Ah, nothing like a lovely jaunt through someone else’s neighborhood. Katie and I would know this first-hand since that’s exactly what we did last Wednesday.
Itching to get out of the office, Katie and I wandered to Fairfield Drive (off Mountain Road) to take the Insider’s first Walk of the Week of 2009. Hopefully it won’t be the last, but who knows what Mother Nature has up her sleeve for the remainder of the summer?
To begin our adventure into suburbia, Katie parked her car at the beginning of Fairfield. We began walking and immediately noticed how peaceful and quiet the neighborhood was, despite being so close to busy Mountain Road. Granted, it was a Wednesday afternoon and most people were probably at work, but the atmosphere seemed as if it would be peaceful at any time of day, therefore making it an ideal leisurely stroll for people who enjoy walking and talking with a friend.
Katie and I chatted away about how grand it is to be an Insider and took a left onto to Oakmont Drive. Now deeper into the neighborhood, we began to really appreciate the houses and well-kept lawns. We often found ourselves pointing to a home and saying something like, “I’d like to live there” or “Oooh, isn’t that pretty?” Each and every yard was so well-manicured that we pondered whether the neighbors were in an unofficial “best lawn” competition with one another. We decided that they probably were.
Shortly after 38 Oakmont, we discovered a few residents with a sense of humor. First, we saw two trees on our left with faces on them. One tree looked rather jovial and the other had a mustache. Who knows where one gets a make-your-own tree face kit, but we’d love to find out (e-mail us at news@theconcordinsider.com if you have the scoop). Further up the road we saw a lovely little garden with a sign in it that read “free weeds.” Oh, suburbia humor – how we chuckle at thee!
By continuing to follow Oakmont, we found ourselves at the Concord Country Club golf course. Since it’s for members only, Katie felt she had to be sneaky while taking a photo. She chose to quickly snap away from across the street, as if an angry golfer would come at her with a club in hand, demanding to see her membership card. Unfortunately for my own amusement, no such thing happened.
After the country club, we stayed to the right to go down Country Club Lane where the road got slightly busier and the sidewalk ended. Instead of following Oakmont all the way back to Fairfield, we took a right onto Mountain Road because we like to live life on the edge. On Mountain, we had to walk single file and began to be eaten alive by mosquitoes. We agreed that it would have been best to stick with Oakmont.
We weren’t on Mountain Road long before we took a right back onto Fairfield. Magically, all the mosquitoes disappeared, traffic stopped and we were safe once again. The walk totaled 1.4 miles (1.3 if you skipped Mountain and persisted with Oakmont) and was a pretty easy and level walk, with only a slight incline at parts. Katie opted to wear sandals and had no complaints about it being too hard on her feet.
All in all, we enjoyed our time in the neighborhood and would recommend it to anyone looking for a laid-back stroll. The easiness of it makes it perfect for a lunch hour or an after-dinner walk with the kids and spouse. If you live in the Oakmont/Fairfield area, you probably already know this and we hope you weren’t alarmed by us standing outside of your home with a notebook and camera. If you were, may we take this opportunity to say “nice house” and “lovely yard”?
