This past weekend was one of the best I’ve had…ever. My boyfriend and I drove up to Woodstock, NY on Friday evening, where we spent two nights in a charming bed and breakfast. On Saturday, after brunch and strolling around the town, we drove to Bethel so I could see where the 1969 Woodstock festival took place – something I have been wanting to do for years. I had butterflies in my stomach as we approached the field… I can’t really explain why seeing it meant so much to me, but it left me speechless.
Saturday night we went to Levon Helm’s midnight ramble, something that takes place at his home and barn in Woodstock. The guests, Mumford and Sons, were phenomenal – a highlight was “Long Black Veil” with Levon’s band, but there was no comparison to when Levon took the drum kit and sang Ophelia. Sunday morning we drove by Big Pink, the house in West Saugerties where Levon and The Band composed Music from Big Pink and recorded the legendary Basement Tapes with Bob Dylan, before hiking up Overlook Mountain (more on that later).
Yes, this weekend will be difficult to top.
We stayed at the Woodstock Inn on the Millstream – I highly recommend it, the setting and the quaint rooms were perfect – and they had the best coffee.
This wax sculpture started out as a coffee table ~ one drip candle led to another; it’s been a work in progress since 1969.
Site of the 1969 Woodstock Music & Arts Festival
Looking up from where the stage was.
Driving through the woods to Levon’s barn… no camera’s were allowed inside.
Prayer flags on the road to Big Pink
Photos by Julia.
i am so jealous of your weekend! i have wanted to go there forever…just looking at your pictures gave me shivers! glad to know you enjoyed it :)
I have spent a lot of time in Woodstock so all of these pictures are so familiar! It’s a fun place to visit and if you have more time to spend on a trip there is really a lot more going on aside from the touristy parts – like shows, hidden vintage shops, and some really great food and farmers markets!
i am so. jealous. this is gorgeous! woodstock is amazing, i’ve been only once but it was so cool. i love the “hippies always welcome” sign :)
I’ve been dying to go to Woodstock ever since I saw Taking Woodstock a few years ago…I’m beyond jealous :)
oh, this makes me want to visit sooo bad! it looks lovely. thanks for sharing!
I am so jealous!! I have been so obsessed with woodstock and the impact it had on millions of people, ever since I seen the movie Taking Woodstock. I have wanted to visit these places.
So cool to see it now! I found some amazing photos from Woodstock on LIFE magazine last year, worth a look:)
http://sistergoldenair.blogspot.com/2011/08/festival-life-woodstock-69.html
I would give an arm and a leg to have been there! Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, and Jefferson Airplane!!! The town seems so legit too :) I’ll have to make my pilgrimage there one day
You capture the soul of Woodstock. I have family there and so I have visited many times. It really struck me that you were going to Levon Helm’s Ramble because i was there too, with my father (who LOVES The Band) and it really was a interesting time trying to find the little road to it :) great concert with great spirited people.
One of my favorite places to visit when I lived in Albany. I almost moved there. Miss it.
SOOOOO MUCH LOVVVEEEE!!!!!!
So jealous, I have been wishing that I’d be able to go to a midnight ramble for a while. Maybe my boyfriend will surprise me one day..
I was in Woodstock all weekend! I grew up there and was visiting. Should have been in touch, as locals always know whats best. Levon’s sessions are always amazing!
cool! love the feeling that transcends through the photos
This made me misty-eyed : ) it looks almost too close to perfection…
i lived on ohayo mr rd for 6 years and studied at the woodstock school of art
This post really hit home hard. This is exactly the weekend my boyfriend and I envisioned for us this sommer. Again, tears fill my eyes as I read about Levon and his barn. Big Pink. Midnight Ramble. I wish I was there before it was too late. I highly recommend you to read Wheels on Fire by Levon. It’s a book about The Band and an autobiography about his childhood etc. Really worth reading. I got it from my boyfriend for Easter this year and reading it makes me Levon miss even more.
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