Vermont Travel Notes

One of the games on the Ben & Jerry's Halloween website pages is this "Undead Smackdown" (or ""Whack-A-Ghoul") game that I wasted about ten minutes playing. Use your mouse button to move the shovel and left click to bring the shovel down. Have fun!

I know from experience in talking with our inn's guests that many of them check the Ben & Jerry's website before they travel to Vermont (the company's Waterbury VT factory is about ten minutes from our facility). It is a very entertaining website with a mix of some seriousness thrown in once in a while.

If you go to the website, you can check the Ben & Jerry's Halloween page to find a lot of information including the history of Halloween, seasonal recipes, crafts, coloring book pages, safety tips, and some games. Note: when you go to the page and click on the Jack O Lantern, your pop-up blocker may prevent it from working. On Firefox browsers, click the bar above the web page and then click "Allow Pop-ups from benjerry.com." Then you can click the Jack O Lantern again to get into the website's Halloween section. Look at each page carefully and run your cursor over the various items that will then lead you to other pages.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

There are two unusual exhibits at the University of Vermont's Fleming Museum you may find interesting.

Buddha in Paradise at the Wolcott Gallery runs through December 19. It is about finding "Pure Lands" or paradise in western terms and is a collection of ancient paintings dating back to the 13th century. Also, during this week, October 15 - 22, Buddhist monks are constructing a circular painting called a mandala made from colored grains of sand to represent the universe. You are welcome to watch the construction and also the eventual destruction when it is cast into a pool of water, a part of the process that "symbolizes the impermanence of existence and the ideal of non-attachment to the material world."

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Architectural Improvisation: A History of Vermont's Design/Build Movement 1964-1977 runs through December 19 in the East Gallery. This unique exhibit looks at a group of architects who formed the Vermont Design/Build movement based on their Bauhaus theory education at Yale School of Architecture and the University of Pennsylvania Architecture program in the 1960s. These students, many of whom are still here in Vermont, set out to explore "radical social, technological, and aesthetic experiments."

I've seen several examples of their work around Waitsfield Vermont. Some are lacking in practicality, grace, ingenuity, creativity, advancement, longevity, or relativity but they are a magnetic curiosity and a great symbol of the futile side of the 60's. It's good that this approach did not go far and it's not surprising but sometimes you have to know what does not work in order to know what does work. This is an excellent body of work for the student of the 60's to know about.

The Yestermorrow school in Waitsfield VT is a product of this movement. It has an intriguing line up of classes.

The Fleming Museum's hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Wednesday, 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Saturday & Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 PM. Closed Mondays.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor

This could be your new place of employment. Sugarbush Ski Resort

Sugarbush in Warren VT is holding a job fair for the coming winter ski season. There are full time, part time, and seasonal jobs available. It's a great way to get a fun job and enjoy perks like free skiing and boarding.

Other Sugarbush job fairs will be held October 25 and November 15. If you can't make it to the fairs, try contacting Sugarbush Human Resources at hr@sugarbush.com

Many ski areas will be hiring for this winter and possibly even beyond. If you are interested but don't know which ski areas to approach, try the Vermont Ski Areas Association Ski Vermont Job Center. Right now there are not many listings but that will change soon.

Of course, you don't have to wait for job postings. You can contact the ski areas' human resources department now and get the jump on things.

There is page of listings for alpine resorts and another one for cross country ski areas.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

The next leaders of the free world. God help us.

In my September 21 entry, I mentioned that the Vermont Teddy Bear Company was selling Obama and McCain teddy bears. Now that the Vice Presidential candidates have been announced, Vermont Teddy Bear has rounded out the ticket with their four bears.

I had mentioned that it would be interesting to know which bear ticket was selling the most. In fact, if you look at the company's website, you will see that several thousand people have cast their "votes." You can do the same.

I was surprised to see that the McCain/Palin ticket was winning handily by about 2:1 over the Obama/Biden team - that certainly goes counter to all the polls I have seen lately.

Visit the company's Vermont stores In Shelburne VT and Waterbury Center VT, or order online the bears of your favorite candidates and don't forget to vote on November 4.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

Shortly after I wrote the entry below about the Dog Party at Dog Mountain, I ran across this quote which I've seen before but had not remembered for a long time. As a dog owner, it's one of my favorites:

"We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet: and, amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us." - Maurice Maeterlinck

Maeterlinck was a Belgian poet, playright, and Nobel Prize winner who lived 1862 to 1949.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor

I took a quick snapshot this afternoon of the hillside across the street. The foliage colors this year are magnificent. If you ever wanted to travel to Vermont to see the fall colors, you couldn't do any better than this year. Some of the upper elevations are a little past peak but still look very good and some areas have yet to peak. You still have time.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn