But it so flipping scary to ride there. The cars zip by so fast. Take the foot off the pedal, folks! Give a girl some space! Continue reading

Overgrown Lot and Blighted House at Amelia and Clara

I was happy to see sunshine this morning after last night’s rather harrowing slog home. I got on the Surly and headed to campus, feeling the aches from the whole-body vise grip I used to get home. After meeting with a student and then celebrating this year’s graduates, I biked down Willow, enjoying the heat of the sun and the (relatively) dry day. Continue reading

Empty Lot at St. Charles and Louisiana

It was a perfect spring day in New Orleans (and yes, I know it’s only February), and I had no parades to go to, so I took my bike to a coffee shop where I sat outside and got some work done. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but it was impossible to stay there on this most lovely day. I wasn’t the only cyclist out enjoying the sunshine; Kate Hudson was walking her bike down Magazine Street, dressed as if it were much, much warmer than it actually was. Continue reading

Steps On An Empty Lot at Freret and Napoleon

Oh, the weather is warming up, and it is simply delightful. A week of sub-freezing temps is about all I can take. I had a zippy ride to school up St. Charles to meet my seminar students. I arrived a bit out of breath, donning my grown up clothes (right leg rolled up) and my bike shoes, still riding yesterday’s first-day-of-school high. Continue reading

Lot For Sale at Richard and Annunciation

Lot For Sale at Richard and AnnunciationToday’s ride took me to the coffee shop for some revising, planning, reading, and chatting. It was nice and warm out, and the ride home was delightful. I took Annunciation, and was surprised yet again at how different this city looks from just street to street. Continue reading