Run 52: East Walnut Hills

I’m writing this recap on the patio, Memorial Day afternoon.  Donnie has been horizontal on the couch for the better part of two hours and has the nerve to glance up and say, “Are you taking a picture of yourself on your webcam?”  I truly was not and told him as much. “Well, are you looking at your reflection because you sure look like you’re mugging hard over there.”

He would know. Take a look at some of the pictures I got of him on our East Walnut Hills run today:

The best part of this story is that AFTER I had taken all of these—when we were headed back to the car after taking the last photo in the bunch (the sweaty selfie)—Donnie  says to me: “So I read this article online about how to look good in photos.  You’re supposed to tilt your face to one side.  And chuckle to yourself.”

Um okay.  I hope that technique gave him the results he was looking for.

So… back to East Walnut Hills.

The three day weekend gave us a good opportunity to try to make up some of our lost ground.  Donnie had already run a 5k in the morning, and this was really just his “shakeout run.” 

We started at Annwood Park, which is near the house we lived in on Cinnamon Street and one of Zola’s favorite places to walk.  I love the grotto that comes on about this time every year:

 

I mean, I really love it:

(Donnie very astutely observed that I look like a ghost in this picture.  It would have been great if my shorts were also white.)

After Donnie dragged me away from the grotto, we ran down Annwood and then back up Wold.  The thing to know about East Walnut Hills is that the homes are unbelievably gorgeous.  Maybe I’ve said that about homes in neighborhoods before, but these houses are on another level entirely. If you took one of them and put in on a Main Street in any other city it would be the one that tourists stopped to photograph.  East Walnut Hills has block after block after block of these treasures, each one more stately and significant than the next:

 

Just look at this:

 

The landscaping is also really nice:

 

We ran up Madison to DeSales Corner, which is best known in the running community as the place where the Flying Pig Marathon splits into the full and the half races.  This corner is also home to St. Francis de Sales Church, the mixed-use Residences at DeSales Plaza, and a lovely Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority building known as the San Marco:

 

(St. Francis de Sales)

 

(DeSales Plaza)

 

(San Marco and the fountain its garden patio)

The business district on Woodburn has an eclectic mix of new restaurants, shops, art galleries, a barbershop and a dry cleaner, a fitness studio, and a salon:

 

Woodburn meets McMillian at the Unity Church:

Just past Unity is St. Ursula Academy, where I pretended to get my senior portrait made:

 

Could this McDonald's sign get any bigger?  Although, is it just me or does it look sort of pretty under the blue sky?

We ran down Victory and did a quick loop through the Overlook at Eden Park.  This wasn’t originally on the route that Donnie had planned (he insists that it’s not technically in East Walnut Hills, but I really had to use the restroom and I knew that the park has a good one).

 

From there we ran down some of the secluded dead end streets.  Again, the houses and the views that they command make for some pretty impressive real estate:

 

On one of these side streets we came across this sign that reads, “Formerly Brunswick Pl. Renamed April 9, 1918 because of anti-German hysteria during WWI.”

 

Leaving East Walnut Hills, we stopped for this obligatory neighborhood sign shot.  From the looks of it, you might think I need to read the article that Donnie read about how to take flattering photos:
 

Except I don't think "chuckling to myself" would have helped this much.



P.S. Later, I asked Donnie to forward me the article, and this is what showed up in my inbox:
How To Take Flattering Photos of Yourself.

First, this is not even an "article", it's a wikihow, which means he must have been searching for it. Second, I don't see the part about "chucking to yourself."  Totally fabricated.  And finally, if you're going to click through to the link and read this gem, pay special attention to Step 7.  It's a real treat.
 

Route #14: East Walnut Hills

Our East Walnut Hills route starts on our old dog walking course the days when we lived in the O’Bryonville (not really) neighborhood. 

 

Annwood Park was always a great refuge from the summer heat as its dense tree cover always provided plenty of shade, and its grotto never failed to creep out the water-shy Zola.

A few blocks removed from Annwood, we’ll explore a few tree-lined residential streets that are quintessential EWH.

Next, DeSales Corner is the focal point of the East Walnut Hills business district as well as a crossroads for the running community, as it represents the point where the Flying Pig Marathon and Half Marathon split. 

 

In recent years the corner has been redeveloped. Now, there is a coffee shop, an apartment building, and an upscale Chinese restaurant.

From DeSales Corner we’ll head down Woodburn where the development and growth makes its way to the park. On our right will be Le Bon Vivant, a store dedicated to France. A little ways down we will pass Manifest Gallery, which has an impressive reputation in the local art community.

On McMillan we’ll pass St. Ursula High School and one of my favorite Skylines in the city. Then we’re headed down Victory Parkway toward Eden Park (but not into the park, we’ll have to save that for Walnut Hills).

At the Edgecliff condo complex we’ll head off of Victory onto Edgecliff Point, an uncharted street for both of us. We’re not sure what to expect.

Having explored the new terrain, the course loops us back through the neighborhood and several of the more impressive residential streets before we emerge on Taft.

We’ll finish with another pass by DeSales corner and then making one final jaunt around Keys Crescent. While East Walnut Hills will be familiar terrain, we've found that there is often something new to be discovered.

Run 52: East Price Hill

It’s been a long time.  Two months, exactly.  First, Donnie pulled his hamstring and we abandoned the East Price Hill Route one mile in.  Then I gave myself the stress reaction from which I’m just now recovering.  March to May:  Zola Budd turned seven.  Donnie turned thirty.  Our injuries healed.  The trees turned green.  And now here we are—back in East Price Hill.

 

The original route for this neighborhood was nearly eight miles.  Since I’m only back up to about four and a half miles, I drew up this modified route before we left the house:

 

This version had us starting and finishing at Mt. Echo Park.  The pavilion is stunning and the view from here is one of the best in the city.  

 

Three years ago, I received a ticket in this park for “failure to display a front license plate.”  Yesterday, I risked receiving another citation when I snuck into the men’s restroom before we started our run. The women’s room was being cleaned and I had Donnie posted as a lookout.  

We made our way up Elberon and turned right on West Eighth just past the “Creative Photography” studio.  On West Eighth, we passed Holy Family church and school and, just across the street, my favorite house in the neighborhood.  This house has always reminded me of Albuquerque near the University of New Mexico:

 

 

Here is Holy Family:

 

West Eighth Street leads to the newly-named Incline District.  At the approach, we passed this charming brick three-family with an urban-looking patio out back:

There is some serious recyling going on here!  Good for them!

And then the new Incline Village apartment building, which is next door to the 1960s Queen’s Tower, which has a mix of rental and for-sale units and a four-star restaurant on the ground floor:

 

Sandwiched between them is Olden View Park.  This is where the old Price Hill Incline landed on its summit from Lower Price Hill below. It’s also where Donnie scaled this cement wall and blocked out the good part of the skyline: 

Next, we ran down Price Avenue to Santa Maria’s Financial Opportunity Center, where I worked until last July:

Looking at this line-up of horrible photos makes me think that next time we should hire someone from the “Creative Photography Studio” to help us frame these shots. 

Although this one is pretty good:

 

Just past the Financial Opportunity Center is the beautifully-renovated Flats apartment building with its first-floor art gallery:

 

And here’s Bill, whose vision for the Incline District has made it a hip destination:

 

 

Across the street is the Corner Bloc coffeeshop, which has Tuesday night jazz, friendly baristas, and the best coffee in town (rivaled, in my opinion, only by Rose Street):

 

We turned up Hawthorne and got a glimpse of the UDF that I used to frequent when I worked in the neighborhood:

 Warsaw Avenue is lined with trees and historic buildings with cute store-fronts:

Past Kroger on McPherson, we passed this old church that hosts a food pantry.  I love the small, round windows:

 

We ran down to Enright, where we ventured into the EnrightRidge Urban Eco-Village.  This village-within-a-neighborhood is really admirable—like-minded neighbors using sustainable housing and gardening practices.

The building on the right hosts the Cincinnati Zen Center:

 

And in the middle of the eco-village is the sixteen-acre Imago Earth Center with its series of well-kept trails through dense woods:

 

Across the street from Imago is St. Joseph Cemetery:

 

Speaking of the cemetery, this would not be an honest retelling if I didn't admit that I was almost a goner twice on this run. First, a very mean dog rushed out from under a house and came within inches of my face. Fortunately for me (and my face), Donnie whipped out his Cesar Milan and shamed it into submission.  Just two minutes later, a car going approximately 90 miles per hour in a 35 zone turned right as we were crossing the street back into Mt. Echo Park.  Donnie saved me again by screaming “watch out!” and pulling me onto the sidewalk.   Whew.  My lawyer is a monster.

After all the excitement, I needed a cigarette.  Since I don’t smoke, I settled for a Starbucks bold blend.

YOLO.