Woodstock 2023

 Oh boy! What an Adventure!

We decided it would be great fun to take our good friends, Rick and Kate, out to Bethel, NY to see the Bethel Woods Museum and Performing Arts Center.   Hubby and I had been there in 2015 and seen the Museum but the Performing Arts Center hadn't been built.

We left with great anticipation on Saturday morning with plans to stop at Hubby's favorite place, Rein's Deli.  Huge kudos to Kate, our driver for this leg of the trip, who navigated some pretty fierce traffic on the way.  We got to Rein's about an hour after our anticipated time, and were on our way again after feasting on Chopped Liver sandwich, Pastrami on Rye, and an Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese and Lox.

We made it the rest of the way to our Air B and B in Lake Huntington, NY.  The house was out in no-man's-land, (on Devil's Road - very appropriate!!) but still only 10 minutes from the performance venue.  When we got there, we hit the first and biggest snag of the trip.  There was no water!!  I contacted the owner and got no response.

Since we were already late for the start time of the concert, we figured we'd get going and figure out the house and water situation when I heard back from the owner.

As we were leaving, the rain started.  But, being the good boy/girl scouts that we are, we had anticipated the rain and had come prepared with raincoats and umbrellas.

We parked out in the boondocks somewhere (we were in section F) and hiked into the venue.  Then hiked another quarter mile to our seats!!  It was pouring out the whole time, and we thought we'd be so grateful that Kate had had the good sense to purchase tickets under the roof rather than getting the cheap lawn seats.  However!!  Our seats were along the edge, and the rain was blowing in, so our rain gear came in pretty useful!!

Thankfully, we all have the attitude of "make the best of any situation", and we managed to have a great time.  Eventually the weather cleared up and the sun almost came out.

The tickets we bought were for the "Outlaw Music Festival".  There were four bands, one of which was Willie Nelson and Family!!

In between acts, we went for something to eat.  There were dozens of vendors all lined up along the pathway  (I suspect that's why you had to walk so far - to make sure you see all the vendors!) and Hubby had spied a Calzone vendor so we went there.  Hubby, however, had a bit of a problem eating his!  I had to clean him up like one of my preschoolers!!

The other musical acts were very good, but we were really there to see Willie!  And he did not disappoint!  He came out, greeted the crowd, and got right down to business.  He was accompanied by his son, who was an excellent singer, guitarist and songwriter.  He also had several other musicians, including a harmonica player who was outstanding!

He played a lot of great songs, his son played some very good and funny songs that he wrote, and then Willie played all his old favorites.  It was a great way to end the evening!

Long hike back to our car, (after a stop at the porta-potties) and Kate navigated us out the back way like a pro!  

At 11:30pm I finally heard from the owner of the house, and ..........sorry........can't get a plumber out there until Monday!  It was way too late for us to find somewhere else to stay.  So, like the troopers we are, we went back to the house and made the best of the situation.

In the morning we thankfully had some bottled water so we were able to make coffee and tea.  I had brought muffins and Kate made toast and we were on our way.  Humongous kudos to Rick (my hero!) who found a bucket in the shed and went and knocked on a neighbor's door to get enough water to flush the toilets.  (The neighbor said the owner was a bit strange...hmmm...ya think?)

We made it to the Museum at Bethel Woods right when it opened (and used the toilets that flushed!). The place is just amazing with hundreds of photos of the sixties, and lots of very nostalgic videos.

The Magic Bus!

When you sat inside the bus there was a video playing.  Between videos Tag decided to drive the bus.

There was so much information about the sixties and the musical influences of that time, and about the Woodstock Festival of 1969, by the time we left we all agreed our brains were full!!!

One more thing before we were on our way.  We drove around to the other side of the site, to see the Monument that was put up on the actual site of the Festival.

On the way, we found Tag's road!!

I don't think he knows which way he's going!!

Imagine 450,000 concert-goers descending on this field!!  And they invaded the tiny town of Bethel with a population of 2700.  They said when the Woodstock concert was in full swing, it was the third largest "town" in New York state for that weekend.

Having decided, of course, not to stay the second night, we headed back.  But not before stopping at Rick and Kate's favorite, the Blue Colony Diner, where we got the biggest salads I'd ever seen in my life, and some truly delicious Challah bread.

Rick was our driver on the way home, and he did a great job with only two angry horn blasts!

Despite the obstacles of traffic, rain and no water, we had a great time with great friends.  Rick and Kate are easy traveling companions, always amenable to any plans and easy-going when things don't go as planned.   We got to see what we came out for, and had some great conversations, some laughs, and some great food as well!