The warm stretch the forecasters promised is here in full. Sunny today, high near 85, a light west wind bending around to the northwest by mid-morning. Two days ago we were writing about a Freeze Warning; today the Parkway turn-offs will be warm enough to stand still on.
The calendar's quiet but not empty. The Taubman Museum is back open after its Monday-through-Wednesday close — general admission is free — and their "Morning Muse with the Curator" ran at eight this morning for the early risers. Mill Mountain Theatre kicks off a ten-week Adult Improv class tonight, Thursdays 5:15 to 6:30, if you're in town and feel like trying something you'd ordinarily talk yourself out of. The big Mainstage run, Madagascar Jr., opens next Wednesday.
Otherwise this is a day to be outside. The Roanoke River Greenway is leafed out, the Mill Mountain Star trail is dry for the first time in a month, and the Blue Ridge Parkway overlooks are wide open — the hardwoods finally filled in. If you don't want to drive, Grandin Village is a fifteen-minute walk from the flats and tends to turn into a whole afternoon once you're in it.
Tomorrow looks almost identical — 86, mostly sunny, calm. Saturday is the turn: showers likely, a thunderstorm possible after 2pm, chance of rain up around 80 percent. If there's a hike or a bike loop on your list, today and tomorrow are the days for it. Sunday dries back out into the mid-70s.
For the rest of today: RND Coffee around the corner for a slow start, Martin's patio catching sun by mid-afternoon, and A Few Old Goats downstairs with the roll-up door almost certainly open. Back tomorrow.