Run 52: Oakley

Before I go on to say how much I enjoy Oakley, let’s get this out of the way. This intersection serves as the western border of Oakley and hell for local runners.

Even if you get to the intersection with a walk sign, you're pretty much guaranteed to have to put your body on the line and cut through the line of cars whose driver insisted on rolling through a yellow light only to park in the middle of the crosswalk.

Hey, drivers, we can do better than this!  

Now that I’ve got this one blip out of the way, I have to say that other this one intersection, Oakley is a great neighborhood for running. In fact, it was the first neighborhood that I explored when we moved to Cincinnati. Just around the corner from Mt. Lookout, I came to enjoy my regular loop, which led me down Madison through Oakley Square and then along Ridge before climbing up Paxton for home.

On this run, we started from Oakley Square, which features a recently renovated traffic island that holds an expansive and functional green space right in the middle of Madison Road. This island is a real victory for pedestrians, as not only does it manage to slow down traffic in both directions, but once you’re inside the island you there is plenty of room to enjoy.

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The 20th Century theater is  an Oakley landmark. On any given week the marquee will bear the names of some excellent bands along, or a creative wedding announcement such as: “Mike and Margie Star in The Rest of Our Lives.”

I have to confess I’ve never actually been inside the 20th Century theater, but Toad the Wet Sprocket is coming in November, so this might just be the year!

But seriously, The Wood Brothers are coming next Tuesday--will Kayla go out on a school night?

Oakley also features one place I am glad that we no longer have to frequent--the laundromat. We spent way too many weekend afternoons in this place before moving on up.

Our next stop was the Oakley Playground, which sits at the base of the hill just off of Paxton. On a beautiful evening like the one that we ran, you will find the basketball courts full along with a few tennis players as well.

Kayla and I have had some epic matches on those courts.

There is also a small paved trail that leads up the hill from the park to a few baseball fields before plummeting back down to Paxton Ave. below. Kayla enjoyed the topography.

Sitting at the corner of Madison and Ridge, Crossroads Church has certainly become a major institution over the years that we have lived in Cincinnati. While, I have only ever run or driven by, it seems that the events there engage tons of people every week, and their particular focus in the area of social services has resulted in the new City Link development in the West End, which we will likely see in a few weeks.

One of my favorite aspects of Oakley is that it has a little bit of everything from the specialized shops around the square to the nice parks to a few industrial touches here and there. This last feature brings to mind my Motor City roots.

Just down from Crossroads we came across a new apartment development, which has sprung up within the last couple of months as a part of the Oakley Station project. The plan calls for new shops, some restaurants, and a mammoth Cinemark movie theater. The development will be a nice alternative to Rookwood Square.

It wasn’t long before we started salivating as two of our favorite restaurants were soon in view. For Kalya that meant Baba Indian restaurant, where she loves to get her flame-throwing order of Mali Kofta (cheese balls). I use flame-throwing because this is the typical interaction when she places her order.

Waiter: Spicey level 1-6

Kayla: 6

Waiter: 6 is VERY HOT

Kayla: (unflinching) 6

Waiter: 6 is VERY SPICY

Kayla: Bring it! (slamming her 40oz Taj Mahal on the table)

My favorite Oakley restaurant is Skyline. And this particular Skyline is now the most convenient drive through location for me. While, I’ve cut back in the last year, my typical order goes like this:

Drive through clerk: May I take your order

Me: 8 Cheese Coneys with everything

Drive through clerk: That will be $12.50

Me: (pulling to the window)

Drive through clerk: You’re going to have one happy family when you get home.

Me: (awkward nod)

In addition to our favorite restaurants, the eastern edge of Oakely Square also has some unique shops, including, a retro furniture store that I hope someday to enter, King Arthur’s Toy Store, and the Spotted Goose children’s bookstore.

If you have a kid and we have to buy him or her a present, it’s going to come from this corner.

Once we arrived back to the square, we added a residential loop, which was a great way to finish the run. Passing by these great homes reminded me that Oakley would be a great place to live.

You can view our entire route here: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=525465

-D.