Happy Hour Friday: Strawberry Mojito

I’m finally back!  It’s been a hectic two weeks with a nice little getaway tucked in over the Easter weekend.  I hope each one of you enjoyed your holiday weekend as much as I did.

C (Spicehubby) and I stole away to Abita Springs for a peaceful weekend in the woods.  We found a wonderful little cabin nestled in the middle of 130 acres with nothing but a brown rabbit, a young deer and countless birds and bugs for company.  It was heaven!

We brought along our bicycles and ambitiously took on the St. Tammany Trace.

The official website www.tammanytrace.org says the trace is “the first Louisiana trail to be part of the National Rail-Trail Network. The Tammany Trace is a scenic recreational corridor composed of a main paved trail, a parallel equestrian trail and other recreational facilities.

St. Tammany Parish government acquired the railroad right-of-way from the Illinois Railroad in 1992. Today, it spans 28 miles for the 290,000 pedestrians, bicyclists, equestrians, rollerbladers and joggers who use the Trace annually.

The Trace is also a wildlife conservation area and educational learning center for children. The trail makes its way through five historic communities, Covington, Abita Springs, Mandeville, Lacombe, and Slidell, linking various parks and providing beautiful vistas of rivers, bayous and streams from atop 31 railroad bridges. Winding through many residential communities, it provides our residents with a beautiful and safe route for their daily exercise and route to school and work.”

It definitely lives up to all of that and more.  We managed to cycle about 14 miles of it, from Covington to Mandeville and back again, for about 28 miles total.

When we got to the Mandeville Trailhead the weekly Saturday market was still going strong.  The weather was perfect spring in Louisiana–sunny, warm with low humidity.  We don’t get much of a break from the oppressive humidity around here, even in spring, so the market was packed with locals out soaking in every bit of this beautiful day.

We walked around to check out the artists, farmers and food vendors and to stretch our legs a bit.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to buy anything since we were on our bikes; but it was fun to look anyway.

And even though we started our day by taking the tour of Abita Brewery, it was time for another break to refuel

Rested and full of german-style pretzels and local beer, we made our way back to Abita Springs.  {It was no easy thing to get back on those bicycles to pedal 10 miles back!}  Ahhh, but we made it and were very proud of ourselves for it.

The last thing we did before loading up and heading back to our cabin in the woods was buy a flat of strawberries from the farmers market in Abita’s town center.  The perfect inspiration for today’s drink

fresh mint leaves

2 tsp sugar

fresh lime wedges

2 large (or 3-4 small) fresh strawberries, sliced

2 oz white rum

club soda

In a tall glass tumbler, muddle together two small wedges of lime with about 10 fresh mint leaves.   Add strawberries, sugar and another small wedge of lime.  Muddle vigorously until fruit releases its juices.  Fill glass with ice, nearly to the top of the glass.  Add rum and top with club soda.  Garnish with slice of lime and strawberry.

Refreshing.  Delicious.  And all local (the mint comes right from my garden!)

Happy Friday!  It’s time for the link up…

{Remember: only link up your own creations, and if you join in, please put the Happy Hour Friday badge on your site to let everyone know where you’re partying.}