Friday opens with full sun and a high of 74°. Northwest wind stays light — 2 to 6 mph, occasional gusts to 21 — but the air is dry and the sky is that deep May blue that makes you forget every gray day winter ever gave you. Tonight drops to 52° under partial clouds. Tomorrow jumps to 86° and mostly sunny, so today is the goldilocks middle: warm enough for short sleeves, cool enough to stay outside all afternoon without wilting.
The Taubman Museum is open 10 to 5 today, and the light through those angular windows hits differently on a day this clear. Mill Mountain Star and the overlook are accessible until 9 tonight — sunset's around 8:20, so you've got time to walk up after dinner and watch the valley settle into dusk. Elmwood Park is hosting the Friday farmer's market from 8 to noon if you want local greens and sourdough before the weekend crowd hits tomorrow. A Few Old Goats on the main floor taps the first keg at 4, and the brewery patio will fill by 5:30 once the work-from-home crowd logs off.
The Roanoke River Greenway is the move this afternoon. Start at the Wasena Park trailhead — 12 minutes from the flats — and head east toward the pedestrian bridge. The river's running clear after this week's weather, and the sycamores are in full canopy now. You'll pass joggers, a few paddle boarders putting in at the boat ramp, and at least one dog who thinks the entire greenway was built for fetch. Three miles round-trip gets you back before the evening plans start. If you'd rather go vertical, the Mill Mountain trail off Fishburn Parkway climbs through hardwoods and ridgeline views — about 40 minutes up if you take the moderate route.
Tomorrow hits 86° and mostly sunny, so today's your last temperate Friday until fall. The evening stays comfortable enough to leave windows open overnight — low around 52° with partly cloudy skies and calm wind. By Saturday afternoon, you'll want shade and cold drinks; today just wants a light jacket after dark.
At the flats: RND Coffee is pouring oat milk cortados five minutes west from 7 a.m., and the courtyard tables caught morning sun by 8:30 today. A Few Old Goats opens at 4 with the blonde ale and the hazy IPA both on tap. The patio faces west, so you'll get full sun until about 7, then that golden-hour glow that makes every beer taste better than it probably is. Friday in May, 74° and clear — the kind of day the calendar occasionally gets right.