The John Shinnick 84 Street, 10 Path Pledge
August 5, 2018
Stairs at the west end of Ardmore Path. I went up and down right near the end of my walk. Down was easier.
I had a gig last night so I got up late. My morning walk quickly became an afternoon walk. For my inaugural walk through the streets of Kensington, I chose to take an extended version of my daily walk route. Very extended!
It was perfect weather for my walk. I usually take a bag to put trash in, but trash would have to wait. Instead I took my camera and a notebook. I took the usual right from my house onto Ardmore, crossed Coventry to get to Edgecroft, which loops around to meet Coventry again. I proceeded up Coventry to its end point at Arlington Ave. where I turned right.
There’s a large sign announcing the border of Kensington and Berkeley. I turned back when I got there, crossed to the far side of Arlington then continued on that avenue past the familiar row of shops until I got to a crosswalk. It eventually dawned on me that I didn’t have to cross Arlington at all, no harm done. I came back to the end of Arlington farthest from my house and followed it until it met Kingston.
I followed Kingston to its dead-end. That stretch of road was more downhill than I remembered, so much so that I tweaked my knee a bit, making the climb back up just that much more difficult. That was soon forgotten. I turned right on Lenox Rd. and quickly found the part of my project that was new.
Kingston is a dead end. This sign says "END" to mark it as such. Hopefully, it's not too critical.
A short way into Lenox Rd. (itself a pretty short road!) I found Lenox Path. I walked its length, which was very short indeed. After maybe fifty yards it widens to become the very drivable Beverly Ct., which empties into Ardmore a short distance later. I got to Ardmore, then turned around making my way back to Lenox. I proceeded on Lenox to its end, which intersects with the incredibly winding Coventry. It was at this point I realized two things. It was getting warmer and my sweatshirt was a bit more than I wanted, and also, my pen was running out of ink. The good news was that my route would take me right by my house. I replaced my pen and what was the other thing I wanted to do?
Anyway, I made my way back to Coventry but instead of crossing it to get to Edgecroft, I turned left and turned right onto Eagle Hill. As the name suggests, it’s very uphill! I remembered carrying a small dog that had escaped home up that hill, returning it to its grateful owners who had just gotten around to missing it. There is a small ring of houses on the road, one of which had been owned by J. Robert Oppenheimer of the Manhattan Project. Thank heavens the return to Coventry was as much downhill as the trek up Eagle Hill had been uphill. Funny how that works.
I turned to continue up Coventry but just before getting to Arlington, I cut through a parking lot that connects Coventry to Ardmore. It could be treated as a short street with parking on each side, but it has no name. Anyway, I now retraced the stretch of Ardmore, but continued past Lenox until I reached Ardmore Path which crosses Ardmore Rd. I went downhill to Coventry, where I noticed it is not marked with a street sign as it is at Ardmore. Returning, I crossed the street, and made it all the way uphill to the parking lot just mentioned. The uphill side of Ardmore Path actually has a median until you get to the last several feet, where it becomes so steep that it turns into a staircase which I had to climb to complete its length.
I came back down to Ardmore Rd. and, arriving at my house, considered it a good start to my project.
Completed:
Edgecroft Rd.
Kingston Rd.
Lenox Path (5)
Beverly Ct.
Lenox Rd
Eagle Hill Rd.
Ardmore Path (4)
Ardmore Rd.
Started:
Arlington Ave.
Colusa Ave.
The YIMBY Project