Monday, November 30, 2009

Final Diagnostic Essay Draft: The Ultimate Hallucination


The Ultimate Hallucination

It may be difficult for one to recall a particular vacation get away or road trip to a far off destination and until just recently I couldn't think of any particular event that stuck out in my mind most vividly. Little did I know that the lives of four college kids would change forever after just one weekend in a little known town called Masontown, West Virginia. It was the summer of 2009 and we were feeling spontaneous and eager to try new things.
It all started when my best friend Hunter heard about amazing experiences known as music festivals. We had heard of them before but had never considered attending one. He seemed to be extremely ecstatic having purchased his ticket almost a year and a half before the festival even took place; so I guess the idea caught my attention. On the other hand, I was a little skeptical about going to a festival; nevertheless he convinced me to purchase the one hundred and eighty dollar golden ticket. The two of us packed as much camping gear, food, pot, and water that we could fit in my '87 Firebird and eagerly hit the road on the morning of Wednesday July eighth.
The gates of Allgood were set to open at 2pm on Thursday, so our plan was to pick up our good friend Trey from Richmond while on our way to the house of the final member of our group, James. We arrived at his house in Charlottesville around 10pm that night and made sure everything was ready to go for the next morning. Having all of our members of the group together now we were so anxious and excited we could barely sleep that night.
By 9am on Thursday morning we were ready and on our way to Masontown which was only a beautiful four hour drive through the winding back-roads that cut through the mountains. By the time we arrived we were some 3,000 feet elevated in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains on a privately owned farm land. It was then that I knew this was going to be a really great experience. We parked the Jeep, set up our tent, and began to explore. Scattered on the mountains were 20,000 other campsites that made ours look totally insignificant. As the sun set behind the mountains we started to hear the opening band, Seepeoples; it was then Hunter and I took five hits of really potent Greatful Dead acid and the next 12 hours turned into a semi-conscious hallucination. Seepeoples would be the first band to play in an all night concert that stretched until 5:30 Friday morning.
The next morning we woke up to find our tent had collapsed on us from the extreme mountain winds, James and I reconstructed and set off to return to reality while Hunter and Trey slept trying to recover. By Friday evening our gang was ready to go for another night of great music, new friends and great vibes with a little help from some really good pot. We watched some of our favorite bands like Lotus and STS9 jam out all night while the mushrooms and molly took over our senses; I'll never forget the full moon that night.
By midday on Saturday Trey had found himself a girl and his presence was a surprise for the remainder of the trip. Meanwhile, Hunter, James, and I found ourselves locked in the clutches of the magic mushies and ventured down to the main stage to catch Soja and Umphree's McGee. The trip couldn't have gone any better, we felt totally at one with each other and everyone around us. After the mushrooms wore off, I ended up falling asleep under the stars on the side of the mountain wrapped in a fuzzy blanket; I'll never forget how calm and collected I was.
Sunday was to be our final day there. We spent most of the morning wondering where Trey was since we had no means of contact with him. After we packed up the campsite we decided to go catch one or two more shows before leaving so we hiked down to the stage where coincidentally we found Trey. We were all mentally and physically anguished from the extremely overwhelming past couple of days and we knew it was time to head home.
On our way back to Charlottesville I recall James saying there wasn't one day that went by where he didn't think of how fun it was to be there. By the time Hunter and I got back to the beach the feeling of complete refreshment had begun to set in. Now over half a year later I can honestly say there won't be a day where I don't think about Allgood. All in all it was the most fun I've ever had and I developed a strong friendship with my friends because of it. I will have my golden ticket for the rest of my life to remind me of my Allgood experience.

1 comment:

  1. I enjoyed this draft, but little was changed from the previous draft.

    The fest sounds great and I might have to try one. Definitely keep writing. Take trips. Write about them. I did not intend that double entendre, but I suppose it's appropriate given your revised content.

    Keep blogging and writing and I'll keep reading.

    ReplyDelete