"by the time we got to Woodstock.."

The wife tells me this story as we enjoy a roadtrip yesterday:

"We were visiting my grandparents near Albany one summer and my Prussian grandfather tosses down the newspaper and harumphs: "6 thousand hippies at this rock concert in Woodstock.  I bet they are ALL ON DRUGS!" and my wife's Prussian grandmother looks AGHAST and shocked and my mischievous mother-in-law who is their daughter tells them "maybe YOU should have a music festival here!" which nearly made them all faint.

It was 1969 and Woodstock is close to Albany and there were a hell of a lot more than 6000 people at Woodstock.  I was 3 that year, but no matter, it has affected us all, right?  We live in Ithaca, not too far from Woodstock, and had never been there! (the town is an artsy paradise but the actual CONCERT in 1969 was some distance away...doesn't matter, Woodstock was and is still groovy).

SO, the wife was gonna catch the train to NYC this weekend and I wanted a creative way to see her off.  Like, visit Woodstock!  And more, as you shall see....

Some things about Woodstock, and YES, I could live there happily (I like living in places with FEW rednecks and republicans, places where you don't have to explain being a liberal artist because EVERYBODY is a liberal artist).
1)  there are none, NOT a single chain anything that I could see.  The town planning must forbid McDonalds and Home Depot etc.  There are many shops and stores, all independent.
2)  I didn't realize that it was REALLY mountainous there.  BIG Catskill mountains all around, we came from the woodsy western direction, but then you leave to the east and enter a flat part of the Hudson River valley.
3)  Yes.  Woodstock knows what it is.  What it is is a beautiful old village with lakes, creeks and mountains only about 2 hours from the largest city in the US.  It is very wealthy or I should say it has a successful economy, and you can see it would be very popular May-October.  There are only 5-6000 residents, but I am sure it is crowded in summer.



We left Woodstock because I wanted to visit Storm King.  There is a sculpture park of that name there and state park which is famous.  The sculpture park does not open for another week or 2, but the state park is notably famous:  HUGE steep mountains on the Hudson River.

In this picture we are WAY up above the Hudson and on the right side of the pic is West Point.


This little mountain is more steep than you may think...and there were climbers all over it!


Finally, we went to Middletown for the wife to catch the train to NYC and see our buddies Kate and Jim... Kate, it should be noted, DID INDEED go to Woodstock in 1969 when she was a hawt young teenager with nothing better to do on a summer day than go join "6000 hippies on drugs".....

Kate and Jim have 4 cats...and invited our wee beagle to run free amongst them..which was somewhat HILARIOUS....


Strangely, and you know my musical tastes vary widely, Crosby Still Nash AND YOUNG is my favorite... and fits the mood of this trip...have a great weekend!