Got back Friday evening. Started in Buffalo/Niagra. The falls are cool, walking on that foot bridge to canada is also cool but overall that entire area is a big toursit trap. After a half day there we drove over to Oswego NY on Lake Ontario just north of Syracuse. My wife's from there. Went to the NY State Fair twice which blew me away. Stayed in that area for a week. 5 days in a VRBO above a bakery and 2 days at her sister's house which was this cool old farmhouse built in 1847, loved that old house, they keep it clean and have done a great job renovating it. The dining room felt like a Norman Rockwell thanksgiving scene. From there we drove up to Alexander Bay and did a boat ride around the thousand islands, toured Boldt castle. That's an amazing part of the country on the St. Lawrence River. Then drove over to Plattsburg, took a car ferry across Lake Champlain to Burlington Vermont. Camped at a campground on the lake about 2 miles from downtown Burlington. Loved Burlington, they had a Criterion going on when we were there, the town is very similar to Athens. Discovered a great record store there, Burlington Records. Drove through the Adirondacks and stayed at lake George for a day. Then went to Saratoga Springs, amazing town, this was the first upscale town we hit on the road trip. We rented bikes and biked along their park which is huge. Drove from there south along the Hudson River and visited the Hudson maritime museum, very cool place. Finally ended the trip driving across the Catskills and arriving in Bethel Woods, NY (Woodstock 69 site) and toured the area. That place is super cool, nothing much has changed there, farms are all there, super out in the country, nothing is out there but that spot which is now a museum and an official concert amphitheater not on the original site.
I found a great appreciation for the state of NY, we didn't visit the fingerlakes, NYC or Long Island but what we did see, I absolutely loved.
The owner of Burlington Records was a super cool guy, not pretentious, just a normal guy trying to make a living selling records. The store was super clean, and everything was accurately listed. He had such a great variety of genres. The experience of talking to him and browsing through his store really reminded me of my college days in Athens.
Loved the road trip, the first time we just got in the car and drove as a vacation, lots of spontaneous decision making and lots of unexpected places we saw along the way.
Anyway, here's a live version of Going to California - April 1, 1971, at Paris Theatre from the bootleg I picked up from Burlington Records in Burlington, VT from the trip. The actual bootleg was pressed in 1984 from the original recording tapes. The record is super clean, the jacket is very fragile but in good condition for 40 years. This performance was before their 4th album was released.
I found a great appreciation for the state of NY, we didn't visit the fingerlakes, NYC or Long Island but what we did see, I absolutely loved.
The owner of Burlington Records was a super cool guy, not pretentious, just a normal guy trying to make a living selling records. The store was super clean, and everything was accurately listed. He had such a great variety of genres. The experience of talking to him and browsing through his store really reminded me of my college days in Athens.
Loved the road trip, the first time we just got in the car and drove as a vacation, lots of spontaneous decision making and lots of unexpected places we saw along the way.
Anyway, here's a live version of Going to California - April 1, 1971, at Paris Theatre from the bootleg I picked up from Burlington Records in Burlington, VT from the trip. The actual bootleg was pressed in 1984 from the original recording tapes. The record is super clean, the jacket is very fragile but in good condition for 40 years. This performance was before their 4th album was released.
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