Hiking, Dirty Trails, & Falafel for My Birthday

While it is not officially my birthday today, I have been treating it as such. My 30th birthday is tomorrow (Monday) and I will be at work. A Monday is no day to have a birthday, but I can't control the calendar. Luckily, I work with awesome friends who are taking me to lunch. A coworker is even making me vegan cupcakes. I feel very special! I work with great people.

Since I was treating today as my official birthday, I wanted a casual celebration doing what I love- spending time in nature and eating vegetarian food. Therefore, we attended the Sunday Walk in the Park at the Eno River run by Stephanie, our friend and organizer of the Triangle Vegetarian & Vegan Meetup Group. I have been looking forward to this event all week. Several friends and acquaintances were attending and I could tell we would have a good group. I was right!


We arrived early to the park because I had the time wrong by a half hour. Fortunately, it was a sunny and we had time to relax in the warmth. During that time I saw several dogs and got to pet a Beagle. My day was already off to the right start! Shortly thereafter, the whole group arrived and we chatted a bit before heading out. I could already confirm that we had a great group!

We agreed upon taking the Fanny to Cox trail to make our hike a little less than three miles. The names of the trails had us laughing and the jokes abounded. Along the trail we also discussed vegetarianism, berries, organic farms, Psychology, iPhones, etc. and somehow we managed to laugh the whole time. Walking up a hill while laughing is quite challenging. My ab muscles got double the workout (or at least that is what I am telling myself).

After the hike, we decided to meet up at International Delights on Ninth Street in Durham for a late lunch. I got the international platter which consisted of several vegetarian sides (falafel, tabbouleh, hummus, dolmas, and pita). The food, company, humor, and conversation rocked!

From lunch, we headed to Whole Foods where we would separate and shop. We could not get enough of each other because we spent a while chatting in the produce section. We continued to laugh about FANDI's (Dr. Fuhrman's nutrient scale with our own twist), thievery, dirty names for trails, and more.

While this all might not seem like much to the average person, this was all very special to me. I have had a hard time accepting turning 30 and this was just what I needed. Laughter, after all, is the best medicine.

Hiking At Eno State Park

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy,while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

~John Muir

John and I enjoy hiking and we do not get to go nearly as much as we would like. When I was in graduate school in the mountains of Virginia, John would visit me during the summer and we would spend entire days hiking. We spent time on the Appalachian Trail and other areas nearby. We had many interesting adventures that we talk and laugh about to this day. We learned a lot about hiking, direction, and compasses during those summers! We were exposed to many parts of nature that we had never experienced and are thankful for each and every things that crossed our path.

One of the many things John and I have in common is enjoying nature. Even before we dated, and were just friends, we spent much time outside in nature. We both have the need to explore and see the beauty that is God. I personally find that I am the most connected to God when in nature.



While in college, I would retreat to the hiking trails, campus ponds, and woods when I needed to solace. I would spend time in conversation and prayer with God. I cannot help but be touched by God's spirit through all of the abundant life in nature. This is my true reason for being an environmentalist. Destroying nature and the environment is a direct hurt to God.


I always feel like John and I grow as a couple and in our spirituality when we hike together. We are always amazed by the beauty and feel at peace while in nature. We are thankful to live near a beautiful state park that has many hiking trails. Many of our Saturday afternoons are spent hiking in Eno State Park, when the weather is not too hot or cold. We especially enjoy the spring when everything is blooming and autumn when everything is changing colors.



Our most recent hike was this October where we witnessed the beginning of the changing of the leaves. We walked on the trails and crunched in the fallen leaves. We were dazzled by the river and its ability to reflect the changing colors. The river mirrored the brilliant colors and carried the leaves away. I felt sheer peace our hike. It helped me clear my mind and prepare myself for the upcoming work week. It was stress release at its best for me.


During our hike, we stopped to take a picture of our vegan hiking boots. Several Christmases ago, my parents bought us vegan hiking boots so that we did not have to hike in our sneakers. Our boots are SO comfortable and we are proud to say that they are cruelty free.


I cannot wait for our next hike. I hope it is soon!