13 December 2008

Secret Places

When I lived in Chicago I had a friend (hello Greg, I know you're out there somewhere) who had a mental map of just about every nook and cranny in the city. And he knew every hidden gem-- hole-in-the-wall bars with great music, mom-and-pop mexican restaurants with great food, where to find inexpensive clothes, and so on. It's good to know someone like that.

Cincinnati is much smaller but there are secret places here, too. A few weeks ago I found an old staircase that went down to the riverbank. I wouldn't say it's in the middle of nowhere but I'm sure thousands of people pass it thousands of times and have no idea it's there. I walked along the shore for a few minutes, pondering the picnic potential of my discovery. One more reason to anticipate spring, eh (I'm Canadian today).

And I saw this baseball. It doesn't look like a baseball, but this is what one looks like without the leather. Perhaps this is evidence of what Ohio River water does to skin.




And later I saw this very clear message not to go around the speed bump. Wow, that's a mistake you'll only make once:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Back in days gone by, I used to look for secret places at UC. There are lots of them, many of which weren't guarded at the time. I knew people who could get into the old subways but I've only seen pictures.

Brian Who Cooks said...

I know of some friends who have traversed the subway, too. Naturally, this was before they started doing guided tours. I don't know how they got in there.

When I was younger, I'd explore the Cincinnati Masonic Temple (I was a DeMolay member back then). You want to talk about a place with nooks & crannies? Not to mention the easy access to Taft Theater.

Good times.