Well, it is official, I will be traveling to Farm Sanctuary every year.
When my husband had asked me what was it that I wanted to do for my 40th birthday - and I simply said, "I want to go to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen NY." He looked at me not with confusion, but with wonder as to why I would not have said "lets run off to an island for a few days" or something like that...then he said "ok then, we will go to the farm." He knew that being vegan is something that is very important to me and that this trip would make a difference in my life, and maybe even his.
We drove the 7+ hours to Watkins Glen, and upon arrival, I was instantly ecstatic! We made it, we made it to the place where there is nothing but peacefulness and compassion at every turn you make. And the animals, oh, the animals. All rescues, living their lives in peace and in sanctuary and now know nothing but kindness and love.
We checked in to our tiny house - amazing - and we sat on the deck and looked at the beauty of the farm. The barns, the rolling hills, the nature you see and hear - and the sounds of the cows, the chickens, of life. It was beautiful.
Farm Sanctuary provides tours of the farm to help educate folks about the animals and about farming. When you arrive for your tour, you are shown a video of how Farm Sanctuary came to be what it is today. I let my husband know that if he needed to leave during the short film, he could. But he stayed, and he witnessed the reason WHY Farm Sanctuary exists. Our trip was life changing for the both of us. It is something that I cannot explain - the power of the experience - was raw emotion.
(Tip: if you are lucky to stay on the farm in one of their cabins or one of their tiny homes [we stayed in a tiny home!] you get a private tour before the farm opens! However, if you are visiting for the day, you can join any of the tours that are held between 11am and 3pm. I encourage you to stay on the farm - but they book FAST so keep your eyes pealed in February and March when they open up reservations)
That brings me to this year...I went to the farm with my mom! I was excited to take this journey with her. When I let her know that this was going to be my annual birthday trip, she was excited to be apart of the tradition, and she could not wait to go! She was so excited that she bought us chicken leg socks - my mom is so funny and lives in the moment.
Back to the 7+ hour drive to Watkins Glen, but we stayed two nights, unlike the first trip when we stayed only one night. When we made the turn into Farm Sanctuary - my mom's eyes lit up, the same way mine did the first time I had arrived. She was clearly happy!
We checked in, got to the tiny house, and took just a few steps from the deck to see...the pigs. We walked around and my mom was in awe. She was like a little kid in a candy store. She was overwhelmed with happiness. She said to me, "this is the most amazing place on earth". Funny she said that because I couldn't agree with her more.
This trip was filled with tours, meeting other vegans, talking with members of the care team, talking with other farm staff - and of course, meeting, touching, and learning about the ambassadors on the farm - the animals.
So many of our meetings were amazing - we got to meet cows including Belinda and Diane; goats including Maggie, Goodwin, and Tatiana; all of the sheep, chickens, and turkeys like Marnie, and then of course the pigs including Joan Jet, Diane, Bob, and Eric. Oh, Eric.
My husband and I adopted Eric last December. As part of the adoption, you can visit your animal as many times as you want during the year. When booking this years trip, I let reservations know that we were proud adoption parents of Eric and they scheduled time for my mom and me to visit him. It was AMAZING. We sat with Eric and his friend Bob and we learned about how he came to live at Sanctuary and we learned about what he likes to do each day. He is a very sweet boy who is rather large for a four year old pig, he really loves his belly rubs!
Eric was made famous when the farm posted a picture of him when he was just a little piglet. Eric was holding on to his stuffed animal pig. He would hang on to his toy for hours for comfort.
The other part of our trip that was super cool was...well two things really...ok, three. First, when we were checking in, I noticed someone. I recognized this person. But I am NOT one of those people who run up to people and say "hey, I know you". So later that day, I needed to just say thank you to this person - thank you for putting your life on the line and taking raw photographs of beautiful animals surrounded by the horrors of farming. So I walked up and said "Jo-Anne McArthur?" thankfully, it was!
[note: check out We Animals and Captive - both photo books of Jo-Anne's work, also watch The Ghosts in our Machines which is a documentary of how she captures these photos and why.]
As my mom and I were walking to meet Eric, we heard and saw a true hero, Susie Coston. She was walking with calves that were finally healthy enough to go into pasture with one of the special needs herds. It was one of the sanctuary's Live at 3pm Thursdays. Although we didn't get to meet Susie, it was such a great experience to see the moving of animals from one field to another! Ok and third exciting tidbit, and this is just a star-stuck moment - Susie started following my IG account :-)
While you are on the farm, touring and learning - they do share information about the horrors of farming, the abuse the animals endure, and the conditions they live in - however - they are more focused on the recovery of their animals, their personalities and bonds they share, and the way they live. Farm Sanctuary shows you the GOOD in the world.
By now, you are probably wondering - what is this Farm Sanctuary place? And why all of the excitement and big to-dos about it? Well let me tell ya...for me, it is the most peaceful place on Earth (and this is coming from someone who lives at the beach). It is like being in a bubble and the rest of the world doesn't exist. As I have indicated a few times in this post, it is filled with peace, serenity, compassion, care, and love. The negativity in the world doesn't exist at the farm - everyone is so very nice and the care they deliver to the animals is out of pure compassion. It is really the most beautiful experience.
Still too much to say about the experience - too many emotions to explain - all I can offer is this, if you are curious, then you must visit. Whether you are vegan, almost vegan, a vegetarian, a meat eater - wherever you are on your journey to living a healthy life of compassion - you must VISIT. I promise you, it will change your life.
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