Year: 2024

Introduction

This project is about visiting all the the parks in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH. It is intended as a quick reference for users and they can see if a specific park is worth their time.

Details of the parks can be found at Great Parks and Cincinnati Parks respectively. I have color coded each park based on my own evaluation. Red means you can skip it, green is a favorable recommendation, and finally orange is neutral.

Hamilton County Parks

• Otto Armleder Memorial Park & Recreation Complex – Smooth flat paved bike\walk trail, 1.8 mi.
• Campbell Lakes Preserve
• Embshoff Woods
• Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve – 23 acres of woods, paved walking trail. No bikes.
• Fernbank Park -1.4 miles of flat newly paved walking trails in Saylor Park along the Ohio river, no bikes.
• Francis Recreation
• Glenwood gardens
• Lake Isabella – No walking or biking, fishing, camping, picnics, boat rental available.
• Little Miami Golf Center
• Miami Whitewater Forest – a 1.9mi and 10 mi paved loops for biking or walking, frisbee golf, kids area.
• Mitchell Memorial Forest
• Sharon Woods
• Shawnee Lookout
• Triple Creek
• Winton Woods – Bike and walking paths, kids area, camping.
• Withrow Nature Preserve
• Woodland Mound

Cincinnati Parks

• Alms Park
• Geier Esplanade
• Annwood Park
• Hyde Park Square – Not a real park
• Ault Park
• Kennedy Heights Park
• Bettman Nature Preserve
• Larz Anderson Park
• California Woods Nature Preserve
• Owls Nest Park
• Daniel Drake Park
• Pioneer Cemetery
• French Park
• Stanbery Park
• Buttercup Valley
• Mt. Airy Forest – Off road biking and walking trails, very steep. Frisbee golf.
• Mt. Echo Park – No biking or walking trails. Just overlooks City. Heard it can be dangerous after dark.
• Olden View Park
• Parkers Woods
• Glenway Woods
• Rapid Run Park – Small park, biking and walking, large hill and ice pond for sledding, picnics .
• Hoffner Park
• LaBoiteaux Woods
• Wilson Commons
• McEvoy Park
• Avon Woods
• Hopkins Park
• Bellevue Park
• Inwood Park
• Burnet Woods
• Laurel Park
• Caldwell Nature Preserve
• Lytle Park
• Eden Park
• Mt. Storm Park
• Fairview Park
• Piatt Park
• Fleischmann Gardens
• Rawson Woods Nature Preserve
• Hauck Botanical Gardens
• Washington Park
• Smale Riverfront Park
• Sawyer Point & Yeatman’s Cove.
• Magrish Preserve
• Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park

Brian Dunn, Director of Marketing of Western Southern Life Insurance was the keynote speaker at a lunch I attended. He spoke about achieving lifelong success in the workplace. Although, I had long believed in the concepts, he was able put the ideas into words. I have taken some of what he said about understanding yourself and achieving a successful career, put them in my own words, and modified them to fit my own life philosophy.

1. Understand what really motivates you. (more money, free time, paid time off, etc).
2. Be prepared to do hard work. (working long hours without immediate payback).
3. Know what your good at. (and what are your weaknesses). Ask for help when necessary.
4. Volunteer for more responsibility. (Even if you don’t know anything about the topic).
5. Learn as much as you can from other people (this will shorten the learning curve of new tasks).
6. Select a good mentor. (Someone to give good CAREER advice). (A boss or older co-worker).
7. Learn how to think (You need to be able to problem solve on your own).
8. Be really good at execution. (Be able to actually get things done and not just talk about it).
9. Have personal integrity. (Do NOT lie, cheat, or steal. It will always hurt you in the long term). Can People trust you?
10. Relax. (This is your life, you will always make some money).

When I was a kid, everyone would complained that they had “no money”. I observed that what killed people was the having the stress of “not having money” and not the actual money itself. So, I developed my own a life philosophy at an early age. I knew was never going to be rich and decided that what I truly wanted was not “money”, but to live stress free.

Most people will make over $2,000,00 in their lifetime. Most people will tell you they have no money. Most people are not realistic and want a Champaign lifestyle on a beer budget. Most people spend money on an endless list of useless things like kids soccer practice, cookies that never get eaten, flowers that never get planted, and fancy out of town vacations. You can not afford it all. You do not get to have it all.

To get ahead, you must train yourself to not purchase things unless you have the cash. Make no mistake, it is not easy. It is a skill that must be learned. The primary rule is “if you don’t have the cash in your pocket, you can’t have it”. It’s that simple.

This is a short list of simple rules about money that I was taught, heard about, or learned through the school of hard knocks. They have served me well.

Grandpa Harry R.’s Rules: “It it not what you make that matters, it is what you save ….”

1. Get up and go to work everyday!
2. Have multiple sources of income (work two jobs, buy a rental property, etc.).
3. Spend less money than what you make (and save the rest).

Mark’s Rules:

1. Pay cash for everything you buy. In particular, all small items. Do not use a credit card!
2. Do not invest in things you do not understand.
3. Pay yourself first. Before paying any bills, put $100+/paycheck into your emergency or long term accounts.
4. Have an Emergency Account. Save at least $3000. You will eventually need a new hot water heater or to get your car fixed.
5. Have a Long Term Account. Start saving for big long term purchases. You will eventually need a new car, or roof on your house. Save $100/month. Even if you can’t buy it outright, you will borrow less because you now have a significant down payment.
6. Borrow less money. For large purchases (i.e. furniture) If you can’t pay cash outright, ask if 6 months same as cash is available.
7. Use gift cards when you shop online. Buy a gift card at Kroger’s and get 4x fuel points. Then use the card to shop online. Now, your credit card is not linked to their system.
8. Diversify. Make sure your money is not in just one bank. Open accounts at different banks & credit unions and ask your employer if they can divide your check and deposit to both.

Here are a few tips I have learned over time.

• Research before hand. What is the mission of the company. What is the company trying to accomplish.
• What is the line of authority and what is your part in it.
• Be humble.
• Ask yourself, what is my goal here? To have a job, to get promoted?
• Know your top 5 strengths.
• Sell yourself. People tend to under value there accomplishments and over value others.
• Have a frank and honest conversation with interviewer. What is you want to make? What are the work hours? What is the 401K match? When does the match money start?
• Will I love what I am doing?
• Interview existing workers who do the job.
• Pose statements in the form of a questions.