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Two things about this picture. First, if you look closely you can see Donnie’s LeBaron in the background. This is not because we drove to Linwood and parked near the beginning of our route, it’s because this is where he parks every day since I always take the one assigned spot in front of our apartment. Just wanted to demonstrate how close we live (and what a gentleman Donnie is for letting me have the good spot, and for driving a 1993 classic jalopy). Second, I realize that I am posing really intensely here. In retrospect, it was completely uncalled for.
We started by running the short distance to Lunken Airport,
which is ringed by a 5-mile bike/jogging path.
To get there, we ran across a viaduct on Beechmont and then down a
zig-zag ramp adjacent to the school bus lot:
Thousands of cars rush over the viaduct every day as they
drive east towards Anderson. If they
stopped and got off on Beechmont Circle, they would see this pretty summer
garden that one of the homeowners has built in their backyard:
The bike path circles Lunken’s terminals and runways. It starts at the public golf course and links
up to the bike/jog path at Otto M. Armleder Park for a total distance of nine
miles. Over the winter—during my hopeful
months of pre-injury training—I did most of my long runs and speed workouts on
the marked paths:
For the Lunken part of our Linwood route, we skipped the loop and just ran straight from the golf course to the main terminal and back. Despite the muggy weather,
there were lots of golfers, runners, and walkers enjoying the mid-summer
evening.
The airport is peaceful place to run—I love peeking through
the fence into the terminals and watching the small planes take off and land. It’s
nice to get off the road and away from the traffic.
There were also a lot of gnats. I didn’t realize it at the time, but they were stuck to my forehead. And my neck. Had I known what Donnie was trying to demonstrate in this photo, I probably would have had a panic attack.
The main terminal at Lunken is in a cool Art Deco building
that also houses the Sky Galley Restaurant.
According to Wikipedia, the restaurant’s name comes from the fact that
the first meals served on a commercial airliner prepared there. This part of
the bike path also links up with the Ohio River Trail, which we’ve also seen on
our California and East End runs.
Across the street from the main terminal is the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery (aka Columbia Baptist Cemetery), which dates back to 1790—the
oldest in Hamilton County! The cemetery was once part of a pioneer
settlement. Today, it is on the
National Register of Historic Places.
I’ll be honest: the cemetery creeped me out. Usually I like
running in cemeteries because they are quiet and park-like. This one was quiet and park-like, but it also
made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. 
As usual, Donnie was unfazed:
Leaving the cemetery, we ran back along the Lunken path to
Eastern Avenue. I love the way many of the properties on Eastern have pops of
color painted on neutral facades.
We also passed the now empty Linwood Public School building:
We were trying to see the Linwood Community Garden, and
thought that we could get there by taking this bridge path across from Heekin
Avenue, but our navigation failed us and we gave up.
Instead, we turned up Heekin, and made a hilly loop around Leonard,
Archer, Shattuc, and Heekin. I really like this part of the neighborhood—most
of the homes are pretty Victorians on narrow, wooded lots. I also love this recently-renovated brick
carriage house.
One day we were walking Zola here and stumbled upon the “Crusade
Castle” at the end of Shattuc Avenue.
The Crusade Castle dates back to 1852 and was built by a German immigrant
who planted vineyards along the hillside.
How cool is that? How cool is Linwood?
-Kayla
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