Sedona, Day 2: Conference

Yay!

It is VegFest day!!!

The lecture I was most anticipating was 

Dr Michael Greger's talk at 9 am on Saturday.  

Here's what I wore.

blouse: A New Day (Target)
sweater: A New Day (Target)
pants: INC International Concepts
shoes & socks: Target

The location was beautiful.

The venue was the Sedona Performing Arts Center,

which is also the auditorium for the high school.

I saw this majestic hawk swooping around the grounds as I was walking in.

It was 32 degrees when I left the hotel - brr!

There were also hot air balloons enjoying the beauty of the sun rising

over the red rocks.

Here's the schedule of events:

The view from the venue is fabulous!

The flower arrangements were pretty, AND they had bell peppers in them!

Very inventive!

I ran into Sara and her Mom!  Hi, Sara!

And then Dr Greger spoke - hooray!

As they were introducing him, he was standing off to the side, drinking

a hot beverage.  I wanted to ask if it was hot hibiscus tea (he talks a LOT

about the health benefits of hibiscus tea!)

There's itty bitty Michael Greger!

Looks like it's from a similar age to the elementary school photos I have,

and indeed, Dr Greger is two years and one day older than I am.

Top 15 causes of death . . . 

And I got to meet him!

I thanked him for his work, which has been a major influence on my health adventure.

Because of THIS VIDEO of his, I decided that trying a plant-based diet was worth a try.

Because of that shift (and other lifestyle changes, but mostly diet), though I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease over 7 years ago, I haven't needed to take medications for it.

I'm not always in perfect shape, but who is?

I'm healthier than I ever have been as an adult, my stamina has been increasing,

and I feel good about living in a compassionate way, causing as little harm as possible.

Watch his lecture, "Uprooting the 15 Top Causes Of Death," here.

Get the book, "How Not To Die," here.

Get his second book, "How Not To Diet," here.

Watch a talk here about best methods of weight loss,

based on what he discovered when researching his most recent book.

It was worth the wait just to say THANK YOU in person.

I went back to the hotel for lunch and ate on my patio,

though I got too chilly and needed to go back inside after a little while.

I had a smoothie, a gluten-free bun, and cashew cheese with rice crackers.

During the afternoon break, I discovered that the road past the school

led right to this pretty view!  There wasn't a place to walk, so poked around more behind the school.

I found this trail back there!

(Spoiler: I hiked it the following day!)

After I was finished at the conference, I went to Chipotle.

It's a gorgeous location!

I went back to hotel afterwards and enjoyed the fire,

the views, and some Netflix and reading.

Oh, and the wristband for the first day was neon green.

What a wonderful day!