A parade, an Autumn city walk, some history. . . . . . . .

We headed into town early yesterday to watch the annual Christmas Parade

prepared to do some city walking.

It was perfect weather, bright sunshine, clear Carolina Blue skies, a breeze, and

 temperatures eventually reaching the high 70's. Definitely not wintry weather

 by any means, but it certainly brought out the crowds standing or sitting ten deep
 along the parade route. The mood was cheery, it was a day full of smiles and
 happy moments.

After the parade we decided to walk the long way back to where we had

parked the car - through the city streets and on into a nearby neighborhood which we

 were not really familiar with, at least not on foot. It's good to see everyday life within

 the city confines looking neat and tidy. The houses are small, many quite old,

compared to the burgeoning suburban neighborhoods, but lovely in the Autumn 

sunshine. We chatted with people enjoying the mild weather on pretty front
 porches, stopped for coffee, and just enjoyed walking and kicking up
 leaves . . . . . . here are few photos from our pleasant hours spent in town.

Old and new - the City Market and condominiums.

 Leaves changing, and falling, at last.

 We took the elevator to the 20th floor of the downtown Holiday Inn - the huge

 difference in the cityscape was even more obvious from above!  
We have lived here almost 40 years. . . . . . . many, many changes over that time.

 Off in the distance, among the lovely trees, we were able to get a great view of
 the Holy Name of Jesus cathedral under construction. 

The 160-ton steel and copper dome, 65 feet tall, was lifted into place last March
 by a special crane built on site. Expected to open in Autumn 2017, this cathedral
 will serve 2,000 worshippers at a time. The city's current Catholic cathedral, 
Sacred Heart, is the smallest in the United States with only 320 seats, and
 requires 11 Masses each weekend to accommodate all comers.

A coffee shop we'd not tried before where the almond croissant was one of the best ever.

We'll definitely go back!

A wonderful day in the city. Then last night we headed out again - in much

 colder temperatures - to join another merry crowd at the lighting of the

 Christmas tree in our midtown North Hills neighborhood. 

A busy but most enjoyable run-up to the holiday season for us.