Stop the bus and turn the radio up high...

I'm going back to the Vermont well one more time, if you please...

You may recall the other week, in my Thanksgiving political rant I cited my latest fave band, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals.

Well, if there's a song I like even better than the rockin' "Ah Mary," it's the rockin' "Stop the Bus." Not as political, but just as fun.



Anyway, now that you're done listening, maybe I should clarify. I picked up on Grace Potter from Marisa, the Queen of Random Indie Music herself.

Vermont is one of her favorite places, and the Nocturnals are out of that state. She was playing them en route last month, when we took a little long-weekend road trip up to Burlington.

Tragically, the only live music we heard was a show at Higher Ground headlined by the overrated and underwhelming Matt Pond PA, who we both wanted to like but unfortunately couldn't. The show was cheap, though, and the opening act, a local band called The Year's Best was actually really entertaining.

On the other hand, two things more than made up for that.


The first was the discovery of the delightful Danforth Pewter, whose jewelry M absolutely adored.

You may have noticed she got some for Hanukkah, and let me tell you, guys, not only is it striking, it's a steal. Many of the pieces, including the one above that she just loves, are in the $25 range.

(Danforth folks, send coupons for your very own Mookie J. Monkey endorsement, in the right-hand rail!)

The second highlight was meeting up with the Healthy Hippie herself, Taraleigh, whose sainted mother is M's "Work Mom."

Not only is Taraleigh very cool, she publishes a fascinating newsletter (with a mag in the works) on good health (duh) and general hippie-ness (double-duh). M even merited a mention in a recent issue, though sadly I wasn't healthy enough or hippie enough to get in.

Anyway, if healthy or hippie-type thinking is your thing, check her out. Hey, you'll know if you're the right audience. Jin.

M talks about retiring to Vermont someday. I could dig that. Burlington's a nice town with some fine shopping, good food, clean air... and Division I ice hockey, by God.

Plus, the environs include (all of which we saw in a measly four days):

• Ben & Jerry's
• Cabot Cheese
• All the fruit wine you can drink...
• ...And then some! (Try the Strawberry Rhubarb!)
• Green Mountain Coffee
• Plus, the world famous On the Rise bakery

So maybe someday, once the kids are grown and I can cash in my pension... it'll be breakfast at Uncommon Grounds on Church Street, followed by some shopping at the Crow Bookshop, then a glass of Grand View wine after dinner... and on to the game! Go Catamounts!

Poll results: For the curious, the final tally was 3 for "Write more, ya bugger" and 1 for "Knock it off with the damn monkeys." So don't say I don't give my fans what they want. This is three posts in like 24 hours. None about monkeys. The rest of you, hey, vote next time.

New label: It's high time I added a "travel" label for those posts that involve me going somewhere (other than Hawaii, Miami or Scotland, of course.