Day 1 at The Farm

I arrived at the farm , passed the main gate and became completely lost. The map said turn right on the second road so, there for I turned down the second road which was a clay rock and dirt road with a large brown house which i later found out was Ina May and Stephen Gaskin's house. Then i passed an clay dwelling on the left. The road ended in front of a very large house that ended up being Louise's house. This is where we would meet every night to eat dinner that was completely vegan.

So, i backed up and relized that i was lost. I droved down the next road. It was lined with little homes with gardens in there front yards. My car bounced around from the rocky road. the road soon came to a dead end. I turn my car around and be gain to freak out a bit. It was then that i realized that the second road on the right meant that i take a right on Second Road.

I found The Farm Clinic and three girls were outside sitting at a picnic table. They showed me to my dorm . The dorm was a small cabin with eight beds in it. when I say small I mean like 300sq ft.I picked a bed in a room with one bed and a set of bunk beds. The bed was pretty soft much better then I was expecting.

After I got set up . two girls invited me to walk with them to the swimming hole. they said it was a short walk so, I agreed to join them. We walked up the road ,passed the farm store and turned left down a paved rd that turned into the familer clay rocky roads I had gotten lost on. We walked down a steep hill that was covered with rocks and roots. I toltally thought I was going to fall and break my neck.We reached the swmming hole that was filled with small children. It had rock cliffs on the right hand side . the water was a murky green color that you could sorta see though.

I hung out there for about ten minuets then made the walk back . The walk back about killed me. it was all up hill and about a mile long.When I airved back to the dorm I was so sweaty and out of breath i could barely talk.

It was time for us together to register and get our binders that we would need for the week. We got our name tags and did introductions. Ya know, where every one in the room says there name , where they are from and what they do. I hate doing that.

We were told the rules and then we were off to dinner at Louise's house. when we walked in the house kept getting bigger the further you walked in. She had a lovely table set up for us and she had made lovely vegan burritos for dinner with an apple cranberry tart for desert.As we all joined in the big room Ina May walked in. I found my self star struck . I couldn't believe that Ina May was in the same room with me!! After dinner we went to the community center to here a lecture on the history of The Farm.

I realized that this placed was once a happening place . but, a lot has changed over the years. The Farm only has about 175 residents now compared to the 1,500 in the late sixties and early seventies . After the lecture it was time for bed . I showered and changed knowing that tomorrow would be a big day.