Woodstock & Vicinity

July 6, 2006



On the open road again, and having a groovy time. We finally got all packed and on our way yesterday. Traveling to the Catskill region of New York, where we had hoped to visit our good friends Eli & Mary Schloss. Sadly they were off on travels of their own, but that did not stop us from checking out the beautiful area where they live in the Hudson Valley of New York.

Our first stop was Woodstock. We figured a car like ours had to visit the infamous Woodstock, especially since we are frequently taken for hippies as we cruise about in our flowered mobile. The irony of Woodstock is that while most people associate the name with the famous 1969 concert, the actual concert did not take place anywhere near the town of Woodstock. Yasgur’s Farm was in Bethel, New York. They don’t let a little thing like accuracy stop them from taking full advantage of their name and the little town is a hippie haven complete with head shops, tarot card readers, Tibetan clothing, Indian food, delicious Veggie Burritos and tons of stores selling tie-died shirts and Grateful Dead gear. We ate lunch at a stellar Mexican place called Taco Juan’s and meandered around before heading over to check out Eli’s place in nearby Ulster Park.




His house is great, sitting on a hill looking down on the Hudson River just North of the Esopus Lighthouse. It would have been much better if they had been home, but we did meet their cat, Porchy, and a really nice neighbor who came to check out if Hippies were squatting on their place. Our tour of the area next included a trip through Poughkeepsie where we drove by my sister Marika’s alma mater Vassar before driving to nearby Hyde Park to spend the night. We stayed at a little place just across the street from the FDR home and Presidential Library and just next to a drive-in theatre built in 1950 and still going strong. We could not resist this flashback to the America of yesteryear and spent the night of July 4th watching the Adam Sandler film “Click”. The experience was way better than the film.



The entire town of Hyde Park is like a throwback to a simpler time, in addition to the drive-in, they have a roller rink and a cool old-style diner, The Eveready, where we enjoyed a spiffy breakfast before heading to the dual historic sites in town; The Franklin D. Roosevelt historic site and the Vanderbilt Mansion.

Roosevelt Home

The Roosevelt site includes Roosevelt’s home, Presidential library and museum and the burial site of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt (and their dogs). We took the full tour compliments of our National Parks pass then headed down the street to the Vanderbilt Mansion which sits on a bluff overlooking the Hudson. The mansion built as a spring and fall home for zillionaire Frederick Vanderbilt and his wife Louise is maintained with all original furnishings and is an excellent example of the gilded age.



Vanderbilt Mansion

After our tour, we made a quick trip over to Tom’s River, New Jersey to visit a friend, Matt Zuech and we plan be here for at least a day.