If you drive to this cache, please keep in mind that you cannot park on the trail side of Berkeley Avenue. And there is no need to wander into the sand pits!
Congrats to the duo of MuseOfIdiots and TeeDeeKay on the FTF and Geocaching Camo patch prize! And congrats to bbgron on the STF!
About the Berkeley Avenue Walking Path
In a borough with almost no sidewalks, this paved trail along Berkeley Avenue offers a nice stroll or short ride. This path is relatively new and certainly did not exist in the late 70's and 80's when I rode my bicycle all over Beachwood and beyond. The Berkeley Avenue Walking Path is not a rail-trail, since no railroad tracks existed at its location. The nearby Beachwood Borough Bike Trail, on the other hand, is a 1.3-mile rail-trail.
About My Neighbor Leo
This cache is in memory of my old neighbor Leo, who lived across the street from this cache. All Leo wanted was for the dirt road in front on his house to be paved. Leo never would have imaged a paved trail directly across the street!
Leo and his wife were some of the first people we met when my family moved to Beachwood in 1976. Back then, many streets and avenues in the rear of Beachwood were not cut through the woods yet. The avenues which did exist were dirt roads past Birch Street. The dirt roads included this stretch of Berkeley Avenue from Spruce Street, going past the cache, to the soccer fields.
Leo was frustrated by dust clouds that emerged as cars zoomed past his house. He tried to combat the dust by putting tar down on the road in front of his house and by placing a big sign that begged "Go Slow! Dust!" Leo stuck around long enough to see the road paved. But Leo wasn't lucky enough to see a paved trail across the street. RIP, Leo!