At the time I was living in New Jersey when I found out about the festival. A group of my friends and I finally were able to get tickets. There were seven of us all together. Our only means of transportation was one of my friend's VW bug. When the day come for us to leave, we made sandwiches and all piled into the tiny car. The ride from Park Ridge, NJ was not all that long however stuffed into that tiny car it felt like forever. About a half hour after we finally got on the road, one of the girls made us turn around because she left her tickets at home. So we went back, got her tickets and everyone else checked to make sure we all had ours. The ride was exciting, at first. When everyone finally settled down, it seemed that every few minutes we had to stop for someone's bathroom break. The whole ride was everyone complaining about someone's knees or elbows.
We finally get to the NY State border and it seemed that the rest of the way was going to be an easy drive. Boy, where we wrong! Eventually, we hit some heavy traffic. At first we thought that it was probably an accident or construction and would clear up soon. Wrong again! After what seemed like endless hours we decided to pull over somewhere and walk. We figured that we were close. We walked and walked and walked and walked. Every now and then one of us needed to stop and rest. By the time we finally got to the festival site, It was already the morning of the second day. To our surprize, no one was taking our tickets. It was free. The rest of the concert was fantastic. We had a great time, and forgot about our sore feet and hunger. Everyone there was fantastic. A lot of people shared their food with us among other things. When it was over, to our surprize, the car was still where we left it and undamaged. When I got home, all I could talk about for months on end was the great time we had at the festival.
A few months after we got home a couple of us got our draft notices. Even though I had to serve in the Army and got shipped overseas, I never forgot the time I saw some of the greatest musicians and the friendliest people I've ever met. After I was discharged from the Army, I joined the "Establishment" and became a police officer. A few cops on the job had also gone to Woodstock and we shared our experiences. To this day, I will never forget the great couple of days I spent with about 500,000 of my friends.
I am now retired from the force and a grandfather. I have a 20 year old son who still lives with me and is always asking what it was like in those days. Woodstock 2009 at the same site as Woodstock 69 would be fantastic for both of us. Just to share that experience with him takes me back to my memory of the theme of peace and love.