Vermont Schtick

     Wednesday was a travel day on my week long Great American Vermont Culinary Tour.  After another mediocre complimentary breakfast at my lodging in Stowe I stepped outside with my bag and immediately noticed that it was 40 degrees warmer than the day before at the same time.  It was delightful to once again be above freezing, albeit only by two degrees.  It was an exhilarating morning and the ride south on Route 100 was beautiful as I drove through snowy river roads where for only a few hours is there full sunlight.  Passing several ski resorts that were quickly losing their snow cover I arrived in Weston around noon.  It was time for a break and I decided to stretch my legs as I walked across the muddy parking lot of the famed Vermont Country Store. 

 

     The store and another like it are owned and managed by the Orton family since 1946 and are known for nostalgic and hard to find items.  They list their lengthy inventory in a catalogue and do an impressive mail order business.  So I was interested to see what the home base actually looked like.  It was indeed like walking into history.

Does the woman in your life need a new flannel nightie?  You can pick from a wide (no pun intended) assortment of them in the women's department.  In fact, you can get nearly any kind of attire you want as long as it is practical and style isn't a priority.

     Cheeses, smoked sausage, cans of soup, crackers and vintage soft drinks, like Moxie, were also on sale, as was Vermont maple syrup, too.  But as I strolled past the candy counter I couldn't help but wonder how long those chocolates had been sitting there collecting dust.

 

     As a wandered through the store I noticed that I was an "out of towner" like all the others looking over the expensive merchandise.  There were no local folks there shopping to restock their larder.  They were all across the street at the Weston Market.  It then occurred to me that the Vermont Country Store is really a consumer product museum and gift shop, sort of a hybrid Roadside America and South of the Border combined.  It is another attempt to promote a way of life typified in Vermont and to capitalize upon it.

     Back into my car, I continued driving back to Johnny Seesaw's hoping to find the real Vermont.