The Steel Woods Album Review

I miss the songs that move you so much they pick you up and drop you right in the middle of the story being told. Country music today isn’t near what it used to be. Songs today don’t move me the way the songs of the 80’s and 90’s did, and still do. Those powerful, dark ballads that take you to a place so deep, powerful, and full of emotion, you find yourself envisioning the song playing itself out in your head.

Just when I thought that style of music was gone, I discovered The Steel Woods.

The Southern Rock-style band from Nashville, Tennessee released their debut album, Straw In The Wind, in 2017 and have launched themselves into the spotlight this year opening for the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Mirana Lambert. If I had to describe who The Steel Woods would be comparable to, it would be that of Lynyrd Skynyrd, mixed with some Chris Stapleton and Jamey Johnson.

My personal favorite song on the album is “Straw In The Wind”. Its gritty, swampy feel mixed with deep, dark lyrics about people who cause trouble in a small town “mysteriously” just up and disappearing like “straw in the wind”, makes this song an attention grabber!

The track that first grabbed my attention, and introduced me to this band, is called “Axe”. I’m a sucker for a song that builds musically throughout its duration. “Axe” does just that! Simple guitar notes, and just enough drum to keep the beat, opens this track but by the second chorus, the song erupts into a full-sound that hits you deep in the soul.

Other notable favorites of mine are “Better In The Fall”, “Let The Rain Come Down”, “Whatever It Means To You”, and the insane harmonica-heavy jam sessions in “Wild and Blue”.

In my opinion, these guys are the real deal. They sound just as amazing live as they do on this studio album. No need for auto-tune here, these guys sound great just the way they are! Something I can’t always say about the albums I buy, but can say about this one is that there isn’t a song on this album I don’t like.

This whole album puts me in a good mood. It’s refreshing to see this style of music attempting to make a comeback. It’s good music — plain and simple.

You can check out The Steel Woods by going to their website or find them on all social media outlets. And also PLEASE go check out their music for yourself on iTunes and Spotify.

http://www.thesteelwoods.com

| G R A C E |

| G R A C E |

When I see recent photos of myself, I catch myself being less than happy with how I look. But, as I sit here rocking my beautiful and happy baby girl to sleep at the end of a long day, I realize I need to give myself and M Y  B O D Y a little G R A C E.

I think about how M Y  BODY grew this little life. M Y  B O D Y labored and birthed this precious child. M Y  B O D Y didn’t sleep for days, making sure her little body was still breathing. M Y  B O D Y gained 30 lbs in 9 months, then lost 36 in less than a week because postpartum anxiety had me too anxious and sad to eat more than a sandwich a day. I had no idea what M Y  B O D Y was capable of until I went through this amazing phase of life, and I need to give it some credit and a little G R A C E for what it is and for all that it’s done.

It’ll never be the same, and it has some new imperfections, but slow and steady- as I find time for myself- I’m trying to treat M Y B O D Y with the respect it deserves. I’m trying to get back on track with a healthier diet and some in-home exercises now that M Y  B O D Y is finally feeling better. I cleared out my closet and started a new wardrobe to help myself feel more confident and put-together.

I’m definitely a work in progress (physically and mentally), but whenever I start getting down on myself about how I think I look in my postpartum body, I’m going to look at my daughter’s huge smile and remind myself that it’s because of M Y  B O D Y, I get to do so!💗

A New Mom’s Guide To “Must Have” Baby Items

Being a first time mother, I was so overwhelmed to start looking around for the things I needed and wanted for my new baby. I was caught between, “Oh wow! That new gadget looks awesome!” and “Well, my parents didn’t have anything like this and I feel like I turned out just fine!” It’s hard to decide what’s worth the money and what’s not until your little bundle of joy arrives! All I knew was that I wanted to keep things to a minimum! My baby didn’t need three swings, or 4 chairs! PLUS, my husband and I didn’t want to spend unnecessary gobs of money on extra and excessive things. So, I spent countless hours searching Pinterest, Amazon, Babylist, and google to try and find the best “staple” baby items for our little family! I’m here to show you what I came up with!

• Diaper Caddy (Thirty One Diaper Caddy)

Now, I WILL say that this is an item I didn’t know just how much I needed until the baby was here! It never even crossed my mind that I needed one! My cousin got me the cutest personalized diaper caddy from Thirty-One for my baby shower. It has probably been the most convenient thing for my husband and me! Let’s be honest, especially in those first few months, who wants to lug your sore, tired body to the nursery every single time your baby needs a diaper change? Yeah, not this momma! BUT, not only is it great for keeping your diapers and wipes handy and organized, it’s also a great place to keep your diaper cream, gas drops, pacifiers, nail clippers, and anything else you find convenient to keep within an arm’s reach! Also, having the caddy made it super easy to transfer the necessities (and night bottles) from the living room to our bedroom during those first weeks while we had our baby in our room at night!

• White Noise Machine (Project Nursery White Noise Machine)

In all of the research I did, I knew I wanted a white noise machine for the nursery. I chose this one from Project Nursery. It doubles as a soothing nightlight, which I turn on while feeding my baby her bedtime bottle. It seems to soothe her and helps her wind down. It also has a projector with a few different image discs! Project Nursery also makes a travel white noise machine that I keep in my diaper bag for when we’re on the go.

• Pack And Play (Graco Pack n Play)

When I started looking around for a bassinet, I couldn’t help but think about how expensive they were for something I was only going to use for a couple of months. I started reading around and learned that a lot of parents nowadays choose to use a Pack and Play with the adjustable floor as a portable crib in lieu of a bassinet. I found this Graco option that was cheaper than most of the bassinets I came across, AND it’s an item I’ll be able to use with my daughter for years! 

• Infant Car Seat/Stroller Travel System (Graco Verb Travel System)

I laugh at myself whenever I think about how I thought I was going to save money by going straight to a convertible car seat and skip the infant carrier. Boy would I have been in for a rude awakening! One of my husbands coworkers gifted us this Graco travel system. If I have to run into a store for only a few things, I forego the grocery cart and pull the stroller out of the trunk of my car, click the car seat in, and off we go! I can fold it up and set it back up with one hand. It handles great on walks and my daughter seems to really love it (since she always ends up falling asleep when she’s in it!).

• Easily Moveable Seat/Rocker (Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker)

Yet another item I didn’t know we’d use so much until someone randomly gifted it to us! Our daughter deals with some reflux, as many babies do, so the incline has been a life saver for us! It also has a vibration setting that came in handy in those first few months when we dealt with a touch of colic! The vibration and rocking soothed her when seemingly nothing else would! I love how it grows with your child- from infant to toddler. Aside from the diaper caddy I mentioned earlier, we’ve probably gotten more use out of this chair than anything else! 

• Video Baby Monitor (Summer Baby Monitor)

If you’re like me and think you’ll get by with just a regular baby monitor, don’t fool yourself. I did really well with just the audio monitor until my daughter started rolling over regularly right before she hit two months old! I spent a couple days constantly worrying if she had rolled over during a nap, or at night, and constantly was looking in on her to check and make sure she wasn’t lying face down in her mattress. I finally gave in and got this Summer Video Monitor. It’s one of the more affordable options when it comes to video monitors and I haven’t come up with any complaints about it! I honestly don’t know how I ever thought I could get by without it. I was trying not to splurge on too many things for parenthood, but this splurge is worth it! 

Cale Conley

For a little over 20 years, Vienna, West Virginia native, Cale Conley, has been living out his dream at asphalt and dirt tracks all across the country.

Conley has been driving race cars since he strapped into a mini wedge for the first time at age 5. Since then, the 26 year old wheelman has driven his way into the NASCAR ranks, but is currently driving a Sprint Car full time with the Tony Stewart owned All-Star Circuit of Champions.

Racing has been part of Cale’s life for as long as he can remember. His dad drove ASA Asphalt Stock Cars for many years, while his uncle raced dirt Late Models. Having a family so involved with racing, it was only a matter of time before Cale started a racing career of his own.

Cale spent roughly 5 years in the Mini Wedge division before moving up to asphalt Quarter Midgets. Once he hit age 15, Cale was eager to compete at a higher level, so he raced Kenyon Midgets for a year before he could race a Sprint Car at age 16. Over the next three years, Cale drove winged and non-winged Sprint Cars along with USAC Midgets until he and his family decided to take a leap of faith, sell their Sprint Car equipment, and invested in their own NASCAR K&N series team.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series is a regional stock car series owned and operated by NASCAR. The series tours all the way up and down the East Coast. The technology and cultural gap between Dirt Track Racing and asphalt Stock Car Racing in the NASCAR world proved to be a slight challenge for Cale during his first year with the series. But it became apparent the following year that Conley was quick to put the lessons he learned to good use, landing a few pole (fastest qualifier) awards and, after 14 starts with the series, he took the checkered flag on his first K&N Series race at Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio. During his time in the K&N Series, Cale raced with some NASCAR names you may be familiar with: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, and Ryan Blaney.

After his promising year with the K&N Series, Conley (now 21 years old) was recruited to drive a part time schedule for RCR (Richard Childress Racing) in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. “I lived my dream. That was the ultimate goal for me personally.”, said Cale.  “We raced for RCR with a part time schedule and raced with Tri-Star after that, attempting a full-time schedule, but we didn’t complete it due to lack of funding. Now, here we are, we’re out of NASCAR temporarily.”

Chasing dreams comes at a cost. “Nowadays, you’re really responsible for bringing your own funding and sponsorships to the table, and if you don’t have the funding or sponsorship, you’re out of luck- you don’t get to play in that world. It’s really a pay to play scenario now and its making it really tough for a lot of guys to get in and race.” Cale said, “At the end of those 10 races, your funding’s gone, and unless you can regenerate that, you’re not going to get those same races next year. We weren’t able to do that, so we were out of that ride.”

At the end of 2016, Cale found himself out of the NASCAR world and looking to race anything. So, he called Sprint Car owner, John Shewbrooks. Shewbrooks decided to bring Cale on board for a couple of the last races of the season. “During that time,  I saw Dave Jessup (Sprint Car owner from Dayton, Ohio) at one of the races, and he said, ‘call me this off-season and maybe we can get something together- I always wanted you to drive for me back when you were 16-17, maybe we can make something work now.'”  Since Cale wasn’t sure what Shewbrooks had in store for the following season, he jumped on the opportunity with Jessup and thus a promising new adventure began. “It worked out perfect because John Shewbrooks ended up racing with another driver, Brandon Wimmer, the next year and Dave ended up putting a deal together to where we could race with him.”, Cale said. At the time of the initial agreement, Conley and Jessup were only planning on running around 20-24 races in 2017, but ended up running closer to 40! “We were having so much fun and we won a few races. Then, over the off-season, we decided- what the heck, let’s just go run the All-Stars circuit.”

Owned by NASCAR veteran, Tony Stewart, the All-Star Circuit of Champions is one of the most competitive series’ in the world. It is the oldest sprint car series in the country by eight years to it’s rival, the World of Outlaws. The All-Star circuit takes drivers and teams all over the country from New York, to Florida, and way out west to Wisconsin. But, it’s most famous week of racing takes place in Ohio: Ohio Sprint Speedweek. Ohio Sprint Speedweek puts drivers and teams through a grueling nine races in nine days at tracks spanning all corners of the state.

“The talent level is extreme with the All-Stars. Everybody that’s in front of me in points has won a World of Outlaw race and has won with the All Stars.”, Cale said. “As a driver you don’t like getting beat, but when you’re getting beat by guys that are truly more experienced than you, you just learn from them. It’s just making me better.” Just HOW extreme is the talent level with the All-Star Circuit of Champions? Alongside Cale, the All-Stars have seen current NASCAR drivers, Kyle Larson, Kasey Kahne, and Christopher Bell, along with NASCAR veterans, Dave Blaney and Tony Stewart, grace their roster this year. “From the start of this season to where I am right now, I have gained so much experience racing against guys who are just very talented sprint car drivers. So I’m only getting better and I think that we’re knocking on the door of our first All-Star win.”

Life on the road as a race car driver isn’t for everyone. There are plenty of sacrifices that are made in order to commit to a series that takes you so far away from home for the majority of race season. “For me, its always been my dream, so all the sacrifices, the traveling, the being away from home and my family, it makes it worth it when you have one good night. One good night kinda washes out the bad nights.” Even though Cale may be traveling and away from this blood-related family, the dirt track world also serves as it’s own family on the road. “I love the team atmosphere. We make the most fun of it as we can. Even on our worst nights, we’ve got so much in life to be thankful for. When you have a bad night of racing -if you really stop and think about it- it can always be so much worse. We’re really fortunate to be able to do what we do and you’ve gotta go to bed with a smile on your face and that’s one thing we are good about, I think, is kinda keeping it in perspective.” Though Cale’s had his share of tough luck, overall he’s had a fairly good season to date. “We’re 40 races in, halfway through our season and we’ve got three wins already and we’re just livin’ it up and having a great time.”

On a typical race day, you can find Cale and team in the pits working on their car and talking with fans. The 7k crew is one of the nicest crews you’ll find. One thing I admire is how Cale engages with the younger fans. He’s always handing out stickers, signing hero cards, and taking photos with the kids. On a few nights this season, after running into some unfortunate bad luck, he and his crew divvied up scrap metal from the car’s wings and handed pieces out to kids for souvenirs. In a grass-roots sport such as dirt track racing, it’s important to get the younger generation involved to keep the sport alive. It’s safe to say Cale is doing his part to do just that.

When it comes to racing and life, it’s obvious Cale is living it to the fullest, full speed ahead, and with little to no regrets. “I’ve never really wanted to have a backup plan because I can put 100% of my focus on making it in racing. I have other passions, I just don’t know which one I would take dead serious if I wasn’t racing.” As exciting as the life of a race car driver is, there’s also been a lot of excitement in Cale’s personal life over the last year! He and his Fiancé, Emma Blaney, got engaged back in November of 2017 and are set to marry at the end of July. As if that’s not exciting enough, they just recently found out they’re expecting their first child in January.

Though racing isn’t for everyone, it’s one of those things where you should at least go experience it once before you decide weather or not you like the sport. “When it comes to NASCAR, the sounds, the smell, the speed- that’s what drew me to it. It’s just an amazing weekend if you go to a NASCAR race, especially if you go to some place like Bristol.” But, with that said, anyone who’s ever been to a Sprint Car race will tell you that there’s nothing quite like watching this class of car. “With Sprint Cars not having fenders or a stock car body, you can see the tires as the driver steers it.”, Cale said. “The raw speed of a sprint car is amazing. For those of you thinking about going to a Sprint Car show for the first time, Cale says to, “get ready to have your mind blown because these things are crazy!”

Drive. Determination. Passion. If you talk with Cale, its easy to see that he has all three. And if you’ve been able to keep up with his All-Star season this year, you’d have to believe he’s right on the verge on taking the checkered flag on his first All-Star Circuit of Champions win.

To keep up with Cale and his racing career, be sure to follow his social media accounts!

–

Race Car Show in the Mall

Some people go to the mall to shop. I go to the mall to get my first look at race cars for the year!

For people like me, the moment race cars come out of hibernation after the winter off-season is an exciting time. Drivers and teams have spent the long, cold winter months in their shops making repairs and fixing everything up all nice and sharp for the first race of the year. What better time to show them off? And what better way to do it than to put them right smack-dab in the middle of the Grand Central Mall!

Off and on since the late 70’s, the mall stock car show has been a Spring staple for fans and drivers. Four years ago, after several years of laying dormant, Steve Eddy and Adrenaline Race Products took the initiative to bring the show back. With the help of new mall management, Eddy was able to revive the car show to the tune of 51 cars this year! “The new mall management has been great and fair to work with.”, Steve said. Eddy and mall management were able to work out a fair week-long lease agreement for the space which allowed all 51 cars to have to do no more than to call the Adrenaline Race staff to reserve their showcase spot.

Haulers and trailers filled the parking lot and the unloaded cars lined the road outside of the food court entrance to the mall on Sunday, March 4th. Shortly after closing time, security expanded the doorway and the parade of cars made their way through the mall and into their assigned display spots. There were plenty of fans on hand spectating the well organized event.

Throughout the week, the mall and Adrenaline Race Products hosted autograph sessions and pizza with the drivers events where the Pizza Place offered discounts and giveaways for fans and drivers who participated in the events. They also held a fan-voted contest for the best looking car.

The show is a great way for drivers to show off their cars and the sponsors who make their race weekends easier and possible. For Adrenaline Race Products, its about more than just showing off race cars. “It’s a great way to bring awareness to the sport,” Steve Said. “People always say there’s nothing to do on the weekends in the Mid-Ohio Valley unless you’re a golfer, or fisherman, but if it’s a weekend anywhere from April through to November, there’s a dirt track race somewhere in the area.”

Dirt track racing is an inexpensive sport to watch. You can’t beat the amount of entertainment for the price to get through the gate! So, when you’re sitting at home bored some weekend, look up the closest dirt track and go see what the sport is all about!

Collage of photos from past mall shows courtesy of Kevin Travis.

2018 mall show photos are my own.

Hocking Hills Winter Hiking

Since my very first visit to Hocking Hills, I had always wanted to go back to see what it was like in the winter. The only thing holding me back was the thought that I would have to drive an hour through the snow and hike around on ice while trying not to break any bones.

I knew the conditions had to be just right for me to build up the courage to make the trip in winter:

• It had to be below freezing long enough for icicles to form.
• It had to STAY cold enough to preserve the snow and ice while giving ODOT enough time to clear the roads for safe travel.
• I had to be lucky enough to be off work on a nice precipitation-free day during this short window.
• The trails had to be anything other than a sheet of ice.

The deep freeze we’ve been having gave me some hope that, since the roads were clear, I could at least make it there without a problem, so, I layered up, grabbed my sister, and we made our way to the hills to ring in the first day of the new year with an adventure!

We were going to play it safe by only visiting Ash Cave to see the ice built up from the water that spills down from the top of the huge recess cave, but I couldn’t skip out on attempting to see my favorite spot, Upper Falls. My sister and I decided if the steps leading down to the Upper Falls were icy, we would save our tailbones, chalk it up as a loss, and head to Ash Cave, but to my surprise, the temperature hadn’t climbed enough to melt and refreeze the snow, so we had plenty of traction between our feet and the ground to safely make our way down to the falls.

I was amazed at how thick the ice was, yet you could see right through to the water flowing beneath it. Along the left hand side of the cliff, there were huge icicles that covered the massive sandstone wall from top to bottom.

We wrapped up our photo session at Upper Falls and cranked the heat in the car on our way to Ash Cave. The photos I had seen of the huge stack of ice on social media was nothing compared to finally being able to see and experience it in person! As other visitors were taking photos and examining the ice, my sister and I stood back in awe, patiently waiting for the crowd to clear out a bit so we could take photos and soak in the beauty and peacefulness of the cave and natural ice sculpture.

The contrast of the red sandstone “sand” and snow made everything pop and almost look fake. Meanwhile, the sun was peeking through the trees and would catch the falling snow as it blew from bare branches, creating a magical, breathtaking glitter effect.

As we left, I found myself immediately reflecting on the beauty and peacefulness of the little pieces of Hocking Hills we had experienced that afternoon. There was so much more left to explore. The next morning, I couldn’t help myself; I packed my camera, bundled up, and headed back to Old Man’s Cave to see the sights I left behind the day before. I hiked the entire trail starting at Upper Falls, snaked through to the gorge to Lower Falls, and made a point to visit the beautiful, but often overlooked, Broken Rock Falls. This waterfall is tucked away just beyond the Lower Falls.

I like the feeling of being all alone in stunning places like Hocking Hills, so I prefer to hike by myself and not during organized group outings. If you are the opposite of me, Hocking Hills’ 53rd annual Winter Hike is coming up on Saturday, January 20, 2018 from 9am to 11am and will take off from the visitor’s Center at Old Man’s Cave. The event is free to the public, but refreshments will be available at Cedar Falls for a donation.

I highly recommend you go see this alluring area during winter if you get the chance. But, I also encourage you to be extremely cautious while doing so. With that being said, I’ll leave you with a short list of things I made sure to keep in mind during my winter hike:

• Wear plenty of layers and something over your mouth and nose.
• Watch out for icicles. Be aware of where you are walking and standing and do not  stand directly under icicles because though icicles of that size are beautiful, they can be deadly.
• Make sure your shoes of choice have decent tread to be able to keep as much traction as possible during your hike.
• Watch out for thin ice. Most of the ice I walked on was super thick, but if you look closely, you can see thin spots that bubble as the water flows underneath it.
• Watch for icy spots along the trail. If you’ve been to Hocking Hills before, you are aware that some parts of the trail are kind of close to the edge and can make your heart race a little… Now, imagine those spots being slick with ice. Yeah, the thought scares me too!
• Following along with the last bullet point, PLEASE obey all trail signs for your own safety.
• Bring a thermos of hot cocoa or hot tea to sip on for a little added shot of warmth.
• Bring your camera/phone because you’ll regret it if you don’t!

Happy Hiking!

Daytrip to Prison

As I was sitting on the couch watching Shawshank Redemption with my husband for the umteenth time, I happened to recall someone mentioning that the prison they used to film the movie was located somewhere in Ohio. I grabbed my phone and quickly googled “Shawshank Prison”. In the results I found, “Ohio State Reformatory”. I immediately decided I would surprise my husband with a daytrip to the prison in the near future. 

A few weeks later, we hopped in the car and headed to Mansfield. After two and a half hours of driving, we rounded our last turn and there it was! It was massive,  beautiful, and haunting. We turned onto the tree-lined driveway and it was as if the trees dramatically unveiled the structure one by one. 

In complete awe, we parked the car and found our way to the entrance which let us into the gift shop where we paid the lady to start our tour. The prison is open from 11-4 daily. Tours are $12 a person, $10 for military/veterans. We were able to choose between a self-guided or guided tour. We chose the self-guided option for photography purposes, plus, there’s something eerie and fun about walking through and exploring an old prison alone. 

The details inside the office and housing portion of the prison were astonishingly stunning! The staircases and windows in particular caught my attention. The fact the wallpaper and paint had been left alone to peel and deteriorate continued to give the tour a haunting feeling. 

As we made our way through the first section of the tour, we found ourselves in the warden’s quarters, the parole board room, and the warden’s office. (Where you might recall a lot of the scenes from Shawshank Redemption were filmed between the warden and Andy Dufresne.) Certain rooms along the tour where iconic scenes from the movie were filmed were staged to reflect it and also provide tour-goers photo opportunities to sit at the warden’s desk and go through the infamous safe where the warden locked up his record books every night. 

After going through all of the wardens’ things, we made our way into a replica of Brooks’ room from the halfway house where he and Red stayed to get back on their feet after they were released from Shawshank Prison. Then, we climbed a spookily lit staircase into the open chapel. 

Along the tour route were photos of inmates and prison personnel from when the building was a functional correctional facility. We also found some original artwork from the chapel kept in cases to help preserve the pieces. 

Directly off of the chapel was the East Cell Block. We tip-toed over the steel grate walkway onto the sixth and top level of cell blocks. The view through the caged-in walkway looking down at massive windows was a jaw-dropping sight!

As we snaked our way through the levels upon levels of cells, the thought of having to live in such tight quarters made me a little claustrophobic. Barely having enough room to stand between the wall and bunks, with just enough room to fit a toilet in between the two – There’s no way I could ever live like that by myself, let alone having to live in that cramped cell with another inmate!

We finally found ourselves on the ground level and when we did, we were able to see just how massive the world’s largest free-standing cell block actually is!

Between the East and West cell blocks was the library, break room area, and the guard/ball room. You may recognize this area from the movie “Air Force One” where filmmakers turned the reformatory into a Russian Prison. I was so overtaken at the beauty of this space that it took me a good 5 minutes to realize I could see the cell blocks beyond the floor to ceiling windows. 

After taking the elevator back downstairs, we saw the sign for solitary confinement. AKA: The Hole. The loop of solitary cells was so cold, dark, and damp. The lights that lined the hall were so dim, they gave you just enough light to see where you were walking. It gave me the creeps just looking into pitch-black the cells. 

Some of the cells throughout the prison looked like they had been left just as they were when the reformatory closed its doors in 1990. Mattresses, sheets, clothing, books – it made you feel like part of the inmates still existed inside of the prison walls. 

Finally, we found ourselves in the West Cell Block. Not nearly as large as the East Cell Block. The West Cell Block can also be found in the movie “Air Force One”. My husband and I made our way around the free-standing Block and stumbled upon a gold and red cell. I stopped him and wondered why the cell was so different from all the others. Upon closer inspection, we found a paper inside that explained to us a Lil Wayne music video had been shot in this cell and on the premises of the prison. Who knew?! 

When we were finished with the West Cell Block, we climbed a few stairs, walked down a short hallway, and found ourselves back at the gift shop. Still in awe, we walked out the front doors and examined the outside of the building. We walked to the pond near the entrance where we found the “Shawshank Tree” where Andy left a letter and money for Red to find when he got out so that him and Andy could live happily ever after as best friends. The tree recently got struck by lightening, so they moved it onto the prison grounds for tourists to see. You can also drive around the town of Mansfield and find a few of the other movie sites along the “Shawshank Trail”. (Like the grocery store and the pawn shop.)

My husband and I talked about our trip for days and I couldn’t wait to show and tell everyone about our trip to “Shawshank Prison”!

The Ohio State Reformatory is ran and preserved by volunteers. The prison was feared to be demolished until Hollywood filmmakers came forward in 1994 and wanted to film a movie there. Since then, tourism, ghost hunting, and the hard work of these volunteers have kept the prison afloat. 

Outlaw MAYhem

The most competitive and highest-paying Late model touring series for Late Model racers, the World of Outlaws, made two stops near the Ohio Valley this weekend! The weekend was supposed to be a three-night event ending at Tyler County Speedway on Sunday, but Mother Nature decided that didn’t need to happen. 

The World of Outlaws Late Model series started in 1988 and continues to be one of the most popular tours in the nation. With most one-night shows paying $10,000 to win, you bet the drivers of these 800+ horsepower machines leave it all on the track every night. 

The feature competitors form a parade lap known as the 4-Wide Outlaw Salute for the fans

The weekend’s events left a couple Mid-Ohio Valley ties on the podium both nights. Friday night was night one of the Outlaw invasion and took us to Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio. Atomic, formerly known as KC Raceway, was just voted one of the top 10 tracks in the country for the second straight season. 33 Late Models poured through the pit gates at the speedway in search of the $10,000 purse.After setting fast time in qualifying and winning his heat race, 22 year old Devin Moran started the race on the outside pole next to Frank Heckenast Jr., but quickly  took the lead on the first lap and never looked back. From just up the road in Dresden, Ohio, Moran is racing his first full season with the World of Outlaws and is chasing the Rookie of the Year title.

Shane Clanton and company lined up for hot laps at Atomic Speedway

The hard charger of the night was Steve Casebolt, who was contacted the Tuesday leading up to the race learning he had landed a new partnership with Jim Beeman Motorsports. It’s safe to say the the combination started off on the right foot because Casebolt took the c9 car from 13th starting position up to 2nd and a had shot at the lead with a handful of laps to go. 

But it was Moran who took the checkers first! “Once I crossed the finish line, I know it sounds stupid, but I yelled in my helmet. Most of my emotions happen right when I cross the finish line. It’s so cool and surreal because I’m by myself in the car. That’s when i give my biggest yell, under my helmet, when I’m in the car, when no one can see me.”

Devin Moran celebrates in Victory Lane at Atomic Speedway

Reflecting back on the final few laps of the 50 lap feature, Devin had a few late contenders who tried to take his first win away from him. Brandon Sheppard and Steve Casebolt both made a couple attempts to steal his thunder, but Moran kept his calm and gave himself a little pep talk when the white flag dropped, “When I got the white flag I was like ‘don’t mess up, you’ve got one!’ I didn’t wanna mess up or hit the wall and lose the race for myself.”

2,380 fans were in attendance at Atomic Speedway for Friday Night’s event. Track owner and promoter, Brad McCown, puts a lot of effort into bringing big events to the area. “Bringing in big sanctions is great recognition for a track. We prepare just like a regular night but for bigger crowds. It’s so much more risk on bigger paying shows, but I’m a gambler so it’s just another day at the office for me.”

Joey Coulter and Doug Drown at Wayne County Speedway during hot laps

Saturday, the Outlaws made the short trek from Chillicothe over to Orville, Ohio to spend the night #2 at Wayne County Speedway. 31 Late Models checked in for the night’s festivities and things got interesting in a hurry! 

In the first qualifying group, the “Rocket Shepp”, Brandon Sheppard set a new track record. Sheppard drives the #1 Rocket Chassis house car. Rocket Chassis is one of the most popular Chassis in dirt racing and they’re manufactured in Shinnston, WV! But Sheppard’s excitement was short-lived because in the very next group, Chris “Smokey” Madden’s lap time was even faster and became your current track record holder at Wayne County Speedway.

Chris “Smokey” Madden lined up for hot laps at Atomic Speedway

It doesn’t matter where you start the race, it’s where you finish it – Sheppard and Devin Moran showed proof of that in the feature. Brandon Sheppard drew the 6th starting spot in the redraw, but faught his way up to the lead on lap 21. Meanwhile, Devin Moran, who had some car trouble in his heat race, had to make the Feature by winning the last-chance qualifier. He started 16th, but before too long found himself in the 2nd position. A couple of caution flags gave Devin the chance he needed at giving Sheppard a run for his money, but there was no touching the Rocket Shepp, as he came to the checkered flag first. 

Brandon Sheppard in Victory Lane at Wayne County Speedway



Wayne County Speedway plays host to Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars multiple times a year, but the area doesn’t get to see the either World of Outlaw series very often.  “We always enjoy bringing in the World of Outlaw Late Models. They bring a great field of the nation’s best late model drivers plus a great crew of employees who make the show go without a hitch.”, said Track General Manager, Ryan Pearson. “The racing last night was tremendous! THAT is why we bring them in. To offer a great show to our fan base. Those guys last night (Saturday) earned it & that’s exactly why we do it!”

Dirt track racing is quickly growing in popularity, especially from NASCAR fans who are tired of all the rule changes and restrictions that have made the racing less exciting. Another reason is it’s a fairly inexpensive means for an evening of fun and entertainment. Most local tracks charge between $10-$20 for adult general admission and give price cuts or free admission for kids. (Special events may mean a higher admission cost.)

I’m not afraid to travel a few hours to go see bigger races like the World of Outlaws, Lucas Oil Late Models, World of Outlaw Sprints, and the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprints, but on a normal weekend, you’ll find me at the local tracks surrporting local drivers, series’, and racing. Sometimes you get lucky and see a bigger name or two show up at a local track, which is always exciting.  

Cars in the pits at Wayne County Speedway

View of turns 3 and 4 at Wayne County Speedway

Daith Piercing

Around 3 million people suffer from migraines each year. If you’re one of these people, you know just how painful and paralizing a migraine can be. Some experience one every once in a great while, while others suffer multiple times a week! 

If you’re lucky and pay enough attention, you can narrow down some of the things that trigger your migraines. (For me, its aspartame.) Once I cut aspartame out of my diet, I went from having a migraine every few days to having a migraine every few weeks. While that was an improvement and I was happy I could go longer periods of time living my life before it came to a screeching and painful halt, I continued looking for ways I could reduce the occurrences without medicine. 

Amanda Waddell shows us her Daith piercing and jewelry.

A friend of mine and a fellow migraine sufferer, Amanda, went to her local piercing shop and got the “Daith Piercing”. It helped her migraines immediately AND it looked super cool! I kept asking her every so often how it was doing and if she had had any migraines. Her answer was always, “no”. I decided to research the piercing and results of others but, after reading about how it was one of the most painful piercings you can get, I was too chicken to actually go to get it done. 

The Daith piercing gets its name from the Hebrew word Daath (Daith), meaning intelligence or knowledge. The theory of how the piercing works is that the piercing/jewelry goes through an acupuncture pressure point in the innermost cartilage of the ear that relieves migraines and anxiety. The first Daith piercing was performed in 1992 by Erik Dakota. There has been some arguement by acupuncturists on weather the piercing placement is a true acupuncture location used in the treatment of migraines. 
One day at work, I started feeling a migraine coming on and decided I was going to do it! I went straight to The Lure in Vienna after work where I met Emily, the piercer.  As soon as I learned she had been piercing for 10 years, I knew I was in good hands! I was super nervous because I’d never had a cartridge piercing before and had no clue what it was going to feel like. Emily was amazing! She put me at ease by explaining everything to me step by step and warning me before she ever made a move. As I laid there on the table, still having the migraine sensations, she tells me, “Okay, you’re going to feel some pressure…”. She was right. I heard the pop of the needle piercing through my skin and felt the pressure of the cartridge fighting back against it. She pulled the needle through as she pushed the earring in and absorbed the small amount of blood that oozed from the newly formed hole. There was no pain, just a warm sensation which Emily helped counteract with a cotton ball soaked in an amazing cooling solution! (I wish I could’ve taken a bottle of that stuff home with me because it felt amazing!)

The Lure Tattoo & Piercing shop in Vienna, WV

As Emily and I were talking about how it wasn’t as bad as I had expected, I realized that my migraine was completely gone! I had read other testimonials about how other people would go have the piercing done while they had a migraine and would experience immediate relief, but I was kind of a skeptic until that moment. Emily mentioned, once word got out of this piercing, she went from doing 5 to 10 Daith Piercings a year to up to 20 to 30 a week! She walked me to the front desk where she explained all of the aftercare instructions and gave me a canister of sea salt spray to help clean and heal my new piercing. I can’t say enough about the professionalism and ease of my experience with Emily! 

My Daith piercing right after having it done.

After the piercing, I met my mom for dinner and then attended a concert– two things I could NEVER do if I still had that migraine! 

The healing process was long and somewhat uncomfortable at times. The cleanings were the worst part for me. I moved my heart jewelry as I cleaned it to ensure I cleaned it thoroughly and didn’t miss anything, but moving the earring was pretty painful. Aside from the pain, I had some swelling. But that’s understandable considering I just had a needle shoved through my ear cartilage. Luckily, I never experienced any issues with infections or bumps during my healing process. It took the piercing a good 4 months before the discomfort subsided. 

I have had my piercing for 8 months and can count the number of headaches I’ve had since then on one hand. The headaches I’ve had since my piercing have been a result of accidentally ingesting my trigger chemical (aspartame) or from high-stress situations. But, three migraines in 8 months compared to once a week?! I’ll take those statistics!

My healed Daith piercing with new jewelry from Steel Navel

During my Daith Piercing experience, I joined a group on Facebook called, “Daith Piercing for the Migraine Sufferer”, where others with the piercing shared their healing, success, and failure stories. I wanted to get a good idea of just how many people have had success from this piercing, so I decided to do a little survey. Out of 126 people surveyed, 29 said their migraines are gone completely, 77 said the piercing helped their migraines considerably, but they’re not completely gone, and 20 people said they’ve experienced no relief at all. 

With all of that said, I’m not a doctor, I can’t tell you that this is the cure to your migraine nightmares. Some doctors don’t agree with the piercing as a suitable form of treatment for migraines and I’m sure they have legitimate reasons for their objections, while others actually refer their patients to Emily to see if the piercing offers them relief. If you’re on the fence, don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor and weigh your pros and cons over the decision. All I can tell you is that it has worked for me and it has worked for many other migraine sufferers. If you decide to get the piercing and it doesn’t end up working for you, at least you have a cool new ear piercing! (Thats what I told myself!) 

Confessions of a concert addict

Music has always been a big part of my life. I sang to the radio in the back seat of my parent’s car and in the shower for as long I can remember. My parents took me to my first concert when I was 8 years old. They surprised my sister and I with Aaron Carter tickets and I can remember being so excited that I almost cried! Since then, I’ve been to hundreds of concerts; from big stadiums to little hole in the wall bar shows. 

Dustin Lynch, Thomas Rhett, Randy Houser, Florida Georgia Line, and Luke Bryan at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio 2015.

Concerts are my favorite thing to spend money on. You aren’t just buying something materialistic, you’re buying an experience, and to me, experiences are priceless! I give concert tickets as gifts all the time because it’s an easy way to spend time with someone and make memories together. (Plus the ticket giver gets to enjoy it as well!) I have countless stories from road trips and concert memories that will last me a lifetime of laughter and smiles. 

Adelphia Music Hall Marietta, Ohio

The concert experience isn’t just about the music, either. Along the way, I’ve made friends with some of the other fans I’ve met, some of  which have become my best friends. I met a group of girls in an online fan club of an artist we all liked. Ironically, they were coming to this artist’s concert in Marietta. We decided that we needed to finally meet in person, so we did. When I met these girls, My boyfriend (who is now my husband) was about to deploy to Afghanistan for 13 months. Throughout the time he was gone, these girls used concerts as a way to keep me excited and looking forward to girls weekend road trips to help pass the time until my boyfriend came home. I will never be able to thank those girls enough for coming into my life at the most perfect time! It’s funny how music and artists can bring people together.

Years later, the girls came to spend the weekend with me and we made it a point to go back to the place we first met. The Lafayette Hotel room 203.

I now have friends from a bunch of different states. We only get to see each other a handful of times a year, but concerts give us the perfect excuse to spend weekends together. From the time tickets go on sale, to the group texts leading up to the event, to the moment you’re FINALLY all in the same car playing catch-up on each other’s lives, to waiting outside of the venue for the doors to open, to the final moment when you’re front row at the stage watching your favorite artist… THAT is the experience and those are the memories you’ll cherish forever. 

Jason Michael Carroll at the Adelphia Music Hall

Music heals. It’s good for the soul. If only for an evening, you get lost in the music and experience and forget all about life’s little problems! It has changed my life and without it, I’d probably be a boring homebody with no friends. Instead, music has taken me all around the country and introduced me to people I would have never met without it!

Roadtrip memories of driving through the snow to the Thirsty Cowboy in Medina, Ohio for a concert weekend.

There are plenty of music venues in and  within a 3 hour radius of the Mid-Ohio Valley. Most of which hold major concerts every weekend. I urge you to grab some friends, gas up your car, book a hotel room, forget about life for a few days, and make some memories! I guarantee you you’ll end up with stories you’ll reminisce over for a lifetime!

Above and Beyond from the DJ booth at Hakkasan Nightclub in Las Vegas