Thousands bear long walks to get close to President Obama

CINCINNATI - With or without tickets, thousands trekked uphill through Mt. Adams trying to catch a glimpse of President Barack Obama’s speech at the Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park.

“I am 70 years old. I was born in 1942 and I am out of breath,” said Gwendolyn Foster, who walked at least a mile to watch the president’s speech.

Lillian Carr said she walked a few miles from where she parked. “I’ve got a new slogan now. I’ll walk a mile to vote for Obama because I think now about this time I’ve walked about three,” Carr said.

The walk up Elsinore, then up Wareham Street wasn’t as easy as Carr would have hoped. “I think that they should have given us a little more warning and had signs posted for which way we were going to be going. We would have had some kind of a forewarning. That’s a little frustrating,” she said. Other attendees said the shuttle busses weren’t as efficient as they could have been.

 Mt. Adams resident Tom Jones was shocked at how many people turned out to watch the speech.  “It’s been crowded, especially before the main gates opened. We had people lined up before the park all the way across the bridge,” Jones said. 

Jones lives right down the street from where the president spoke. Peaking outside every once in a while, he kept an eye on the parking in front of his. “Parking surprisingly hasn’t been that bad. I think because a lot of people assumed it would be impossible so they found places to park before they came to Mt. Adams,” he said.

Jibber Stanley, who has lived in Mt. Adams her entire life said she’s thrilled about all of the publicity the neighborhood is getting but she was hoping for glimpse of Obama at lunch. “I was wondering if he would pop into one of the neighborhood businesses like he did last time with skyline. That would be cool,” Stanley said.

The president may not have made a pit stop to eat lunch, but with all the foot traffic businesses saw a spike in sales for a Monday lunch hour.