First things first.
Here is the prettiest pooch in Mt. Lookout:
When we left for this run, Zola Budd watched through the patio
door as we headed down the driveway without her. Like on our Linwood run, we started our Mt.
Lookout route from home. We live right on
the border of the two neighborhoods, but the Auditor’s website says we live in
Mt. Lookout, so that’s what we’re going with.
Like in many of the neighborhoods we’ve run so far, it’s
impossible to run in Mt. Lookout and avoid the hills. We started by turning up Sheffield and then
again up Heekin. And I was dying
already. My lungs were burning. My legs were burning. And my face looked--strangely--flat as a pancake:
But it was totally worth it because at the top of Heeken is
Ault Park, which is one of the loveliest parks in the city. I’m going to get all Leslie Knope here, but
to live in walking distance of a park like this means everything.
We even ventured onto the trail for a short while.
Leaving Ault Park, we ran through the neighborhood, which
has quiet streets with lots of tutor and craftsman style homes.
The white house on the left is where we lived when we first got married and moved
to Cincinnati. I’ll always remember
rolling up with three bad cats and a U-Haul full of clothes from the Buffalo
Exchange. The neighbors must have been thrilled.
When we lived in this house—which backs up to a wooded
ravine—a herd of deer would often hang out in our backyard. When we run in Mt. Lookout we always see
deer, including this one, who was actually feeling pretty nonchalant about
snacking on this person’s front yard:
And then there is Mt. Lookout Square, which is what
attracted us to the neighborhood in the first place. The square has EVERYTHING you could ask for
in a business district: four bars, two pubs, sushi restaurant, Mediterranean
restaurant, pizza place, Thai restaurant, Subway, gift shop, four salons, dance
studio, vet’s office, coffee shop, interior design store, photography studio,
brunch place, bookstore, gelato shop, funeral home, dry cleaner, oil change
place, shoe repair, boutique, chiropractor, drug store, realtor’s office, bank,
music venue.
Oh, and a fully-stocked UDF, which tops Donnie’s list of neighborhood
must-haves. When we moved out of Mt.
Lookout for a few years, Donnie would often complain that he missed being able
to walk down to the UDF to get a post-run Gatorade.
Personally, I don’t think it gets much better than some
vegetarian cabbage rolls and happy hour:
I don’t know if it’s just me, but sometimes I get an Alpine
feel from Mt. Lookout Square. I think
the hills and the hustle and bustle call to mind a thriving ski town during
peak season. Or maybe the association just comes from Alpine Avenue, which is
the steepest hill we’ve climbed on Run 52. So steep, I’m embarrassed to say, that I
walked the last dozen yards:
We looped around Alpine, down Paxton, and then back through the
Square. The bouncer at Mount Lookout
Tavern was otherwise occupied so stood in for him for a few minutes. When I saw what he was doing, he snorted a
little bit like I had no business acting like I could keep the hooligans out of
the bar:
Next, we ran past Our Lord Christ the King Church. I love that Jesus is giving the peace
sign. This statute also always makes me
think of the intro scene of Baz Luhrmann’s, Romeo
and Juliet, which I swooned over in the eighth grade:
I also saw it fourteen times in the theater, in case you’re
wondering how I spent all that money I made scooping ice cream.
So that was the run.
To celebrate the Mt. Lookout leg of Run
52, we returned to the square on Friday night for burgers (cow for Donnie,
bean for me!) at Zips, followed by gelato at Buona Terra:
I had the tiramisu flavor and Donnie had cookies and cream,
but they also had Earl Gray and a white chocolate lavender flavor for those
with more sophisticated palates. Like with
many things, we go by this place every day, but it was the Food Hussy’s review
that got us to stop in.
I don’t know how to wrap this up except to say that I love this neighborhood. I love the park, the hills, the trees, the
drive to work along Columbia Parkway. I
love the deer and the gelato. I love the
black bean burger at Zips. I even love
this old cat, who hangs out in the storefront window of the photography studio,
and who Zola loves to terrorize:
The running is not bad either.
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