Our New York Trip! Farm Sanctuary, Watkins Glen/Ithaca, Seneca Wine Trail, and Niagara Falls! {Southshore Photography}

Every year, Jose and I take a road trip to upstate New York for Farm Sanctuary's annual hoe down. As many of you may already know, we are both vegan and very passionate about animal protection issues...so Farm Sanctuary is basically a dream! Their annual hoe down is a great way for us to relax, camp out, get some great shots of the scenery, meet other liked-minded individuals, and of course, spend time with the rescued animals!

Theresa, a rescued cow, was AMAZING! We found this sweet little girl hanging out by herself. She is mising her left eye, so when I came up to her, she turned around to get a good look at who was giving her some lovin'! She is such a survivor.

This turkey girl was super friendly...and a bit demanding for affection! She came up to me and kept yelling until I pet her! I sat there for a while and gave her some affection, but when I decided to get up and leave, she wasn't having it and decided to tug my hair! It was adorable, so of course I had to stay a bit longer. Notice her smug "I got my way look" in the last shot! :)



Marino was such an AWESOME turkey! When I talked sweet to him, he would come over and show off a bit! At one point, he also did a little dance and stomped his feet. He knew he was cool...

This is Stryker....Jose and I wanted to take him home with us! Stryker is a sweet little boy who couldn't get enough affection. He kept following us wherever we went...in and out of the barn! Whenever we would pet him, he would snuggle into the straw.



Stryker strikes again...here he asks Jose to pet him now!

When Jose did (and Stryker got his way, of course....who could resist?), he laid down and closed his eyes several times. It was adorable. I miss Stryker!



The turkey girls loved affection and hanging out with their friends on a beautiful day! This is the way life SHOULD be!

When we visited the pigs, they had just finished up their lunch. A few of the especially clever ones stayed back and checked for leftover crumbs while the others left for the pasture. The sweet little girl below even lifted up the trough to see if there was anything underneath! Not surprising, considering that a pig is smarter than a three year old child! After getting every last bit, it was out to the pasture with the rest of the pigs! :)



The sheep were so sweet...it was impossible to love up just one! Someone else would always get jealous and come over for some affection, too! Often times, I didn't have enough hands...

These two goats could not get enough of each other! It was so amazing to witness the friendships and bonds that many of these rescued animals formed at Farm Sanctuary.

Mmm...that must have tasted good!

This sweet little rescued chicken still has feet and leg problems. Chickens raised on factory farms are genetically bred so fast that their legs and feet can't keep up and often break. Thankfully, this chicken has been rescued and is being well taken care of by the caring people at Farm Sanctuary. To learn more about factory famring issues, please click here.

This is Autumn and Brady...they were rescued seperately but have been inseperable since they met at Farm Sanctuary. Their adorable story is here.

All of the animals at Farm Sanctuary are living, feeling, beings that have their own stories. Sometimes their stories have sad and often tragic beginnings, but each has been given a happy ending thanks to those who have cared! Jose and I encourage you to check out Farm Sanctuary and the work they do on behalf of animals.



After camping out at Farm Sanctuary for the weekend, Jose and I spent the week checking out the state park, eating awesome vegan food (such as soy cheeze pizza!), going to tastings along the Seneca Wine trail, and visiting Niagara Falls! We had a blast!

Mmmm...vegan cheeze pizza at Pizza Aroma!

Niagara Falls!