Farm Sanctuary, Watkins Glen, NY

I took a detour from my business travels and went away to Watkins Glen, NY for Memorial Day weekend. What a great idea. Thanks, James, for putting it together! We stayed in a cabin and had tons of fun.
It's been challenging for me to try to put together a post about Farm Sanctuary. I don't know how to convey how amazing this place is. It is a wonderful haven for farm animals who have been rescued and given the chance to live out their lives peacefully and happily, free from pain and abuse. The need exists for places like this because of the extreme cruelty that goes on in factory farms. Contrary to popular and comfortable belief, all animals are treated poorly when they are viewed as a commodities (see photo of the depiction of a gestation crate and a battery cage). The ones who are killed for meat may even be treated better than those used for eggs and dairy. This applies to "organic" and "free-range," as well. Do you REALLY know what goes on on these farms? It's all worse than you think. For more information, see Farm Sanctuary's website.
We also went to Watkins Glen State Park, where we saw all the gorgeous waterfalls. the sandwich is from ABC Cafe in Ithaca. Good stuff! In other photos, you'll see a depiction of a deer hunting a human--instead of buying it, I photographed it!

Join the Farmy!

Here I am with Gene Baur, Founder and President of Farm Sanctuary. What an amazing person! Much more blogging and tons of photos to come this week. Right now I am beat!

What a ride!

I didn't think there'd be anything to post today, but we had quite the ride to the airport. Let's just say it smelled like our driver was having a good time before he picked us up...shady, but made for a funny ride.
While I'm here, I'll share that I found out the name of the bar we went to yesterday--Fric Frac (thanks Joe). We also had a bit of a humorous lunch experience at the airport. There was a sign for a yummy-looking restaurant right before security, indicating that the restaurant was after security. The "restaurant" was a food stand with pre-made salads and stuff. So we went to Quiznos. I actually ended up going through security 3 times. My veggie sub wasn't so great, but it did the trick.
Tomorrow: Farm Sanctuary!

Ants on a Tree

I went out to dinner last night and I ordered Ants on a Tree. It looks really yummy in the picture but it was way too salty--even for me! I went with two fabulous vegans--Claire and Joe. We had a blast. We also went to a bar after, but I don't remember the name (bad blogger!) It was a total blast. Their food at Blue Koi was awesome--plus we had an awesome tofu appetizer--literally. It was called Crispy Tofu with Spicy Awesome Sauce. Now I'm just relaxing in the hotel, getting ready to catch my flight home. Hope you enjoyed my trip to KC as much as I did!

Kansas City has been awesome so far! Yesterday was exhausting. We flew out of Philly at 7:45am and then went to lunch at a Mexican place called Baja. Good thing I asked if the rice and beans were vegetarian--they were not! I had some nice (though way too oily) veggie fajitas. We sat outside and I actually got a little bit of a sunburn. We then stopped by Three Dog Bakery, where they make gourmet dog treats. The place was amazing. After our little jaunt around the Plaza, we stopped by a tea shop and a Wild Oats Market that are right by the hotel and then we all completely crashed. After that, it was time to eat again. I managed to convince everyone to try Eden Alley, a very cool veggie cafe. It was good for my food ADD because they had an option to try a soup or salad and smaller versions of two of the specials. I had a chef's choice salad, half an eggplant sandwich, and some pesto pasta. To drink? Kombucha--excellent. I am enjoying the Spanish theme of the Plaza area, as you can see in the pics.






I do not know why the text is bold or how to caption pics! I pledge to become a better blogger when I have time.

Pre-travel cooking

So I'm vegan. And what do vegans do? We take pictures of our food and post them on the internet! This is going to be partially a cooking blog because when I am not traveling, I'm going to be SO excited about being able to cook! Tonight I cooked something from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer. I usually get annoyed with this book because it typically only makes enough for about two good meals, but when you're not gonna be around, that is totally perfect. So I made Margo's Veggie Peanut Stew--unbelievably delicious!
I've gotten a lot of response about my adventures and my entrance into the blogosphere. Thanks for the support! To answer everyone's burning question, my first trip is to Kansas City, MO. It's the pilot site so I'll only be there from Wednesday to Friday. Tomorrow: packing...

Testing

Welcome! I've entered the world of blogging and I'm glad you're here with me. Maybe I'll get really into blogging and do it even when I'm not traveling! I just want to point out that my posting will of course be limited by confidentiality, but I'll get in what I can.
Here is a text pic of my cousin's daughter, Marianna because she is cute.