Wow, after tropical storm Lee swept through, it left behind some amazing weather! Blue skies, temps under 80 degrees, super low humidity, cool nights…the sort of weather New Orleanians only dream about in September. Of course, sadly, the temps are already rising & we know that this week was just a little taste or really more like a tease of what we hope to get more of at some point before December.
As TS Lee was still passing through last week, I got up super early on Saturday morning to get a few errands done before the weather was forecast to get much worse that afternoon. I drove down St. Charles Ave., & I noticed that the canopy of oak trees was swaying more than usual, but what really struck me were all the mardi gras beads on the streets! It was actually windy enough that the beads had been shaken from the trees! It felt like I was driving down St. Charles Ave. just after a mardi gras parade had rolled through uptown…something else New Orleanians don't generally experience in September.
But I digress, on to how I managed to make the most of the amazing weather we had this week...
I got up Tuesday morning & the news was reporting that the weather was gorgeous, then I got on facebook & every nola friend had posted the same thing. So, I realized that I needed to get off my ass & outside on the double! I called a friend & fortunately she was also free for the afternoon, so we quickly made a plan to head to city park. We ventured over to the arboretum observation deck, or as the signs read, the "mountain". It's the highest point in the city, well, since they got rid of monkey hill at audubon zoo. It was wild, I mean seriously, we were in the wilderness! I'd never been in that portion of the park before! So, I'd say this outing definitely qualifies as an adventure. We were accompanied by my friend's old & chubby little chihuahua, Trixie, the poor thing had some real difficulty climbing up that "mountain", so she had to be carried most of the way (lucky little bitch). But, I did manage to climb up the hill all on my own, admittedly, the most outdoorsy I've been in a while. Of course, we brought some libations, so we toasted on the observation deck with Abita strawberry. However, with the sun beating down on us at that high altitude, that charming spot above the trees quickly became a perfect weather buzz kill.
So, we decided to made our way over to the Peristyle to sit by a nice & quiet lagoon with the duckies. We spread out the sheet I always keep in my trunk for just such occasions & pulled out a bottle of tempranillo (the wine I brought especially, although, if it weren't so hot, I probably would keep a bottle of wine on hand in my trunk, too). We got a nice shady spot right on the edge of the water, there was a heavenly cool & breeze; it was complete euphoria, people. UNTIL...we saw something absolutely shocking…there in the lagoon, casually swimming along behind the ducks, was a NUTRIA!! WTF?!?! I've only ever seen them in the old nature center & running along the canal on W. Esplanade in Metry, but NOT in city park!! There were big ones & little ones slithering through the water. I started snapping shots right away, so that I'd have proof of this nutria siting, but it was difficult to make them out while they were in the water. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spot one in the grass just a few yards away…I jumped to into action & zoomed that camera lens in as much as it would go! I got one good shot of the furry pest looking right at the camera. I swear we had a moment, but that moment was fleeting, the creepy critter swiftly turned toward the lagoon with is long tail whipping around behind him & I managed to get one shot as he began to waddle away. I'm uploading them to facebook as I type. I'm very proud to have documented this life changing event...if I didn't deserve it before, I think that I certainly earned that bottle of tempranillo after that!
Of course, we couldn't let city park be our last stop on this wonderful weather whirlwind of a day. As soon as my friend's husband was home from work, we were headed over to Bayou St. John to watch the sunset…& yes, there were more Abitas, Restoration Ale this time (one of my personal faves). It was the perfect way to end a fantabulous nola day.
I got up Tuesday morning & the news was reporting that the weather was gorgeous, then I got on facebook & every nola friend had posted the same thing. So, I realized that I needed to get off my ass & outside on the double! I called a friend & fortunately she was also free for the afternoon, so we quickly made a plan to head to city park. We ventured over to the arboretum observation deck, or as the signs read, the "mountain". It's the highest point in the city, well, since they got rid of monkey hill at audubon zoo. It was wild, I mean seriously, we were in the wilderness! I'd never been in that portion of the park before! So, I'd say this outing definitely qualifies as an adventure. We were accompanied by my friend's old & chubby little chihuahua, Trixie, the poor thing had some real difficulty climbing up that "mountain", so she had to be carried most of the way (lucky little bitch). But, I did manage to climb up the hill all on my own, admittedly, the most outdoorsy I've been in a while. Of course, we brought some libations, so we toasted on the observation deck with Abita strawberry. However, with the sun beating down on us at that high altitude, that charming spot above the trees quickly became a perfect weather buzz kill.
So, we decided to made our way over to the Peristyle to sit by a nice & quiet lagoon with the duckies. We spread out the sheet I always keep in my trunk for just such occasions & pulled out a bottle of tempranillo (the wine I brought especially, although, if it weren't so hot, I probably would keep a bottle of wine on hand in my trunk, too). We got a nice shady spot right on the edge of the water, there was a heavenly cool & breeze; it was complete euphoria, people. UNTIL...we saw something absolutely shocking…there in the lagoon, casually swimming along behind the ducks, was a NUTRIA!! WTF?!?! I've only ever seen them in the old nature center & running along the canal on W. Esplanade in Metry, but NOT in city park!! There were big ones & little ones slithering through the water. I started snapping shots right away, so that I'd have proof of this nutria siting, but it was difficult to make them out while they were in the water. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spot one in the grass just a few yards away…I jumped to into action & zoomed that camera lens in as much as it would go! I got one good shot of the furry pest looking right at the camera. I swear we had a moment, but that moment was fleeting, the creepy critter swiftly turned toward the lagoon with is long tail whipping around behind him & I managed to get one shot as he began to waddle away. I'm uploading them to facebook as I type. I'm very proud to have documented this life changing event...if I didn't deserve it before, I think that I certainly earned that bottle of tempranillo after that!
Of course, we couldn't let city park be our last stop on this wonderful weather whirlwind of a day. As soon as my friend's husband was home from work, we were headed over to Bayou St. John to watch the sunset…& yes, there were more Abitas, Restoration Ale this time (one of my personal faves). It was the perfect way to end a fantabulous nola day.
And, now I'm really glad that I took advantage of the weather on Tuesday because I ended up being on the run the rest of the week. But, every time I stepped in & out of the car, I still appreciated the absence of humidity smacking me in a face.
So, now we're all counting down the days until we actually make our way into Fall, but we know we've got some time to go. We just have to be patient. I'll keep the sweaters in the storage bins under my bed for now. But, I think there may be more cardigans during the evenings, & I'll take what I can get.
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