It has been years since I've updated on here, mostly because aside from a whirlwind trip to Madrid in 2009, I've been too poor to travel anyway too crazy. While I am currently not travelling abroad, I recently joined World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms - WWOOF - an amazing organization that connects organic farms with workers who are willing to work for free in exchange for room and board. At the request of several of my friends, this blog is now revived from a lengthy hibernation, and I will attempt to record my experiences of my first day of travel and two days of WWOOFing with requisite detail to satisfy inquiring minds.
Day 1: I learned a very important lesson about travel before even leaving my bedroom. If your mother comes to bid you farewell before a long solo journey, and warns you to "Be careful, especially at the rest stops, don't get nabbed!" - NEVER reply by saying "Ma, if it's my destiny in life to get nabbed, there is absolutely nothing I can do about it." This will certainly produce tears from your mother, and increase the liklihood of your being locked in your room for the rest of your life.
My car trip from Avondale to Orchard Park, NY was a 7 hour journey through the wilds of central Pennsylvania and western New York. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, and it was difficult sometimes to drive by some of the incredible vistas of the Appalachians without stopping. There are a few notable curiousities in the NY state countryside. First, it seems that New Yorkers love statues. I saw statues of dragons, bears, and something else strange that I don't remember. I also passed the birthplace of Francis Bellamy in Mount Morris. Otherwise, nothing too epic occurred.
I arrived at the farm around 7, and lucky for me, I had not missed dinner. Catherine, my hostess, is a wonderful lady. She welcomed me in with a tour of the house, and I put my things in a small pretty purple upstairs room with a great view of some trees behind the house. The front of the house has sweeiping views of serene fields and Buffalo/Niagara Falls in the distance (on a very clear day you can apparently actually see the falls themselves. I have not yet experienced such a clear day). After I got settled in, I had a wonderful late dinner of steak and fresh foods from the garden with Catherine, another WWOOFer Marie, who hails from Germany, Catherine's son Mikey, and a young family friend of theirs who is working here for the summer, Eric. Everyone is SO pleasant and happy, it's kind of difficult not to be in such a beautiful place. We all stayed up very late chatting,
