I finished up a project I’ve been working on for some months today, so as a reward, I gave myself the afternoon to ride my bike around, drop into a National Park Visitor’s Center–you know, the usual Friday afternoon of a National Park/bicycle obsessed academic. I put my passport in my pannier and thought to toss a poncho in there, just in case. Well, I made it to the Pontchartrain Expressway underpass when the sky just opened up. Sigh. I waited for awhile underneath the expressway, hoping it was one of those momentary summer thunderstorms. I impatiently put on my bright yellow poncho, thinking I could make it to the Quarter, but man, that kind of rain, when you wear glasses? Impossible. I hung out under an overhang for awhile longer until suddenly the rain was just gone. Weather in this place is nuts. I continued on my way and took a left at N. Peters to shoot down to Decatur. I stopped to take a picture of this white brick building on the corner of N. Peters and St. Joseph. You can’t tell in this picture, but there’s a veritable waterfall streaming from the top of the building where pipes are funneling water away from the rooftop. Continue reading →