Woodstock

– Sam Fournier

The sun shined bright this morning as we headed off from the Big Apple and embarked on our journey for the day. After spending 3 days using public transportation in the city that never sleeps, we finally returned onto the bus to resume our adventure. I assumed my position in my comfortable window seat on the bus and took a nap to pass the time until we arrived at our destination.

Our first and only stop of the day was the historic Woodstock Music Festival site that took place in the summer of 1969. After our enjoyable lunch, we went into the museum and had the opportunity to have some free time to take a look around at some of the exhibits.

While each exhibit was super interesting in their own right, I especially enjoyed the more interactive ones. An example is when we had the chance to hear messages from people who were actually at the festival, and we got to leave a message from ourselves as if we were also there. Another interactive exhibit I enjoyed was when we got to go inside a replica bus that had a similar energy to the ones used during the festival itself.

After our time in the museum, we walked over to see where the festival actually took place. It was amazing to see how one area could bring so many people together. Billy gave us a bit of a history lesson regarding the buildup to Woodstock so we would have more context to help us understand what led to its occurrence. Something that really stuck out to me was that as mobs of people began to come to the festival, they allowed people in who didn’t even purchase a ticket. This stuck with me, as nowadays there wouldn’t be any music festivals you could attend for free. This really showed me how impactful Woodstock was. I quickly realized it wasn’t about the money for the organizers, but the principles behind it. Obviously I wasn’t alive in 1969, but I was able to comprehend the reasoning and the exposition of the entire event. A big concept we’ve been covering throughout this trip is the idea of counterculture. I think Woodstock perfectly encapsulates that: people coming together to find a community that goes against the cultural norms of the time. I also especially enjoyed the style and overall vibe of the festival as well. The groovy patterns and energy of the area resembled what we saw in San Francisco last week and I really enjoyed that.

After we concluded our visit, we were on the road once again to go on our way to Boston. We drove for several hours and finally arrived at our destination. Tomorrow we will have a full day in Boston, and I’m excited to see how our journey continues!