My Birthday Getaway Part 1 - High Falls and Rosendale New York

   

     Two years ago I attended the NYC Vegetarian Festival in New York City for the first time. It was amazing to see so many tables set up selling vegan/vegetarian food, cosmetics, clothing, and other organic and cruelty-free products that do not test on animals in their production. Many of the vendors give free samples to help promote their business.
     One of the pamphlets I took was from the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary which was in the process of moving their location to a larger piece of property in High Falls, NY. They offer tours on weekends during the warmer months and are always looking for volunteers, which I knew I'd want to sign up for! You can go to their website for more information about visiting, volunteering and donating to help support their efforts at http://woodstocksanctuary.org/.

     I had been living a vegan lifestyle for about 8 years at that time because of the cruelty that goes on in the slaughter houses. My birthday is September 15, as well as my first son who had returned from being in Germany for 2 years with the US Air Force. I decided that for my birthday I wanted my kids and boyfriend (none who where vegan at that time) to come with me to visit this farm that had many different farm animals that had been rescued from some kind of cruel treatment and even those which survived what many animal rights activists call an "animal holocaust" (http://ethicalvegan.net/read/animal-holocaust).
     I was so excited for all of us to be going and really hoped it would make some sort of impact on my family and make them think twice before wanting to eat cows and pigs anymore. We brought fruit and vegetables to donate for the animals to snack on. Although we missed the tour, we walked around and heard some of the stories of how one little pig escaped a slaughterhouse and was brought in by a nearby resident that only owned horses. My heart broke when I saw a young cow wearing prosthetic boots on her front legs. I found out that she was born onto a concrete slab in a slaughterhouse, injured her legs, and didn't get proper medical treatment. Somehow she was rescued by someone who cared enough to give her a better life and brought her to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. Now Fawn is living a happy life on a farm for the remaining of her years on earth.

     When we got to the goats' barn I saw one standing on 3 legs eating some hay. One of his front legs was sticking out to the side, clearly not the way it was supposed to be. Apparently his shoulder was broken from mistreatment wherever he previously was and it was never set properly, but instead just left to be in pain and eventually disfigured for the rest of his life.

When we visited Woodstock Farm we were told that at that point he was not in pain and functioning fine the way he was. There are so many animals with a sad story from the chickens with frostbitten toes from traveling in trucks in freezing temperatures, to the turkeys with their beaks cut so they wouldn't peck at each other while in too close of quarters, to Puddles the duck who was raised as a domestic house duck and then given away like one of the millions of cats in animal shelters around the world.
     I'm pretty sure my family enjoyed the visit and looked at farm animals a little bit differently since then. My older son has been mostly vegan for a couple of years, my daughter has been vegetarian for several years, and my other other is not quite there but only has vegan/vegetarian options when he is home.

I feel that for every bit of effort each person makes to eat less animal products, that's more animals living a happier life. It's all about supply and demand.

       After walking around the property and visiting all of the different types of animals, we asked the volunteers for suggestions of places we could go to eat that I could get a vegan meal. We took their suggestion and went to The Rosendale Cafe on Main Street in Rosendale, NY. Although it was a Saturday afternoon and their was nothing going on at the time, I could tell by looking at the place that it had a lot to offer besides good food with vegan/vegetarian options. I ordered an eggplant sandwich with basil pesto, roasted red peppers, lettuce, tomato and onion with nondairy cheese on a baguette...so yummy!

     Tuesday nights is Singer-Songwriter night from 8-10 pm with performers playing 15-minute sets. Thursdays are Salsa nights with lessons 7:30-8:30 for $10 and dancing until 10 pm. This Sunday, Sept. 24th will be free Celtic music at 4:30 with Sarah Underhill and Ian Worpole starting their 12th season of Sunday afternoon Celtic song & tune. You can check out www.rosedalecafe.com for more a full menu an upcoming events.

     

    I'm so excited that the New Jersey Vegfest will be in my home town of Secaucus, NJ at the Meadowlands Convention Center October 7th & 8th from 10 am to 5:30 pm (njvegfest.com) with several very interesting speakers -Saturday, October 7 Keynote Speakers: T. Colin Campbell & Gene Baur and October 8 Keynote Speaker Dr. Joel Furhman.

I've met Gene Baur, co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, when I volunteered at the NYC Walk For Farm Animals a few years ago in Central Park, NY.  Gene was one of the pioneers in undercover investigations and was instrumental in passing the first US laws banning inhumane factory farming practices. I found his book Farm Sanctuary to be very heartfelt and inspiring.

     Since visiting the farm on my birthday two years ago, my daughter and I have gone several times to volunteer, including last weekend for my birthday again. We stay over night and make a mini vacation out of it, which I'll be writing about in Part 2 of my "My Birthday Getaway" blog...

Be The Person You Were Born To Be!

     There's something about having a birthday that makes many people stop and reflect on how their life has been so far and what else they'd like to do while they still can. Some people look at their birthday as "another year older" as if it's a bad thing, regardless of how "old" he or she is. When I'm turning 97 I might feel the same way, but hopefully I'll feel I'm "another year wiser"and since I'm only at the halfway mark in my life I'd like to think of my birthday as a blessing!

      My first child was born on my 23rd birthday (September 15th), so I will always have a reason to be happy about my birthday. Jesse joined the United States Air Force when he was 22 and ironically, for the first time in his life, we did not celebrate our birthdays together when he turned 23. I saw that the Bill Botino Mud Run for cancer was being held on our birthday so I thought it would be a great way to celebrate my birthday for the first time without him. The photo of the two of us was taken the following year when I flew to Germany to celebrate our birthday together a little early.

     Each year I seem determined to do something that makes me look and feel better than I did the year before, but that's probably just my highly self-critical Virgo nature. Last year I decided to perform in my first Belly Dance Show with Amira Mor and her dancers. It was stressful, challenging and fun all at the same time! These are just few of the amazing women I've met at her classes.

Of course I had to make sure that I looked better turning 50 than I did the year prior. All of my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and every other social media photos were hash tagged #50andFABULOUS!
     With my birthday approaching in one day, I realize I spent the majority of this past year putting time into the aesthetics of my home rather than obsessing (as much) over my body which is a good thing! I've also spent more time working on new vegan recipes, occasionally volunteering at the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in New Hope, NY, and also collecting items to bring to the farm and local animal shelters. These are things that make me happy!

     Although I've participated in a few fun events for charity and did several local day trips, I realize that my traveling has been minimal the past couple of years mainly because my dog Willie is older and gets anxiety when I'm not around for more than a day. I do plan on taking a small road trip with him while I still can but he doesn't get along with other dogs so I have to find a place that allows pets but doesn't have dogs running around off their leashes. If anyone has any suggestions not too far from NJ, I'd greatly appreciate it!

I've always had more of a greater appreciation for having new exciting or stimulating experiences than I have for obtaining material possessions. Some day I will be able to travel again, but I'll also be devastated because I won't have my fur baby, so for now I'm enjoying the moments I have here and making my bucket list for the future.
     I became vegan about 9 years ago, shortly after reading the book "Skinny Bitch" which opened my eyes to the horrendous treatment towards the animals in slaughter houses. It was much harder then to travel and go out to eat and get anything besides a salad or french fries. Social media has enabled vegans, vegetarians, and health-conscious people to connect and share their experiences and opinions about restaurants and establishments that provide what they are looking for.

   

 I've started my new "FoxyFIT360Lifestylechange" blog with the intentions of sharing my experiences about places I've traveled to, restaurants that offered vegan/vegetarian options, and the uniqueness of those places...and photos, of course!

I'm hoping my readers will comment and give suggestions for anyone planning on visiting the same places. I often post photos of food I've made on my "Cindy Fox Fitness"social media and sometimes have followers asking me for the recipe, so some of my posts will be strictly about yummy, healthy food.

I hope you enjoy my blog, subscribe to it, and share it with your foodie friends, animal lovers, and adventure-seeking traveling companions! You can also go to www.cindyfoxfitness.com for contact info and my other social media links.