Sunday, June 2, 2013

Route #17: Evanston


 
We lived in Evanston for nearly five years from the spring of 2008 through the fall of 2012.  During that time, when people would ask us where we lived, we would have to explain, “We live in Evanston, well, technically Evanston, but … O’Bryonville?”
O’Bryonville is not a neighborhood—at least not one of Cincinnati’s recognized 52—it is a business district in Evanston.  But we got to know it well when Donnie worked at Bob Roncker’s Running Spot while he was working on his Master’s degree.  When we found the second floor of a (very) affordable two-family for rent just steps from the store, we moved in quickly, thinking that we would be there for a year or two while Donnie finished school. 
But the running so good:  we could run to Eden Park, or Hyde Park, or anywhere really, because we were so centrally located.  And we could walk to Bon Bonnerie, the vet’s office, a pizza place and a pub, and plenty of cute shops.  And we were saving so much on rent!
So we stayed.  And stayed.  And stayed another year.  Despite the fact that we had raccoons in the attic and a laundry mat next door.  Location, location, location. 
All this to say:  we’ll start our Evanston run from the yellow house on Cinnamon Street.
We’ll make a loop through Owl’s Nest Park, where Zola used to enjoy her early morning and late evening walks.  We’ll take Fairfax to Woodburn, through the heart of the neighborhood.  On Woodburn we’ll run past Five Points, which is where one of Donnie’s Public Ally teams helped to found the Evanston Employment Resource Center—still in operation today!
Next, we’ll stop at Xavier University and look for the Xavier Recreation Park, which supposedly has a jogging trail. 
On the way back, we’ll take Dana to Clarion then run up Montgomery past the Flavor of Arts Studio.  We’ll spend a couple miles on the residential streets that lead to the Academy of World Languages.  At the very end, I want to check out the Bettman Natural Resource Center, which we have never visited, despite the fact that is less than half a mile from the yellow house on Cinnamon Street.
View the full route with mile markers here: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=510762
 
 

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