local sights – Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

local sights, photograph, photographs, Photography

Oakes Quarry

Posted on 27 May 2020 by traci

One of our favorite places to walk is Oakes Quarry. It’s a reclaimed limestone quarry that has the most interesting landscape.

Last night, the Scouts decided to meet there for a social distance walk / get together after not seeing each other for months. I joined along so that I could take photos.

Instead of staying with them, I took off, walked, and explored without the rest of them.

The quarry is located near an Air Force base. Last night a lot of planes were either coming into the base or leaving the base.

Those ponds disappear when there hasn’t been a lot of rain. I’ve been to the quarry when there has been very little rain. Instead of having those beautiful ponds, it’s dry land.

We had been there a week earlier and had found this stream full of tadpoles. So cool! I went back there last night. There were still tadpoles there but fewer than last week.

I am so fortunate to have this cool park to walk around and explore. You never know what you are going to find when you walk through this park.

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Imaginative one, local eats, local sights, photograph, photographs, Photography, Wee one

Our Adventure | September 29

Posted on 29 Sep 2019 by traci

The past week has been trying for us. The Oldest had his first heartbreak and break up. I’ve had to be a “friend,” mom, and sounding block.

As I said, it’s been trying. For 2 weeks prior to the break up, we have gone through mopey Oldest, angry Oldest, and then happy Oldest. It was hard to watch this roller coaster.

Last Sunday, she broke up with him via text and then immediately blocked him. He has to see her because they are in 2 classes and ride the bus together. Needless to say, he’s gone through a multitude of emotions. He is now happy and sees the break up is a good thing.

During those last 2 weeks, he would complain about being bored but refused to do anything. It was very sad to watch.

This weekend, I suggested we do something on Sunday afternoon. I was thinking of the Huffman Dam but he and his brother decided to go to the Englewood Dam. We also visited a favorite local restaurant for dinner. It was nice to have him back.

Not only was he was back so was the Youngest. My soul needed that because we used to go on a lot of adventures when they were younger.

Off topic: I’ve recently discovered Lizzo. She has great lyric in this song. “Don’t text me. Tell it me it to my face.” That’s how the Oldest is feeling right now. He is big on communication. That was the problem with the relationship.

Onto to the photos from our adventure:

After spending time in nature, we went to a favorite restaurant for our dinner. Airline Dairy Creme is located close to the Dayton International Airport.

I’m so happy that I got to spend some quality time with my teenagers. They are growing up so quickly.

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Animal, Imaginative one, local sights, photograph, photographs, Photography, Wee one

Sunflowers | September 9, 2019

Posted on 14 Sep 2019 by traci

Every year or almost every year since 2010, we have a tradition of going to see the sunflowers in a town near us.

They have a field that blooms for about 2 weeks. It is absolutely gorgeous so many people stop to take photos and even draw pictures of the sunflowers.

It’s gotten so popular that they have a parking area which they never had before a few years ago. I used to have to sort of parallel park in the grass near the field.

As I said, we go every year or almost every year. I have found photos from 2010, 2011, and then 2014-2019. I don’t remember if we went in 2012 or 2013.

This year, we took the Oldest’s girlfriend. She had never been to the field before so it was fun to watch her discover the absolute beauty of the field.

While walking through the rows of sunflowers, you have to be careful of the bees because they love to hang out there and the prickly plants that grow near the sunflowers. Other than that, it’s fun to get lost in the hundreds of sunflowers.

We also have a tradition of going to the local dairy that is just down the road after visiting the sunflowers. So we did that also on Monday. Oldest’s girlfriend hadn’t been to Young’s Dairy for a while so it was fun to treat her to ice cream made with milk from cows from the dairy and to watch her feed the goats.

Visiting the sunflowers is one memory that the boys are going to carry with them for the rest of their lives. Even though Youngest would have rather stayed at home and played on the computer.

Enjoy the video.

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

local sights, Random

Trauma Informed Care/ Teaching

Posted on 18 Jun 2019 by traci

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.

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local sights, Writing Workshop

So Many Stop Signs – Videos of the Memorial Day Destruction

Posted on 13 Jun 201913 Jun 2019 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.

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

local sights, Writing Workshop

Vintage Antiques Sold Here – Memorial Day Tornadoes Photos

Posted on 30 May 2019 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.

Stay kind!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Beliefs, local sights, Random, Randomness

Memorial Day 2019 Tornado

Posted on 28 May 2019 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.

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local sights, photographs

Dayton Masonic Center – Lots of Photos

Posted on 10 Feb 20199 Feb 2019 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.

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local eats, local sights, photograph, Recipes, Vegetarian, Write 31 2018

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

Posted on 9 Oct 20188 Oct 2018 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

Family, local sights, photograph

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

Posted on 12 Aug 2018 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.