The Legendary Vermont Country Store... and Nice Scenic Fall Drive

Article by Eric H. Video Source: eardogproductions from YouTube
A nice, scenic Sunday drive and visiting a country store always seems to be a popular combination during the New England fall time. With fall foliage at or near peak in the Weston, Vt., area and its Vermont Country Store representing one of the best of its kind in New England, what better place to be today in the six-state region?

From the north in Stowe to the quaint southern Vermont town of Wilmington, this three-and-one-half hour drive through the fall foliage-rich Green Mountains takes you through charming small Vermont country towns and villages (Stowe and Wilmington included!) and truly spectacular mountain and river scenery. You really can't get any more Vermont than this. The current impressive foliage is many areas of Route 100 only helps the scenic scenario!

A little more than two-and-one half hours from Stowe and an hour-and-20 minutes from Wilmington is the landmark Vermont Country Store (established in 1946). A retail household name in New England, the Vermont Country Store is a trip within itself with a classic country store personality specializing in Yankee bargains, Vermont-made clothing, heartwarming merchandise from yesteryear and just about anything else under the sun. As expected, they have an amazing old-fashioned candy counter, some wonderful Vermont cheeses and homemade fudge.

Weston is certainly worth exploring, too -- a Norman Rockwell-like town where the whole village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Big old historic homes, a town common with gazebo, surrounding mountain scenery and Vermont fresh air will make you want to stay for a long time!

The Vermont Country Store, Route 100, Weston, VT, 5161, Tel. (802) 362-4667

For more on the Vermont Country Store and Weston, in general, please click on the link above -- this will bring you to our article on VisitingNewEngland.com.

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"Gourd" Vibrations at Sunshine Farm, Sherborn, Mass.

Article and photos by Eric H.

Sunshine Farm in Sherborn, Mass., is never out of its gourd(s).

Excuse the play on words, but come fall time, gourds play a prominent retail role alongside their famous cousin -- the pumpkin -- at this peaceful road side farm stand, minutes from the more hectic retail shopping pace of Route 9 in Framingham and Natick. Gourds can be used for fall decorations, or for use as sculptures, baskets, masks or musical instruments. Some people even give out gourds for Halloween. Growing up, we had neighbors that gave us hungry kids non-edible gourds instead of candy bars. Place that brilliant 1970s-style idea alongside orange shag rugs, pet rocks and Ford Pintos.

If you are so inclined to buy a gourd, Sunshine Farm offers one of the biggest selections in the area. If you are not so inclined, the third-generation, family-owned 100-acre Sunshine Farm offers a wonderful little fall destination experience with a farm market (including a bakery, and a wide variety of on-the-premises or locally-grown produce (including bags of apples), many rows of pumpkins for sale, and squash, mums (from a terrific gardening center) and corn stalks. A fantastic ice cream stand features tasty flavors like pumpkin, apple crisp, mango, pomegranate chip, and coconut.

Sunshine Farm is open May through December, offering fields of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and peaches at various times of the year. It's really the quintessential road side farm stand, looking like one and acting like one with its relaxed, rural presence, merchandise and friendly help.

Sunshine Farm will be featuring a fall event, come Columbus Day (Oct. 10-12): with "U-Pick" raspberries and pumpkins. Weekend Fall Foliage Hayrides start from noon-4pm. ($3.00 per person). Specials at the market and gardening center include pumpkins and mums and cornstalks, pies, breads, apples and cider.

Sunshine Farm really hits on all roadside farm cylinders -- produce, bakery, gardening, "u pick" fruits in the field, ice cream, pumpkins -- and yes, gourds for the biggest fans of this unique member of the Cucurbitaceae family!

Sunshine Farm
41 Kendall Ave.
Sherborm, Mass.
Tel. (508) 655-5022

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A Classic New England Roadside Farm Stand

Article and photo by Eric H.


Contrary to popular belief, not all quintessential New England roadside farm stands are located in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Even more amazing is that Rhode Island has its share of these popular destinations -- yes, the state where you go swimming at the ocean, savor some Rhode Island clam chowder by the coast, tour famous mansions in Newport, and take in the amazing and diverse city life in historical Providence.

Truth be told, Rhode Island features some beautiful countryside, whether it be close to the ocean or inland in regions like the Blackstone Valley. Country stores, and winding rural roads with farms, pretty lakes, roadside diners, and deep forest grace the limited but incredibly pleasant and scenic Rhode Island inland real estate.

One of our favorite classic roadside farm stands -- most notably in the fall -- is Pleasant View Orchards in Smithfield, R.I. Like Rhode Island, Pleasant View Orchards is tiny, but the colorful exterior display of bright orange pumpkins, brightly hued flowers, cornstalks -- and handmade signs placed all over the place stating virtually everything they sell -- make it awfully tempting to see what's inside.

The inside brings us back to a time where your small, local farm stand offered not a wasted space of merchandise -- and usually packed to the gills. Here, you'll find fresh-picked apples and other seasonal produce (some excellent beefsteak tomatoes), homemade cider and pies, more pumpkins, fudge, locally made cookies, and an impressive variety of plants. Customer service is, well, pleasant, as its name states, and reminiscent in personality to your local neighborhood store where everyone seemed to know each other.

Pleasant View Orchards has no resemblance to some of those larger 21st century "superstore" farm stands, but for some us us, this diminutive-sized roadside stand is certainly a super store! It is Rhode Island's impressive version of a New Hampshire or Vermont roadside farm stand that for us southern New Englanders natives doesn't require a whole lot of travel!

Pleasant View Orchards
141 Pleasant View Ave.
Smithfield R.I. 02917
Tel. (401) 231-4620

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Welcome to Apple Picking Season!

Article and photos by Eric H. Video by Worcester Love.

With summer vacation in the rear view mirror and a touch of fall in the air this morning, we can now turn our seasonal New England interests to great fall-time activities like apple picking. All over New England, commercial apple orchards report their "corp" businesses yielding an impressive supply of apples ready to pick from the trees. We recommend calling your chosen apple orchard before traveling there, however, because, as they say on the infomercials, "results may vary."

We can tell you that the picturesque Brookfield Orchards in North Brookfield, Mass., already has Paula Red apples, similar to a MacIntosh and typically one for the first varieties to be ready for picking. Brookfield Orchards reports that regular Macintosh and Cortland apples should be ready for picking by Labor Day Weekend.

Visiting Brookfield Orchards -- a fifth generation family-run business dating back to 1918 -- goes well beyond just apple picking, however. A charming country store with many architectural nooks and crannies features jams, jellies, maple products, Vermont cheddar cheese, candy, books, maps, crafts, antiques and collectibles. The snack bar and bakery is best known for its delicious homemade apple dumplings. Add some vanilla ice cream and flavorful Vermont cheddar cheese, and that is worth a visit to Brookfield Orchards by itself. September and October snack bar offerings include hot dogs, hamburgers, chili and macaroni and cheese while the year-round bakery features (besides apple dumplings) homemade apple pies, applecakes, chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies. Brookfield Orchard also offers specialty pies in the fall and for the holidays (they are open, year-round except for Thanksgiving and Christmas days and the Fourth of July).

Brookfield Orchards also has a playground with swings, a slide and "twirl around" contraption.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of Brookfield Orchards is its idyllic country location where an isolated scenic presence, the seemingly endless apple orchards, the pleasing aromatic combination of apples and fresh air, and the rolling central Massachusetts countryside with hilly views are enough to make you want to stay all day. It's hard to think of a more relaxing, beautiful location in New England for apple picking and beyond.

Brookfield Orchards
12 Lincoln Rd.
North Brookfield MA 01535
Phone 508- 867-6858- 877-622-7555

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