Woodstock

Bob and I think the fall colors here in New York State are redder and more vibrant than we saw in Vermont or New Hampshire. Hopefully we will continue to enjoy these displays as we travel south this month.

I really like the Adirondacks and Catskills. They are much larger and wilder than we expected, and there is so much park land to enjoy. Bob and I did a great hike in the Catskills to a spectacular rock ledge overlook, and like many of our east coast hikes, it was pretty steep. It was a gorgeous sunny day though with no wind and temps in the high 50s.

On the way to the hike, we came upon Emerson Resort and Spa, so we stopped for a chocolate and looked around. This is the second Emerson Inn we’ve discovered in New England. After the hike, we drove into the lovely town of Woodstock, NY and shopped at the farmers market. Many of the townsfolk looked like they came in the 60s and never left. We even saw a classic old hippie couple that had to be in their 70s on a bicycle covered in Love posters.

I have always been sorry that I missed Woodstock – THE Woodstock in 1969. If I were able to go back in time, to any time, and experience an event, I’d pick Woodstock. So of course, I wanted to see Yasgur’s farm, but in checking things out I was surprised to find that it was in Bethel, NY, about 90 minutes from the town of Woodstock (the original plan was for it to be in Woodstock but the site changed three times). The farmland was purchased several years ago by a foundation and it is now the site of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and the Museum of the 60s and Woodstock. They preserved the stage area and hillside where the main action took place (green grass photo) and next to it is an amazing array of event venues including an outdoor concert pavilion. It was done very elegantly and harmoniously with the land.

We spent three hours in the Museum, which is fantastic. The beginning section is dedicated to the 1960s with timelines of important events and multimedia presentations on fashion, culture, the suburbs, TV, music and movements. I am always deeply touched by documentaries on that decade. It was an amazing time. The second half of the museum is dedicated to the musical event itself – history about who put it together and how the venue kept changing. They expected 150,000 people to show up but there were three times that. There were several large screen video and movie presentations that we enjoyed. By the time we left, Bob and I both felt like we’d been in a Woodstock IMAX movie for the afternoon. Don’t miss this place if you are anywhere near here. It is awesome!

It has gotten cool, even downright cold some nights, and we are expecting snow above 2000 feet tonight. We start our trek south in the morning – first to Delaware, then DC and on to Virginia. I hope we can still visit the mountains before the snow really flies.