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Woodstock
What can I say? I’m in love, and I can’t help myself. Try to point out the faults of the
village of Woodstock, - i’m choosing to live in denial. It was only as I grew older and after
spending 3 years away from New York that I began to appreciate the amazing diversity,
the charming simplicity and the down-right funkiness of this hidden town, pop 6000.
NOTE: I’m sick of hearing all the disclaimers in travel guides written by snotty Fodor’s
writers who’ve probably never set foot in town, “Oh, you know, IT (the festival) wasn’t
really in Woodstock, IT was actually 50 miles away in Bethel.” Yeah, well, let me
straighten something out, y’all —- Go to Bethel, and all you’ll see is a little plaque, and
scraggly farmfields with a lot of horsecrap laying around, located in one of the most
economically depressed areas in the universe. Go, if you will, to Woodstock, and you’ll
find an entire town living on in the countercultural spirit that the festival represented. So
shut up, quit your whining already, and go. (Boy, this writer gets excited about nothing!)
Located on Route 212, 15 minutes from I-87, the town couldn’t be more accessible, yet is a
world away from the atmosphere of the virtually hopeless neighboring city of Kingston.
The action is centered around the one main street in the town, Mill Hill Road runs in to town to the village green, where at the intersection, Tinker St begins, Bear to the left to go “downtown”, turn right to head up Rock City Road, which will lead you to Overlook Mountain and the buddhist monastery, and West Saugerties, (former home of Bob Dylan.) Located along the winding main street (also known as Route 212) are countless miniscule storefronts containing high-quality retailers, world class restaurants, a couple fantastic live-performance spaces (see Radio) a bakery that puts forth the most amazing breads and brews the best espresso in town, a french general store, an art film house located in an old church, (call 914-679-6608 for show times) a Christian Science Reading Room, a quaint library and the highest concentration of pedestrians with dreadlocked hair found anywhere off of the island of Jamaica. (really, that’s somewhat of an exaggeration,)
Woodstock is a virtual hotbed of activism, in the spirit of the 60’s and 70’s. It would seem as if residents, when they’re not recording an album, (at one of the many studios such as this one, celebrating some festival or painting/sculpting in their barn/loft, they’re demonstrating against the death penalty or fighting city hall. Although that’s quite a stereotype, the truth is, Woodstock is an artists community first and foremost, but one of the most politically active little towns around, with considerable contrast to the republican, almost frighteningly right-wing nature of many other Catskill towns. If you want to see what I mean, listen to WDST (100.1FM), the local radio station, when their late night talk shows are on. When people announce where they're from, you'll notice views shifting widely from town to town. Every Martin Luther King Day, a beautiful memorial service is held at the town hall, there is a Memorial Day parade each May including some viewpoints on the Armed Forces not so celebratory in nature, among other events. Don’t miss the Woodstock Renaissance Faire held at the Comeau Woods each May as well — hey, why don’t you check out the Woodstock Times for interesting local news, events and listings of countless performances and workshops on everything from organic gardening., to metaphysics. A small side trip well worth it, (if you're hungry, that is) is the Zagat/NYT acclaimed Bear Cafe. The Bear is only one of 3 restaurants in the bend in the road they call Bearsville, The Little Bear offers chinese cuisine, and the Petersen House hearty, low key breakfasts and lunches. Of course, something you won't see while in Bearsville, but can imagine while there, are the Bearsville Studios, where some of the best have recorded -- was it Pearl Jam, was it Phish? was it Toad the Wet Sprocket, or was it Smashing Pumpkins? Maybe it was just Bon Jovi. (they wouldn't!!) Anyway, back down Route 212 a piece, the tourism board of Woodstock wants welcomes you here, and has a pretty informative, albeit slow, site on AOL as well,over this way. A kindly old resident has an informative site which covers the artistic aspect of the village more in depth than I have. The site gives a general overview, however, isn't very detailed.Check out the Ulster County guide and search for things to do, check out the B&B guide for information on lodging.
New Paltz
The casual traveler that reads this guide, and then, duly impressed, drops everything and
goes to New Paltz, will be cursing my name and wondering if they landed up on the wrong
planet when they first exit the Thruway at the New Paltz exit, simply because, upon first
glance, the town is nothing more than a wasteland of shopping centers and gas stations.
However, the persistent seeker that finds the courage to continue down the sloping
Main St, fighting ever-increasing traffic, will all of a sudden find the Shop-Rite’s and Fay’s
Drug Store’s end, and a wonderful little downtown begin, around Plattekill St, and
continuing down the hill to the Walkill River, where the town ends abruptly, giving way to
a gorgeous expanse of cornfields, with a spectacular view of the Shawangunk Mountains
in the foreground. If you, the daringest of travelers would perhaps end up turning off to
the left, you would stumble upon a college campus that is largely responsible for the
transmogrification of the town itself. The State University at New Paltz is a haven to the artistic,
the innovative and the alternative. SUNY New Paltz has plenty to shout about, each year
gaining higher and higher competitive ratings, and emerging as a branch of the state system
that New Yorkers can be proud of. What’s all the fuss? Click here, then come back
and read on.
A few centuries back, in Europe somewhere, there were some people called Huguenots that were being persecuted for their beliefs, and they fled to the United States. Once in New York, they sailed up river a little and found a spot on the Walkill River that they settled in and called Neu Pfalz. Today, the Paltz is a “hustling, bustling” little town of 10,.000, located 90 miles north of Manhattan, minutes from Hudson River, and the city of Poughkeepsie. It’s really easy to get to by train from New York - take the Metro North train from Grand Central Station, and catch a taxi from the Poughkeepsie station. Buses runs out of the Port Authority regularly, stopping on Main St. It’s right off of I-87 for those of you driving.
Your tour of the town should include a stroll up and down Main St, along North Front St,
the little alley of a street running between Main and N. Chestnut St., which houses a
number of little shops and the best bakery/coffee house in town. (see Espresso and
Books) Not to be missed is the Huguenot Village, on Huguenot St off of Main (turn right
just before the river) and a tour of the campus which includes art galleries and other
exhibits in various locations. Numerous teach-ins and workshops are held throughout
the year on campus, open to the public - the student body is very politically active and
socially aware, and shall I say, a little left of center. To see what I mean, click here for a
local resident’s homepage. For lodging information, click here. To be welcomed to town by the Chamber of Commerce, visit here. Hungry? Go
here. click, click, click. Isn't this fun?
Rondout
Cynic that I am, I hardly dare list the currently transforming Rondout neighborhood in
the city of Kingston in my list of America’s Funkiest. For two reasons, one - I spent 6 years
pretty much right down the street, and two-I have a basic thing against the
city of Kingston, for many reasons. Why, you ask? See reason one. But, bias aside, this little section of Broadway down on the
waterfront is shaping up beautifully as a nightlife/shopping destination for tourists and
Kingstonians alike. Certain fixtures such as Mary P’s (italian), the Hudson River Maritime
Museum and the Trolley Museum have always been here, but only recently, we’ve begun
to see little boutiques, sushi joints, a record store, a bookstore/cafe, more restaurants,
bars and clubs popping up faster than you can say downtown Kingston. I’ll admit, the
architecture is gorgeous, especially along the strand, facing the river. Abeel Street has a
charm of it’s own, sort of a SoHo type atmosphere, with the restaurants and abandoned
warehouses. Plans for a nightclub in a vacant synegogue on Abeel were shaping up
nicely last time I came up for air over there, and the excitement seems to be growing.
For the more adventurous (Kingston is clearly no Beverly Hills, folks), the residential streets all up and down the hill have some beautiful old architecture, but once you hit the cliff at the top of the hill, spare yourself the rest of the city, trust me. Uptown, Shluptown - they tell you it’s a nice place to go because no one’s going there and they’re losing all their businesses. For some interesting businesses that have held on, as well as some daring new ones, we’re talking about those here. Now, understand, I’m not trying to discourage you, the city itself is really quite quaint and there’s a great deal of architecture that I love, it’s just that there’s not much else besides. Go ahead, architecture buffs - knock yourselves out! Go see Wall St, The Old Dutch Church, Green St is nice, so’s Crown - have a ball. The Hoffman House is a good restaurant that’s been there forever, and Schneller’s on John St has great German food. See the map below.
All roads lead to Kingston (sort of), The Rondout is just off of Route 9W, and Uptown is just off Washington Avenue (which runs out to I-87/Thruway) For a fantastic calendar of events, and lodging, dining, shopping, concerts, movies and other local information piled high, visit Kingston Alive!
back to the homeland
back to the front porch
