There's something special about going for a run along Bayou St. John on a weekend afternoon. On a recent Sunday, it was so peaceful. There were ducks waddling along the shoreline, kids riding bikes with training wheels and fellow runners smiling when they ran by me.
While its probably a stretch to still call myself a newbie – I've been here for almost a year – I keep discovering new things about this city. I've decided that one of my favorite places in the city is Bayou St. John.
I thought about this when I was at Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo over the weekend. The scene was quintessentially Louisiana. My friends and I were sitting next to the bayou, drinking Abita and listening to local musicians. There were other festival goers actually on the bayou, floating on what appeared to be homemade rafts. There were other people sitting in canoes and rowing kayaks. I even saw two people swimming.
New Orleans has a lot of great attractions, but Bayou St. John is one of my favorites. As someone who came from the North where bayous are nowhere to be found, it's a special piece of scenery that only certain people in the country get to see everyday. I think it's so pretty, especially when the water is high, and the crest appears to be so close to the land that it could possibly overflow. It's like nature's own infinity pool. On sunny mornings, I sometimes take the long way to work just so I can drive along the bayou.
This month I'm hoping to do more on Bayou St. John and really take advantage of it being so close to my apartment. I'm also starting to learn that there's a lot to do along the bayou, such as the 40th Annual Greek Festival coming up this weekend (May 24-26, 2013) that takes place at Holy Trinity Cathedral, a church that overlooks the bayou. I also want to go paddleboarding again, and maybe try paddleboard yoga, which sounds dangerous, but awesome.
So even though I'm getting further and further away from being a newbie, I still like finding new favorite spots in New Orleans. Bayou St. John is definitely one of them, and I encourage all of you guys to pay it a visit.
