Sharon Trading Post, Sharon, Vermont

Fuel, Lodging, no food?

We in Massachusetts are so spoiled (or jaded, perhaps, would be a better word) at seeing the chain restaurants available all along any highway we choose to travel; never have to pack a sandwich or worry about thirst.

Not so on our trip to Vermont.  We had travelled two hours and were ready for a break. Having just passed White River Junction, and a sign saying Bear Crossing (though we saw no bear), a dead deer on the side of the road, and a wild turkey ambling along the side of the highway, we were ready for a break. Deciding to take the next exit (Route 14 off of Interstate 89), the interstate sign read Fuel, Phone and an earlier sign had read Vermont Law School. We figured since the Vermont Law School was located near there, there must be somewhere for the students to eat! We were wrong, the sign was right. There were no restaurants!   As we turned off onto Vermont Route 14, we learned that we had just missed a farmer's market that sold pies as well as vegetables (unfortunately only from 11 to 1 -- just think! I could have bought more spinach, this time really fresh!).  But there was a gas station that had certainly tripled in size since the interstate went through; an old New England white wooden spired church, the original one room school house (now a shuttered historical museum), a soccer field alongside a huge tarred parking lot belonging to the now large brick elementary school.

Judging from the above photo on the internet (which I just checked out this morning), we would never have guessed what was (literally) in store for us.  Luckily, we had NOT checked the internet, because turning the corner, this is what we found:

The Sharon Trading Post, established 1815 (but probably not originally housed in the Greek Revival building it now occupies), stands opposite a Greek Revival building that is still a home!  We ventured into the Trading Post, tentatively walking on the heavily worn creaking floorboards, surrounded by every kind of thing one could hope to purchase.  Ahhh -- we were finally in Vermont! Walking through the narrow aisles to the back of the store, we found a deli where I bought a pound of thinly sliced provolone cheese and freshly baked bread (the cheese was delicious, the bread only okay); my husband bought a roast beef sandwich from the deli and made use of the (very clean) rest room.  We didn't buy, but readily available were Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (made in Vermont), Vermont Maple Syrup (made in Vermont), Cabot Cheddar Cheese (made in Vermont), and a fair amount of groceries/soft drinks/deli/hardware/clothing/liquor. This Greek Revival building, with a (seemingly out of place) ATM machine to its left shares a parking lot with the huge Exxon gas station to its right.

As we were leaving the Sharon Trading Post, a woman came out from behind the counter to ask if she could help me find anything I was looking for . . . I told her that actually I was looking for my husband . . . she responded, Oh, he was just here looking for you, and here he is now!  So you see, true to their promise, you really can find just about anything you need in this wonderful, old-timey Vermont general store!  The Sharon Trading Post. Check it out.