The Classic Catalog

If you’re of a certain age there’s a pretty good chance you grew up with a copy of The Vermont Country Store catalog in the house, or maybe you discovered it as an adult.  Either way, the catalog is filled with pages of wondrous treasures that find one happily reminiscing and thinking, “Oh, I remember those!”

If you can name it, you’ll find it in the store or in the catalog.  I’ve been drooling through the pages and occasionally ordering from the catalog for years and as funny as it sounds to think of a store as a destination, The Vermont Country Store is in fact like no other and it was definitely on my list of must see destinations.

Let’s Shop!

We left Martha’s Vineyard in the morning and by late afternoon we were rolling along in Vermont and much to my surprise and delight our path took us right by the Rockingham location of the store.  Fast forward to parking the car and in we go.  Who cares about finding our accommodations, let’s go shop!  I’m not even sure I can do justice in describing the pure joy of browsing and tasting one’s way through the store.  It has everything!  It’s old-school, it’s classic Americana, it’s Vermont.  It’s all kinds of fabulous!

Tasting is Encouraged

One of the brilliant marketing strategies of the store is the tasting samples, which includes everything from jams and jellies, to crackers and pretzels, to cheese – OH! the cheese – to corn nuts to cured pepperoni, to homemade fudge and of course, Vermont Maple Syrup.

Literally, you can graze your way through the store until you are stuffed and maybe somewhat embarrassed.  But it’s encouraged and you bet you’re going to leave the store with a bag of purchased goodies.  We easily spent 1 1/2 hours in the store and 2 days later spent another 1 1/2 hours in the Weston store.

Selling Memories

And, if you’re traveling with children, be prepared for a lot of happy faces and a lot of, “Please!” coming from their drooling mouths.  Okay, I saw a lot of adults drooling as well and I heard a lot of, “Oh! I remember those!”

A Popular Destination

Remember I told you Autumn in Vermont is such a popular destination people tour the state by the busload?  Let me tell you, The Vermont Country Store is definitely on the list of highly anticipated stops.  But, even with 1 or 2 bus loads of people in the store, along with everyone else, it doesn’t feel overly crowded because the store is so well laid out everything is easily accessible.  And, everyone who works in the store is super friendly and more than willing to help.

Here’s the thing.  If you visit in October you’re just shy of the holiday season and the shopping doesn’t get much better than at The Vermont Country Store.  We definitely walked away with a couple of bags full of goodies, not only for ourselves, but Christmas shopping was definitely taken care of.  Shhh… don’t tell.

If You Go:

• 657 Main Street – Weston, VT
• 1292 Rockingham Road – Rockingham, VT
• Ample parking for cars and RVs at both locations
• Prepared food sold on site
• Picnic areas

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