Since Friday night was the last of our “date nights” before the kids came home from staying with Kelly’s parents, Kelly and I rode our bikes into downtown Raleigh for First Friday festivities.
Walking along a bustling, closed-off section of Hargett Street in front of the Raleigh Times, I had to stop for a moment and soak in the experience.
“You know,” I told Kelly, “I remember touring this downtown one summertime Friday night in 1987 and it was an absolute ghost town. I mean, there was nothing open and nothing going on.”
Seeing the sidewalks filled with happy citizens was quite the contrast to the empty, scary downtown still locked in my memory for 26 years. What an incredible transformation that has taken place in Raleigh since the time I met this city and later called it home. I’m proud to have been here and being a part of this transformation.