The Bristol Stomp

Jeez, I love getting into the town of Bristol, tucked among the mountains, a perfect village hamlet.Today I had a pick-up at the Bristol headquarters of Vermont Bicycle Tours, out on the Monkton Road. What a colorful Main Street - Cubber's, the Bobcat Cafe, the Village Creemmee. Like how many E's could you squeeze into one word? Deeeelightful.

The symbol of Bristol is a huge, roadside rock squatting inches off the main street on the northern outskirts of town. It's inscribed with a white-painted Biblical quote. How this boulder wasn't blasted to smithereens by the village fathers when the road was paved way back when is a happy mystery to me.

On the turn at the Lincoln Road, vehicles were parked on the side of the road for one of the state's wonderful swimming areas. Along this stretch of the New Haven River, the water flows wildly over the rocks, creating eddies and pools and white waterfalls. I felt like diving into the deep blue and frolicking with the locals.

Historical Note: For those too young to remember, the Bristol Stomp was a song that spurred a dance craze in the pre-Beatles early '60s.