local sights | Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

Trauma Informed Care/ Teaching

Three weeks ago, the most unbelievable disaster occurred in our area. Fifteen tornadoes tore through the area. One was an EF-4 tornado that traveled 19 miles and had a width of 0.7 miles at it’s largest point. Another one was an EF-3 that traveled 10 miles.

So Many Stop Signs – Videos of the Memorial Day Destruction

Posted on 12 Days Ago by traci

For today’s writing prompt, I decided to share some videos that I have been taken after the Memorial Day tornado outbreak.

After the tornado outbreak, at least 80 traffic lights were blown out or were not working because of the lack of power in the area. As a result, many major intersections became four way stops. I remember reminding Hubby to stop on N. Fairfield, a major road close to us. On a normal day, so many people drive on the road.

People had to learn to slow down and be patient while navigating throughout the northern part of the Miami Valley with those stop signs and lots of road closures.

These three videos I’m sharing were taken on my Go Pro. I handed my mom the Go Pro while I concentrated on driving. I had not seen any of those areas since the tornado had disrupted life. I’ve driven on these streets many times in the past which you’ll hear me say while I’m narrating the experience of seeing the destruction for the first time. So all of those emotions and reactions are real.

The road I’m driving on in this video was one of the hardest hit sections in the Miami Valley. There was a shopping center that was almost completely destroyed. One of the businesses was a strip club so there has been a lot of jokes about that which is not good.

Riverside Drive has so many memories for me. I drive along the road at times on the way to or from work. When I was a preteen, we used to take public transportation to downtown Dayton. The bus we took would drive on Riverside Drive. As a teen, we would take Riverside to get to the Dayton Masonic Center when I was in Rainbow.

Shiloh Springs leads straight into where I work. Along Shiloh Springs is Hara Arena. Back in it’s heyday, a lot of concerts were held there. Some performers that held a concert there were Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, and Queen. Click here for a complete list of the over 300 performers who held a concert there.

A lot of graduations were held there. The Hamvention was held there.

In 2016, it was closed for good. A new buyer was in the works when the tornado struck. Now the buyer has backed out. It is estimated that some of the building can be salvaged. What is the future for the Hara Arena? No one knows.

Why am I sharing these videos with you? It’s been 2 weeks since the outbreak. People are still struggling to put their lives back together. This area cannot forget about those affected. We have come together as communities to help those who were affected. However as the weeks, months, and years pass, people will still be affected by this trauma.

I don’t want to forget my emotions when I saw this devastation. These are my memories that have been altered.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Vintage Antiques Sold Here – Memorial Day Tornadoes Photos

Posted on 25 Days Ago by traci

As I looked at the writing prompts for this week, I could not figure out which one of the prompts would go along with what I wanted to write/ share about.

Then I was driving around yesterday after the Memorial Day tornadoes, I was driving in one of the areas hit by one of the tornadoes. I drove past a back hoe that had the words vintage antiques written on it. I knew that would use that as my theme this week.

Back story: On Monday night, 13 tornadoes hit Dayton, Ohio and surrounding communities. The tornadoes ranged from EF0 strength to a very unusual EF4. The EF4 hit in the town I work in to places that I have memories from my youth.

An EF3 tornado hit 4 miles away from my house. It is a place where I grocery shop with my mom.

Some of the tornadoes that hit our area. The 10:41 pm tornado has been upgraded to an EF-4.

Right by my work – These were sent to me.

Some of the damage in Beavercreek, Ohio. They were hit with an EF-3 tornado. Roads were closed. Traffic lights were malfunctioning. Businesses were closed because of the lack of power. Buildings were damaged.
Sorry for the quality, it was raining outside.

I had to take the Youngest to dance which is located in some of the affected area. In fact, it was at the beginning of the Beavercreek Tornado which actually hit many areas. Riverside, Beavercreek, and Xenia

Here are some photos of some of the damage I saw in that area.

These were taken by the Youngest. This is a major road that runs from close to where I live all of the way to past where I work.

There are 3 signs on the road at this interchange. One is mentioning the Wright Patt Air Force base. The 2 talking about 675. The third and last one is missing. Then when you drive a little further, the traffic lights are gone.

My friend made a SOS call to us yesterday. He was without water because there is limited water in Montgomery County. Some people are without water and power.

He’s blind and lives with 2 disabled housemates so they were unable to go to the many places where water was being given out.

These are some photos from our drive to his place. There is 2 signs missing in the first photo. It’s supposed to have one mentioning Keowee / Valley Street, another one talks about 1-75 north, and the 3rd one mentioned I-75 south. The only one that is remaining is the I-75 south.

The other photos are of a sports complex that was destroyed in the tornado.

There was no traffic lights functioning in this intersection. People had to take their time and some lanes were blocked.

This is the devastation that the Oldest and I saw today. These were taken in the town I work in.

Please pray for Dayton, Ohio. Nothing like this outbreak of tornadoes has ever happened before. We’ve never EF-4 tornado hit our town.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Memorial Day 2019 Tornado

Posted on 27 Days Ago by traci

Actually I should say tornadoes. Yesterday was a beautiful day. High 60’s/ low 70’s, cloud cover most of the day so it was not too hot.

Dayton Masonic Center – Lots of Photos

Posted on February 10 by traci

Many years ago, I would visit the Dayton Masonic Temple, as it was known, for Rainbow events. We were only ever allowed on the first and basement. The top floors were off limits and forbidden because we were girls. That was the men’s area.

Boy, Was It Hot! – What I ate at the Outdoor Experience – Day 9 of 31

Posted on October 9 by traci

During the first weekend in October, a local park has an Outdoor Experience. Visitors can try out different outdoor experiences, watch dogs jump off a dock, and camp out, etc . . .

You never know what the weather is going to be like during this experience. Sometimes it is cold, cool, or even wet. This year it was record temperatures. It was 80 some degrees outside.

The Imaginative One got super hot and didn’t feel good for a while. He got some water and sat in the shade for a little bit and then felt better.

So what did I eat at this Outdoor Experience?

There was a lot of vegetarian options at the different food trucks. Vegan quesadillas at one food truck, hummus and pita at the Gyro food truck, and a red bean and lentil burger at another food truck. I chose one of my favorite food trucks to get my lunch.

I love Harvest especially the fries from there. The fries are a mixture of russets and sweet potato with herbs and a sriracha ketchup. Super yummy!

Here is a list of what they had as choices. As you can see there was 3 vegetarian options plus the fries. It was a tough decision because I almost bought all 3 options.

The Sprouts, Melt, and Black Bean and Quinoa Falfel Tacos were my choices. I went with the Melt because you can’t go wrong with a grilled cheese sandwich.

As soon as Hubby saw my fries, he made a bee line to Harvest to get his own order. I shared my fries with the Wee One. He’s the more adventurous eater. He also tried the sriracha ketchup. Didn’t like it though.

I also got a frozen lemonade that I forgot to take photo. I shared that with the Wee One.

The Wee One and Hubby went off to ride in the kayaks so I had the Imaginative One who got super hot. We ended up getting food at a food truck called the McNasty.

The Imaginative One was able to get a burger there. I ate some Butter Pecan Ice Cream from my favorite dairy.

So that’s what I ate at the Outdoor Experience.

Do you want to see some photos from the experience?

The Wee One told me that all the dogs visiting the Outdoor Experience must be what Heaven is like. He told me that he wants to be a professional dog petter as an adult.

Thank you random stranger who stood there while he got a photo with his dog.

Dog jumping – So cool! One jumped 18 feet!

The Wee One kayaking.

Slack line

Very hot penguin – The Imaginative One told me he would quit if he dressed in a costume like the penguin on a hot day like Sunday.

High wire

White water

Now onto a serious matter. As you can see all of my family members are wearing life jackets. After the experience closed for the year, a man in his 50s went into the river without a life jacket. They are currently searching for his body now. Such a sad situation to a great festival. Please pray / send good thoughts to that family.

Life jackets are important. Please wear them.

Hope you enjoy my photos from the Outdoor Experience.

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

Mom’s Visit to Golden Lamb | Lebanon, Ohio | Part 2

Posted on August 12 by traci

The Golden Lamb is known as the oldest continuous running inn in Ohio. Operations began in 1803 and still continue today. In fact, there was only 4 vacant rooms left on the day we visited the Golden Lamb.

Here is the link to part 1 of our visit.

I smelled orchids around around his room.

Here are photos of the fire board my Great Uncle painted in 1971.

Until next time, have a magical day,
Traci

Mom’s Visit to Golden Lamb | Lebanon, Ohio | Part 1

Posted on July 24 by traci

The Golden Lamb is known as the oldest continuous running inn in Ohio. Operations began in 1803 and still continue today. In fact, there was only 4 vacant rooms left on the day we visited the Golden Lamb.

The Golden Lamb is also known for their ghosts. One of the famous ghosts is Sarah. Sarah’s family moved to the Golden Lamb when she was 5 years old. She grew up at the Golden Lamb. However, there is stories of a young girl haunting the inn. Some say it’s Sarah. (I did not take photos of Sarah’s room.)

Our reason for stopping at the Golden Lamb was because my mom’s uncle had been commissioned to paint a fire board in 1971. I had been to the Golden Lamb previously so I had seen it in person. Mom had not seen it.

I guess they have not had the fire board out so we lucked out it since it was on display when we visited.

Enjoy the photos I took of the Golden Lamb.

I smelled orchids around around his room.

Since I have a lot of photos of the Golden Lamb, I’m going to share more of the photos in another blog post. I’ll have photos of the fire board in the next blog post.

Until next time, have a magical day,
Traci

Fourth of July Parade – 2018

Posted on July 9 by traci

This year I decided to sit at the beginning of the parade not realizing I was going to miss all of the cool floats. Our town’s parade begins in 4 spots – a church and 3 entrances of a shopping plaza. If a float or group started at the church or the one entrance of the shopping plaza, then I got to see it. Actually I saw the fire engines/ ambulances take off from one of the other spots but that was because they had been parked behind where I sat for the parade. I missed the floats, etc. . . that started at the fourth spot. Now I know.

Oh, and the heat index was ridiculous. It was in the 90’s and so very humid. I had a shady spot to sit in but the end of the parade, my shirt was moist. The Wee One, the Imaginative One, and I stopped at Burger King to get frozen drinks afterward because we were so hot.

Enjoy the photos I was able to get of the parade. I think I got some good photos.

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Every year, there is a fly over. This year, I was able to capture that fly over.

The two dogs are therapy dogs. Their names are Spirit and Hairy or Harry. They go to a local hospital twice a month to help people recuperate from surgeries, etc. . .

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I got a few shots showing you some of the floats that I missed seeing. After a while, it was pointless to try to get a photo of all of them since I could barely see them even with my telescopic lens.

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My boys walked in the parade holding the big flag. (Only the Imaginative One is shown in the photo.) They started at that fourth entrance. The people who were sitting next to me at the parade were kind enough to watch my stuff so I could run/ walk fast to get a photo or several photos of them before they started marching in the parade.

My niece was rollerblading with the Girl Scouts. She went past me but was waiting by the Boy Scouts for the parade to move. The Imaginative One had to take a photo of her and heckle her. She responded back. They have such an interesting relationship. They are only 2 months apart in age. She’s going to be a sophomore while he’s going to be a freshman.

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I absolutely love how this collage turned out. They had a group of Marines and some trucks that were with the Marines. These decals on the truck window were awesome so I took photos of them.

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You can’t forget the street cleaners.

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I hope you had a magical 4th of July!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Fourth of July Fireworks

Posted on July 6 by traci

This year some kind soul paid for the fireworks display in our little city. So we had a bigger and better fireworks display this year. When the fireworks display was over with, you could smell the sulfur and see all the smoke.

I was able to get a lot of good photos of the fireworks. My plan was to bring my tripod but I had forgotten it in my haste to leave my house when my mother-in-law came to pick the boys up. The tripod would help with long exposure shots which would have been cool.

However I love the shots I got of the fireworks so it all worked out in the end.

Without the further ado, here are the collages I created of the fireworks.

The sunset – It was gorgeous plus the boys waiting patiently or not so patiently for the fireworks.

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