This time, we headed out at 10 AM across New York State and into the wilds of Vermont. It's worth the trip just for the ride. We passed bright red farms with fields laden with pumpkins and rolls of hay and horses running in waving green pastures. Babbling brooks flowed under bridges. The trees are just starting to turn brilliant shades of gold, red, and sienna around their very tops, but are still a mostly deep-emerald carpet rolling up the majestic mountainside.
Our first stop of the day was a small 70's-era shopping plaza outside of Bennington. A co-worker of Lauren's had given her a tip about a rare non-mall JC Penney left in the wild. It brought back a lot of memories. There was a similar small one-room JC Penney in Rio Grande (and they were actually even smaller) when I was living in Wildwood. I got a lot of my clothes and all of my socks there. The Rio Grande one has closed, but I'm very glad this one was still fully intact. Lauren didn't fit into the shorts she wanted, but I found a red t-shirt that was a mere $2.55 on the clearance rack.
There was even a Hallmark further down in the shopping center. The mall in Rio Grande has a Hallmark that, unlike the JC Penney, is still there to this day. I didn't see anything I absolutely couldn't live without, but Lauren found a talking Clark Grizwauld ornament for her family's tree.
We had lunch at a small diner a few minutes down the road from the shopping center. Jenson's was a little rustic family restaurant not unlike Athena's in Lee, and it was also suggested by Lauren's co-worker. I had a small but delicious and cheesy Swiss and Mushroom Burger. Lauren's Grilled Cheesesteak Ribeye sandwich was massive, dripping with sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms. We shared a small plate of fries.
After a long drive past charming chalet-style hotels and lovely little farming villages, we arrived in tiny Weston, home of the Vermont Country Store. Two rambling old farmhouses hold everything in the world you can imagine. Tin toys, 70's-era shampoos and cleaners that can't be found elsewhere, finely woven Vermont knitwear and linens, fancy nightgowns, flannels, maple syrup, books and cookbooks written in Vermont, bath soaps and lotions, cookware, candies and cheeses and baked goods of all kinds. There's so much to see there! And a lot of it was in different places than usual, and the rooms seemed a bit more open. They must have just remodeled.
The trouble is...as wonderful as all that fancy stuff is, it's also expensive. Lauren directed me upstairs to the second floor, where they keep the clearance and half-off items. Even those were far from cheap. I finally decided I liked a cute little canvas bag in a nifty magenta-and-blue print that was only $9.99. Also grabbed my favorite little Cookie Buttons in Pumpkin Pie flavor. Lauren bought a lavender sweater for her mom and chocolates for her and her parents.
The Vermont Country Store isn't the only place to shop in Weston. There's two nice little shops across the street that carry merchandise that's almost as interesting. The Village Christmas Shop is the only Christmas store I've ever seen that's come close to the diverse variety of ornaments at the Winterwood stores in Cape May County. They have everything, from stuffed gingerbread men to ballerinas to favorite characters. There's even a small Halloween and Thanksgiving section. The Weston Country Store is a slightly more touristy version of the Vermont Country Store, selling small toys, stuffed animals, metal signs with risque sayings, and Vermont t-shirts and sweatshirts. We ultimately had no luck in either place.
Briefly returned across the street so I could get some candy. Trouble was, I couldn't find my favorite fruit slices among the penny candies anywhere! They'd always had them before. The only fruit slices I saw were in a large container I wasn't carrying home. I finally decided that the Cookie Buttons were enough sugar and we moved on.
Our original plan for dinner was to eat at the combination KFC/Taco Bell in Bennington, just off the highway. First of all, it's a good thing neither of us wanted Taco Bell. For some reason, the Taco Bell side was closed. Second, we couldn't get the sandwiches we and Lauren's parents wanted because they were out of chicken fillets! We finally decided that we weren't up for a huge bucket of chicken. Lauren texted her parents to tell them we were going elsewhere for dinner.
We ended up at Bob's Country Kitchen back in Massachusetts, about 20 minutes or so from the Millers' house. I haven't eaten there with Lauren in ten years. It's another lovely little rustic diner, this one serving breakfast all day. Lauren and I both ordered pancakes. I had chocolate chip; she went with berry. Despite getting three huge pancakes on one plate, I did finish mine. Lauren had a larger sandwich earlier and wasn't able to finish hers. She ordered fried fish sandwiches for her parents.
Finished the night downstairs online after a shower and showing the Millers our purchases (and giving them their candy.) We're going to spend my last day here at the Lee Outlets, a large outlet mall not far from Athena's and the Mass Pike.
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