Pocono Raceway in pictures - July 31st-August 1st, 2015

This was the 14^th year I’ve been to Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania for the second Cup Series race – when I started going there it was still the WINSTON Cup Series! I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it forever – if you go to Pocono, GET THE PIT/PADDOCK PASS!! It’s well worth the $50 to see what goes on in the garage area, from crews at work and drivers clowning around to tech inspections and standing behind the pit wall during practice and qualifying. Here are a few of my photos from the “other side.”

On the grandstand side, I was able to get some great photos of Kyle Busch’s post-race smoke show – i.e. victory burnout! 

yes, I did crop this! :)

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

2015 Buffalo Bills schedule

Pre-season:

• Friday, August 14 – v. Carolina Panthers – 7 p.m.
• Thursday, August 20 – at Cleveland Browns – 8 p.m.
• Saturday, August 29 – v. Pittsburgh Steelers – 4 p.m.
• Thursday, September 3 – at Detroit Lions – 7:30 p.m.

Regular season:

• Sunday, September 13 – v. Indianapolis Colts – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, September 20 – v. New England Patriots – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, September 27 – at Miami Dolphins – 4:25 p.m.
• Sunday, October 4 – v. New York Giants – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, October 11 – at Tennessee Titans – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, October 18 – v. Cincinnati Bengals – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, October 25 – at Jacksonville Jaguars in London, England – 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday, November 1 – Bye week
• Sunday, November 8 – v. Miami Dolphins – 1 p.m.
• Thursday, November 12 – at New York Jets – 8:25 p.m.
• Monday, November 23 – at New England Patriots – 8:30 p.m.
• Sunday, November 29 – at Kansas City Chiefs – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, December 6– v. Houston Texans – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, December 13 – at Philadelphia Eagles – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, December 20 – at Washington Redskins – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, December 27 – v. Dallas Cowboys – 1 p.m.
• Sunday, January 3 – v. New York Jets – 1 p.m.

Get tickets and more information at www.buffalobills.com. 

Discover Buffalo 2015: Williamsville Garden Walk and Glen Park Art Festival

I’ve lived in Williamsville my entire life, and I try to hit a bunch of events in the area during the summer. Case in point: on two consecutive weekends, I ventured into the Village of Williamsville for the Village Garden Walk (July 18) and the Glen Park Art Festival (July 25-26).

The Village Garden Walk is pretty cool because it takes place in a one-square-mile area – you can park in one area and walk to a bunch of the gardens on display. This year, the Garden Walk had a new addition – a fairy garden contest. There were so many cute ones!

And of course, the “big gardens” were beautiful and fun too.

The following weekend, the Glen Park Art Festival was jammin’ – it’s only in its fifth year, but it already pulls in over 100 artisans. And the scenery surrounding the festival easily makes it one of the prettiest art festivals around.

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

Khalessi’s Garden: Month Two

So, this is what happens in Buffalo in the summer: It gets to be July, it gets to be busy, and then, by the time I have a chance to actually write something, it’s a few weeks later – like, August!

The new garden has, thankfully, more hits than misses – and most of the misses are of the cute, fuzzy tailed variety! While they stopped picking on Lord Voldemort, they started picking on the Dragon’s Blood Sedum like it was the only thing in the garden…so what’s left now has berry baskets covering them…they demolished two of the four plants…they are SO LUCKY they’re cute!

I looooove the Leia Aloha Lilies – they look like pink pineapples!

Both batches of Dark Angel Star Wars Dahlias are doing well – they’re actually HUGE!

Balerion (the Black Dread) is surrounded by Black Dragon Coleus…

…and one Black Dragon Coleus joins Red Witch, Fire Dragon and Yellow Dragon Coleus.

Hedwig Coleus is doing much better than Lord Voldemort, but he had his problems…

The Veronica is doing beautifully…

As is the Apocalypse Coleus (I REALLY need a new X-Men movie, like now!).

And Darth Vader Coleus is backing up the Dahlia quite nicely.

All photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

2015 Buffalo Bills training camp schedule

credit: freedigitalphotos.net/John Kasawa

The Buffalo Bills open their 2015 training camp on Friday, July 31^st at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford. There are five night practices, which will require free tickets, as well as one ticketed daytime practice. There will be a total of 17 practices open to the public through Tuesday, August 25^th.

2015 Buffalo Bills Training Camp Schedule:

• Friday, July 31 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Saturday, August 1 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Sunday, August 2 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Monday, August 3 – 6 to 8 p.m. (ticket required)
• Wednesday, August 5 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Thursday, August 6 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Friday, August 7 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Saturday, August 8 – 7 to 8:30 p.m. (ticket required)
• Monday, August 10 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Tuesday, August 11 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Wednesday, August 12 – 6 to 8 p.m. (ticket required)
• Sunday, August 16 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Monday, August 17 – 10 a.m. to noon (ticket required) – joint practice with the Cleveland Browns
• Tuesday, August 18 – 6 to 8 p.m. (ticket required) – joint practice with the Cleveland Browns
• Saturday, August 22 – 10 a.m. to noon
• Sunday, August 23 – 6 to 8 p.m. (ticket required)
• Tuesday, August 25 – 10 a.m. to noon

Information on how to obtain remaining tickets for ticketed Training Camp practices can be found here. Find out more about Bills Training Camp at www.buffalobills.com. 

Five Things to do in August 2015

credit: freedigitalphotos.net/arztsamui

August…really? Already? Where did that summer go? There are still a few weeks left in summer, so get out and do something fun – because it’s Buffalo, it’s what we do! Need some ideas? Read on!

Check out a county fair – it’s county fair season – here are some local ones to check out:

• Orleans County Fair
• Chautauqua County Fair
• Cattaraugus County Fair
• Niagara County Fair
• Erie County Fair
• Wyoming County Fair

Visit an art festival – the Lewiston Art Festival is August 8^th and 9^th, and the Elmwood Ave. Festival of the Arts is August 29^th and 30^th. One of the area’s newer festivals is ARTsPARKed at Artpark in Lewiston, taking place August 15^th – it’s part trunk show, part music and part visual arts.

Get your fill of corn – the Eden Corn Festival is August 6^th through 9^th, featuring animal competitions, a craft show, softball and baseball tournaments, live music, food and more.

Highland games, music, food and more – the 31^st annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games happens August 15^th at the Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village, 3755 Tonawanda Creek Rd. in Amherst. Features music, dancing, food and beverages, the Highland Games and more.

Everyone is Irish… – at the Buffalo Irish Festival! This year’s festival will be at Buffalo RiverWorks, 359 Ganson St. in Buffalo, taking place August 28^th through 30^th and featuring live music, the Parade of 32 Counties, food and beverage and much more (like all Buffalo festivals!).

Discover Buffalo 2015: August cruise nights and car shows

paulathompsonfreelance.com

Car show and cruise night season is winding down – get out with your cars and bikes before the season is over. Here are a few of the upcoming shows and cruise nights for August.

Cruise nights (ongoing):

• Mondays – Elma Towne Grill Cruise Night (6650 Clinton St. in Elma) starting at 5 p.m. through August 31^st; Angry Buffalo at the Rose Garden (2753 Wehrle Dr. in Williamsville) starts at 5 p.m.; Lockport Monday Cruise Night at Ida Fritz Park (Main and Transit Sts. In Lockport) from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Tuesdays – Dug-Out Entertainment Complex (6856 S. Transit Rd. in Lockport) from 5 to 8 p.m. – also on Friday nights starting May 8^th from 5 to 8 p.m.; Pautler’s Cruise Night (6343 Transit Rd. in Clarence) – 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesdays– Lancaster National Speedway and Dragway (Gunnville Rd. in Lancaster) Cruise Night from 6 to 11 p.m. – free admission; grudge racing $5 per run.
• Thursdays – Polish Falcons Auto Club Cruise Night (445 Columbia Ave. in Depew) from 6 to 9 p.m.; Quaker Steak and Lube Car and Motorcycle Show (6727 Transit Rd. in Lancaster) beginning at 5 p.m.; Akron Cruise Night (Main St. in Akron) – 6 to 8 p.m.; 97 Rock Classic Cruise Night at Transit Lanes (7850 Transit Rd. in Williamsville) and Santora’s (7800 Transit Rd. in Williamsville) – 6 p.m.

Car shows in August:

• Sunday, August 2 – Buffalo History Museum Antique and Classic Car Show at the Buffalo History Museum, Nottingham Ct. in Buffalo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Monday, August 3 – Taste of Clarence and Cruise Night from 3 to 9 p.m. at Clarence Town Park, 10405 Main St. in Clarence.
• Saturday, August 8 – Eighth annual WNY Cruise Against Cancer presented by TJ Hirsch Enterprises at Pautler’s, 6343 Transit Rd. in Clarence from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Sunday, August 9 – Eden Corn Festival Car Show at Eden Elementary School on Route 62 in Eden; registration from 8 to 11:30 a.m., judging starts at noon. Also, the 12^th annual Rotary Clubs Car Show at the Northtown Center at Amherst, 1615 Amherst Manor Dr. in Williamsville from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the 30^th annual Buffalo T-Bird Club All Thunderbird Show at West-Herr Resale Center, 5535 Transit Rd. in Clarence from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Saturday, August 22 – UAW/GM Lockport Component’s All American Car Show and Auto Expo at the GM Component Plant, 200 Upper Mountain Rd. in Lockport from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Sunday, August 30 – Toy Town Car Show on Main St. (Route 20A) in East Aurora; registration from 8 a.m. to noon, show from noon to 4 p.m.