Mysteryland 2014

A few weeks ago I drove my car 2 hours north in a caravan of friends to join 20,000 other people at Mysteryland's US debut on the historic hills of Woodstock at Bethel Woods Arts Center.

When I got home I tried to write a blog post about it...but the only sentence I could get out was,

"I just had the most amazing weekend."

So I took a bit of a break and, two and a half weeks later, here I am - attempting to put into words what I experienced, what my friends experienced, and what I'm sure thousands of other people experienced on that sacred ground.

But I'm not going to do that.

It was too special for me to go back now and rehash every detail for those who weren't there.

So I'll say just a few words and then leave you with the pictures....a picture's worth a thousand words after all...right?

Mysteryland is described as the world's longest running electronic music festival, hosting its first event in the Netherlands in 1993. Until this year the festival had only been hosted in Europe and Chile. On its 25th anniversary in 2014, Mysteryland crossed the waters and came to the US. Touching ground over Memorial Day Weekend, what made it so eagerly anticipated was the fact that Mysteryland US was the first music festival to return to the grounds where Woodstock took place in 1969.

Let that sink in for a second.

Forty-five years have passed since legends like Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead graced the stage in front of hundreds of thousands of young people who believed in peace, who believed in the power of music, and who believed that their generation was changing the course of music in the world forever.

Forty-five years later, the biggest electronic music acts were helicoptered in to a series of stages on the camp ground to perform and play in front of tens of thousands of young people who still believe in peace, who still believe in the power of music, and who know that their generation has already changed the course of music in the world forever.

It was incredibly surreal to look back and see hundreds of flower crown wearing hippies of this generation swaying to music that has become absolutely pivotal in their lives and imagine looking back on a similar scene of those same flower crowns swaying in the breeze as the Woodstock attendees took in the music that they could not live without.

We were in that same spot of history and it was repeating the scene in its entirety.

I fell in love all over again...with the music, with TT, with my friends, with people I had never even met who smiled at me when we made eye contact across the grass.

Mysteryland was not just a music festival...it was a human experience that was shared between a group of friends and 20,000 other strangers. And it created memories that will last a lifetime:)

Sunday Best for the Belmont Stakes

My favorite weekends are really the ones where there are no plans and the entire 72 hours is an adventure - free to fill with anything you want - no pre-paid tickets, no time constraints, and no obligations. They're few and far between but when they come around, it's like a breath of fresh air.

This was one of those weekends.

My little sister has recently come home from college for the summer and I am just too excited to be BACK WITH MY GURL.

might be related

Of course, she's a social butterfly so I try to squeeze in some quality time when I have the chance.

Ceec had mentioned in passing that she would be in Long Island for the weekend but I hadn't thought to find out the details. I knew the Belmont Stakes were happening and I knew my sister, an Animal Sciences major with a concentration in Equine Sciences, would 100% be in attendance.

I just didn't realize how accessible it was for us normal folk that aren't in the "horse scene" and also don't have incredible amounts of cash to spend on what I would assume is a very expensive horse race.

TICKETS WERE TEN DOLLARS.

What I think you will come to learn about me is there is nothing I love more than free.

And $10 for dressing up in my Sunday best and cheering on horses while surrounded by my fave peeps is FREE in my eyeZ.

I grabbed some wedges, found a straw hat, and was set for a day at the races!

We boarded the LIRR to Belmont around noon. The MTA Long Island Rail Road added 18 extra trains to the schedule on race-day to ease the commute.(sidenote - the commuting was entirely horrific and I won't be returning to Belmont anytime soon....BUT I DIGRESS)

The park was absolutely packed. I owe my ease with crowds to tailgating back at Penn State and learning to navigate football weekends. But this was different. If you wanted to be anywhere close to the actual racetrack, you had to be inside the building. So I likened the experience to the hundred thousand people that come out for a PSU football weekend all smooshed together in the tunnels underneath Beaver Stadium. Not an easily imagined scenario.

It was chaotic and extremely difficult to get around. The vendors that were set up every few feet ran out of food and beer. There was zero cell service in the entire park so if you got separated from your group, you were a lost cause.

It made it so hard to find the rest of our friends! :( Sorry Zaych and Colin.

Trying and failing to find our friends :/

Despite the crowds, none of us had been to a horse race before so we wandered around taking it all in and catching a glimpse of a race every time we could squeeze in to get a peek!

The reason for the crowds and the larger than life excitement was, of course, due to the fact that there was a very high chance California Chrome would win the Triple Crown at the Belmont this year. The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing is the highest honor a thoroughbred racehorse can win. It comprises three races for three-year old Thoroughbreds - the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.

The Belmont is the longest race of the three, clocking in at 2.4km, which makes it even more exciting of a closer to watch.

Only 11 horses have ever won the Triple Crown in the US and the last winner was in 1978, 36 years ago!

We're obviously excited about our sign

The day passed alarmingly quickly. We sipped on Twisted Teas and were able to commandeer a bench right in front of the TVs to watch most of the races. Decked in our heels in unforgivable heat, it's safe to say we stayed at those benches for quite a while...

My goal for the day was to place a bet. TT was shouting out words like "exacta" and Cecilia was screaming at the races on the TV but I couldn't keep my eyes off those gleaming betting windows. They were just so inviting!

TT (obviously the horse-betting aficionado) led me up and we placed some bets. We decided to go for 11 (not Chrome) winning it all.

"What for?" the window lady asked.
"Just for showing up - for being number 11 and being great at it." we replied.

"May the odds be ever in your favor" HELD TRUE AT THAT MOMENT BECAUSE WE WON! As the horses sprinted towards the finish line, the crowd jumped up and down, and we stood in the back listening and peeking over shoulders on tip-toe, lucky #11 took it to the finish line and won us $10.20 on a $1 bet! BIG MONAY.

I was extremely excited and it made my whole day :)

Overall, it was a wonderful day at the races. I might not come back for something as huge and overwhelming as the Belmont Stakes. I think the organization could have been much better and don't even get me started on the commute home. BUT - we all enjoyed the day and it was a fantastic experience. Hip hip hooray!