Over The Rhine

An urban walk fit our mood today as we went about exploring the Over-The-Rhine area. We parked on Central Parkway at a non-metered spot and walked over to Findlay Market. Walking up Elm we checked out the old Moerlein Brewery building and house before turning right on McMicken which is sometimes referred to as Brewer Boulevard because of the large number of breweries that existed along this street before prohibition. Of course Dan had to stop and admire some of the wild roses growing by the old Lafayette Brewery. We headed down Main Street checking out the many new businesses that are now populating the neighborhood before heading over 12th Street to Elm where we cut though the new Washington Park before heading back up to Findlay Market. For me it's the architecture and history that is so intriguing in this area. Seeming I find a new building with some interesting architectural detail and a piece of history that I never noticed before. Must be why I love walking in this area. A lovely 3 mile walk we did indeed have.

We stopped at Findlay Market because I simply had to stop and pick up some of the best sausages that exist at Kroeger's meats in the market. The sausages are the best. And of course, we had worked up a powerful thirst so we stopped in at Market Wines which is across the street from the main market building for a couple of beers before heading for home.

Miami Whitewater Forest

No urban walking for us today. We chose to do a couple of trails at Miami Whitewater that we have done before but always enjoy. We completed the Oakleaf and Badlands trails which combined are about 2 1/2 miles. There is a good bit of up and downs although nothing overly taxing. The trails wind though some beautiful forests, across some bridges, and up and down some nice hills. Some fall wildflowers were still blooming which always slows us down as we check them out. The trails are not particularly wide in spots so there is a lot of "what did you say" from the person in back when the person in front says something. These trails offer a wonderful hike in the woods and even get the cardiovascular system working a bit.

The beer and pretzels were delicious at McCoy's on Springdale Road. As always one of our favorite stops.

Bellevue & Dayton Kentucky

We chose to explore an area that we weren't very familiar with; Bellevue and Dayton Kentucky. We parked on Taylor Avenue. A three block walk brought us to Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue. We strolled along the main street through Dayton and Bellevue. We stopped to check out the Bellevue City Building built in 1889 and St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church dedicated in 1894. Entering Dayton Fairfield Avenue becomes Sixth Avenue where we enjoyed the old architectureWe would down through the Speers Court Apartments on Fifth Avenue before walking up the steps to the Dayton floodwall which we walked checking out the marinas until we would up back in Bellevue. It was an interesting walk that was about 4 miles in length.

Needless to say, we were thirsty after the walk so we stopped at Avenue Brews on Fairfield Avenue for some beer in the back bar along with some nachos. After all we did need to restore to the lost calories.

River Walk Downtown-Covington-Newport

Today we spent 2 1/2 hours doing the river walk through the International Friendship Park, Bicentennial Commons, Sawyer Point, Covington, and Newport. This is one of my favorite walks in the entire city. We parked in the lot at the beginning of the International Friendship Park on Riverside Drive. We first walked the twisting path through the gardens of Friendship park before walking through Bicentennial Commons and Sawyer point. We then followed the path through Smale Park across the Suspension Bridge to The Licking Historical Area in Covington. Our pace slowed as we read the many historical markers along the way before walking across the bridge to the Newport floodwall, through Newport on the Levee, across the purple people bridge and finally winding our way as walked back through Sawyer Point. Some of my favorite parts of this walk is reading the fascinating history from the French first claiming this area in 1749 to Mary Greene's statue on Mansion Row in Covington. Seeming I learn something new everytime I walk this winding 5.5 mile walk. Today my eye seemed to be drawn to the information on the black brigade in Sawyer Point and Smale Park and to the story of James Bradley, a slave who bought his freedom. His statue sits on a bench in Covington looking over the Ohio River to Cincinnati. The walk is an easy walk and always thoroughly enjoyable.

Of course, after finishing the walk we stopped for a beer at the Hofbrau House in Newport. The Dunkel was excellent as usual as were the pretzels and cheese. As usual, a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Northside

The weather has been a bit wet lately so we decided on an urban walk through Northside for our weekly walk. Northside and one of the older neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Settlers first came in the last 1790's but real settlement began around 1820 when the Miami Erie Canal construction began. Because the workers were perhaps a bit rough around the edges, the area was referred to as Hell Town. Northside is an urban community that has been going through a rebirth. It has many eclectic restaurants, art galleries, taverns, and a fabulous collection of old architectural buildings.

We began our walk in front of St. Boniface Church on Chase and wound our way around to Hamilton Avenue where we ultimately came to the corner where Andrew Jergens (of Jergens Lotion fame) mansion once stood. Today it is a playground because as I understand, in the Jergens will he stated that if no in the family wanted to live in the house it should be torn down; they didn't and it was.

Fernald Preserve

Today we chose the Fernald Preserve for our weekly walk. Fernald was formerly a site run by the department of defense and used for the processing of uranium for weapons. They began the cleanup of the site in 1986 and it has been turned over to the Office of Legacy Management. It contains a few trails and is popular with bird watching and photography groups.

Our walk took us over the Hickory Trail and the Sycamore trail for a total mileage of 5 miles. The trails are easy walking and we completed the 5 miles in an hour and a half. There are gentle rises and falls along the trails but nothing strenuous. The Hickory trail does have a significant portion of it through forest. A couple of interesting sightings on our journey included the new bird watching stand, the bone yard where dead animal carcasses are put (man did it stink), a couple of areas that were fenced in so that monitoring of the amount of water in the wetlands could be completed. All and all an excellent walking site.

Fernald's website is: http://www.lm.doe.gov/Fernald/Visitors_Center/Brochures.pdf

After burning our calories we stopped at McCoy's bar on Springdale for a couple of beers and hot pretzels with cheddar cheese. They are delicious.

French Park

Today our weekly walk was taken at French Park, a park run by the Cincinnati Park Foundation. The park is on property that was once the estate of Herbert Greer French, a Proctor and Gamble Vice President and an avid art collector. His estate was called Reachmont. The house on the property that can now be rented out was built in 1910.

While the weather consisted of a light mist with temperatures in the low 60's, the park offered a wonderful venue for a 2 1/2 mile hike through thick forests and along the creek. We walked the perimeter trail from the upper parking lot down to the lower parking area and then followed the trail along the creek returning to the upper parking lot. The trails are well maintained and a relative easy walk with some up and downs but nothing too taxing. Our walk took an 1 1/2 hours but we did plenty of stopping. Two of the more interesting finds on the walk were a stone wall along a portion of the creek and a stone with a bronze plate marking the burial place of 5 pets from presumably the French family.

As always we completed our walk with beer (with a side of excellent chili) at Quatman Café in Norwood.

The parks website is:
http://www.cincinnatiparks.com/component/content/article/27-art-architecture/304-french-park