2014 in review

2014 was a busy year and a year of slowing down. I lost some of my online writing platforms due to site closures, so I slowed down in writing, but it also made me take a look at what I was doing – and where I really wanted to go.

I enjoy writing, but my first love was always photography. The two have naturally gelled together for me, and in becoming more confident in my photography after all these years, I wanted to display it more often. I ended the racing season by covering three racing events: the U.S. Open weekend at Lancaster Speedway (which turned into more than one weekend!), the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series race at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in Elbridge and the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Series race at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse. I love covering local racing, and I’m going to put some added emphasis on it in the coming year.

Sportsman class - 9/20/14 - US Open at Lancaster Speedway

I made it to seven races tracks in 2014 – Lancaster, Rolling Wheels, Syracuse, Holland, Oswego, Pocono and Watkins Glen. After missing The Glen for a couple seasons, it was great to get back there, and to see a first-time winner in AJ Allmendinger. I also got to meet up with a couple of online co-workers at Pocono for an impromptu Skirts & Scuffs meet-up.

My other love, in both writing and photography, is Buffalo. As Marv Levy once said, “Where would you rather be than right here right now?” – I’m happy to be able to witness the rebirth of this great area in the eyes of the nation and the world. I finally made it to Canalside this summer, but so much has happened since I was there, a winter visit may be in order (ice bikes, anyone?). I visited the Japanese Garden and the Buffalo History Museum, the Botanical Gardens (of course!), Fontana Boathouse, City Hall and Silo City – before it got its six-pack! I checked out a number of garden walks, and finally got to see the wonderful gardens of blogger Jim Charlier of Art of Gardening, as well as some cool Garden Walk Buffalo garden art, on a bus tour with Sally Cunningham.

Silo City

Sometimes it felt like my gardens were taking over my life – in a way, they were, because I had a bumper crop of veggies that saved me some money on salad fixins’. I always say gardening is my therapy, and it doesn’t cost as much as a doctor! (well, maybe…)

I got to say goodbye to Derek Jeter in Toronto and Cleveland – a huge part of my life left the field with him. I also got to cheer as Joe Torre was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame – me and thousands of my closest friends.

Life felt so busy, especially during the summer, that I feel like I forget a bunch of stuff – and I probably did. But this was the stuff that stuck out for 2014 – now, onward and upward, to new adventures in 2015!

Sleigh Ride: Lorrie Morgan Christmas Show at Seneca Allegany

I’m a big country music fan, and I’m a really big fan of stuff from the late 80s and 90s, when I got into the genre. One of my favorites at that time was Lorrie Morgan, and one of my favorite holiday albums of all time is her Merry Christmas from London CD. So when I saw that Know How Tours had a bus trip to the Seneca Allegany Casino for a show entitled “An Enchanted Christmas with Lorrie Morgan,” that trip was booked immediately!

The show was only 75 minutes in length, but it seemed longer – it was full of great holiday music with a couple of her country hits thrown in – “Except for Monday,” “A Picture of Me Without You,” “Watch Me”  and, of course, “Something in Red” (which I was totally hoping she’d do). Her voice is still as pure and powerful as it was 20 or 25 years ago.

I was happiest to hear my favorite song from her holiday album, “My Favorite Things.” I’m not a fan of The Sound of Music, and honestly Julie Andrews' version drives me nuts, but I LOOOOOOVE Lorrie Morgan’s version. She also threw in “Tennessee Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride” and an amazing version of “Ave Maria,” then came back for an encore of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”

The show was totally worth the bus trip, but we also got $20 in free slot play and a free lunch buffet. I know why I don’t do buffets more often – I ate WAAAAAAAAAAY too much! But, I wasn’t hungry the rest of the day!

Check out other upcoming shows at the Casino at www.senecaalleganycasino.com. 

photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com 

It’s Tricky: NASCAR at Pocono Raceway

I know a lot of people think Pocono Raceway is a has-been, needs fewer races, needs to be gone – I’m not one of those people.

Kasey Kahne on pit road

I love this place! I’m not sure if it’s because of all the racing – of course, the Truck Series race at Pocono is pretty awesome! – but it’s definitely because of the pit/paddock pass.

Jennifer Jo Cobb in "The Zoo"

Head over to the garage area – which I refer to as “The Zoo” – and watch the teams prep the cars; sometimes you get lucky and find a driver or two.

Dave Blaney

Head out to pit road and watch your favorite drivers wheel around the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle.”

Tony Stewart

Head back to the garage area and see the cars going through tech.

The tech area

What’s really cool about the pass is the price - $50 for the weekend (plus your grandstand tickets). 

That’s right – three days of getting that close to the action. There are other tracks that offer pit/paddock passes, but not for that price.

How close to the action can you get? Here are some more photos from this August:

Tire test - Darrell Wallace Jr.

Ron Hornaday Jr.

Marcos Ambrose

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

A Kurt, A Casey and Two Kyles: Look Who I Found at Watkins Glen International!

Walking around the infield “Fan Fair” area at Watkins Glen International on Sunday morning before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in August, it felt like being at a festival somewhere in Buffalo: food, beverages, freebies, food sampling, race car drivers…OK, maybe that last thing won’t be found at a Buffalo festival…

The atmosphere is electric – there are thousands of people walking around, checking out the souvenir haulers and sponsor displays, like Target, GEICO and Toyota. These were some of the places where I found a few drivers hanging out:

• Kyle Larson

Casey Mears

Kurt Busch

Kyle Busch

I also found Madison, one of the Miss Sprint Cups, but she didn’t fit into the “kuh” theme I had going there…

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

Industry to Entertainment: A Tour of Buffalo’s Grain Elevators

Canalside on a bright summer day

When I started writing again nearly six years ago, I wrote about my hometown of Buffalo a lot. The more I wrote about Buffalo, the more I wanted to explore it. My explorations have made me appreciate the Queen City even more.

Yes, my city DOES smell like Cheerios! :)

our tour boat

Know How Tours offered a very cool Buffalo-based bus tour in late July that included stops at the Fontana Boathouse, City Hall and Pearl Street Brewery for lunch. After lunch we boarded a tour boat for a Buffalo River History Tour that took us on an adventure to part of Buffalo’s industrial history, the grain elevators.

Silo City

Silo City

“Inside Silo City” is a two-hour tour by water and by foot to the former Perot Malting Plant, built in 1907 (additions made in 1933). This complex was later used by the Genesee Brewing Company. Today, the elevators are used for art shows and installations, concerts, pond hockey tournaments, even weddings.

Perot Malting Plant

Walking into these early-20^th century silos is a bit intimidating – looking up to the top of the silos from inside and experiencing the echoes in them was impressive. It was also interesting to see how the two “eras” of silos (1907 and 1933) compared.

looking up to the top of the silo

inside the silos

inside the silos

Tours are offered daily at 2:30 p.m. leaving Canalside. Tickets are $27 for adults and $17 for children. Find out more at buffaloriverhistorytours.com. 

Thousands of Fans, Six Inductees and the Tomahawk Chop: The National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

One hot Sunday in July, thousands of baseball fans converged on someplace akin to Paradise for lovers of America’s National Pastime. That place goes by one name: Cooperstown.

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Induction Ceremony morning

The village of Cooperstown, New York is home to more than the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, but for the last weekend of July, there is nothing else. That weekend is Hall of Fame Weekend, and this year, six new members were inducted into the Hall.

Inside the Hall of Fame

D&F Travel offered a day trip to the hallowed grounds of baseball on Sunday, July 27^th for the Induction Ceremony, with six inductees who were a who’s who of my era of baseball fandom: Tony LaRussa, Frank Thomas, Bobby Cox, Greg Maddox, Tom Glavine and Joe Torre. To say that Atlanta as a baseball city (LaRussa, Cox, Maddox, Glavine and Torre) and Georgia as a state (Thomas, who was born in Georgia and went to Auburn) were well represented is an understatement.

Atlanta fans doing the Chop

Tomahawk chops began well before the ceremony started, and continued through the first three inductees presented: Maddox, Cox and Glavine. Glavine, who was also drafted by the Los Angeles Kings, made reference to his two-sport past with tongue-in-cheek humor: having been drafted ahead of Hockey Hall of Famers Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull, he imagined that he would’ve been inducted into that Hall of Fame if he hadn’t chosen the baseball path.

Tom Glavine

LaRussa and an emotional Thomas came next, followed by the man I, as a Yankees fan, went there to see: Torre, the Yankees skipper for six AL pennants and four World Series titles; Torre was also a nine-time All-Star as a player for the Braves. Torre was cheered loudest when he told us we’d be back in a few years to see a couple more Yankees inductions, referring to future Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.

Joe Torre's plaque presentation

I also spent some time in the Hall of Fame Museum, but in all honesty, it’s not the place to visit on Induction Ceremony morning – it’s a huge monument to the game, but seemed sooooo small with thousands of people trying to make their way through it in a short time. I definitely need to go back!

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com