In New Orleans, we are fortunate to have not one but two outstanding public parks. Both of them are vital to the cultural and social life of the city. And both are thriving these days.
In the last week, my family and I visited each of them.
Audubon Park is right across the street from Loyola. I am looking at it as I type this (well, I was, until I peered down at the monitor screen and read, “Aubydin Pirk us right across tghe street frin Loyola”). One day after work, my wife, Amy, and our daughter, Lilly, met me there and we watched Lilly run up and down the green space, calling out to 200 year old oak trees, and hitting the slides at the jungle gym.
Aububon boasts a great walking track, a series of serene ponds, gorgeous fountains, and picnic benches. It’s also home to one of the country’s best zoos, and a very nice golf course. It really is an extension of the campus. Some would say it is one with the campus. It’s less than a football field from my office; no argument here.
On Saturday, we headed to City Park, and Carousel Gardens, which features a 100 year old carousel, an amusement park for kids, and a great little train which traverses several miles of the park. City Park also consists of the New Orleans Museum of Art, which amazes at each visit. The New Orleans Botanical Garden, a wondrous display of local plant life, is nearby. So is a very nice sculpture garden, along with golf courses, rows and rows of soccer and football fields, two football stadiums where high school teams play, and so much more.
Yes, I suppose this reads like commercials for these parks, but they are truly great places to go if you live or visit here!
As a native of New Orleans, I feel great pride to see them teeming with families, to watch the scores of locals and tourists waving at the train as it rocks on by, to follow the enduring pastel spin of the carousel. Everywhere around you is the sweet smell of autumn in New Orleans, the far-off beat of a marching band as it enters a stadium, children devouring massive soft-serve ice cream cones, and the infectious and ubiquitous presence of laughter.
