Monday, December 3, 2012

Downtown Dallas

It's been warm here in Texas. 

I mean really warm. 

Like not right for the first of December kind of warm.  I'm ready for hot chocolate and snuggling, but our air conditioner is humming away and I actually got a bit of a sun burn on Saturday! 

Every December, there is a fantastic parade in downtown Dallas.  We try to go whenever we can and this year it worked out. 

We have new neighbors who are new to Texas, so we woke them up early and dragged them along. 

Meet Liza and Ulysses - very adorable newlyweds and good sports for getting up so early to go on our adventure.

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We left the house at 7:30am and road the light rail to downtown to hopefully get a good spot for the 10:00am parade. It was so crowded but we ended up on a nice ledge that made for a good seating area.

It was perfect for crowd watching. I loved this little girl's jacket. 12-1-12 (31)

And here's my little girl, who is not so little anymore.
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Here's another cutie.
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Grambling State University was in the parade this year - it was great to see the well-known band. They were fantastic. 12-1-12 (90)

After the parade, we walked around downtown Dallas for a bit.

I love to capture people from behind, and Rominal and Bailey know this so it is sometimes difficult to get their picture without them knowing I took it. 12-1-12 (178)

But if I wait long enough - they forget about me.
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Here's the old Red Courthouse which is now a museum.

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The clouds parted a bit just as we got up close to it.

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We then walked over to the John F. Kennedy memorial - or the Sixth Floor Museum. 12-1-12 (199)

There are always a lot of people around there - you can see the "X" on the spot in the road where JFK was killed. 12-1-12 (201)

This building is still under construction, but I liked how it sparkled in the sun. It's a new church. 12-1-12 (205)


Here's a random building.

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We eventually made our way to a new park that just opened up in downtown Dallas, the Klyde Warren Park. 12-1-12 (208)

Another perfect spot for people watching and enjoying the beautiful weather. 12-1-12 (210)

One of the things that makes this park different from others is that it was built over an existing highway. It's located in the arts district of Dallas where a bunch of museums are close by and it is a nice addition to the area.

Here you can see the highway going underneath the park. 12-1-12 (218)

There was a little fountain area for young kids who seemed to be having fun playing in the water. 12-1-12 (222)

Luckily for us, the park is an attraction for food trucks. We ended our great day with personalized ice cream sandwiches. Yum! 12-1-12 (225)