There’s something magical about candy shops.

One of my favorite places to visit when I was a little girl was the Country Store in a sleepy seaside town of an artist’s village. Penny candy was a pretty big deal back in the early 80s because you could stretch spare change & stray nickels found in the depths of a couch under cushions. You could even dig for coins in the cracks between seating in cars. (Yes, I looked everywhere. Don’t judge me!) Candy remained a true rarity other than during major holidays like Halloween, Christmas, & Easter.

The Country Store.

I remember getting so excited to get even butterscotch hard candy, tootsie rolls, sugar babies, root beer barrels, caramels with a cream center, or jolly ranchers. Pixie sticks, nerds, laffy taffy, airheads–those were the candy varieties if you were a big spender hitting the jackpot. Otherwise, you were relegated to the hard candy selections, but something was better than nothing.

The old school candy cases at the Country Store.

When I return to that wall of candy jars that I fondly remember, I’m transported through time to being the indecisive kid driving her parents nuts because she couldn’t pick something under pressure. I still exhibit that Libra trait of frustration when forced to make a choice without ample time to weigh all options.

At times, I’d deny myself rather than submit to what felt like tremendous pressure. Silly, I know. But there it is. Or was.

Another view of the Country Store’s façade.

So, you can imagine my delight when visiting Hogsmeade at Universal’s Wizarding World to see Honeydukes. In the books, we readers first encountered the delights of magical candy on the train ride to Hogwarts in the first book, with chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, & Bertie Bott’s every-flavor beans.

A box of treats from Honeydukes.

If you’ve purchased the beans & played the spinning game, then you know the flavors of vomit, earwax, dirt, & rotten eggs are all too exact. Way too exact.

A Bertie Bott’s bean dispenser at Honeydukes.

Of course, that brilliant image of the ultimate candy store is of this more modern conjuration of the Harry Potter world, & my childhood version appeared in that small Country Store. Yet, those candy jars were of similar wonder to me.

You could use clear bags and metal scoops to create your own blend, if you had money to spare, but usually I’d have to mete out the candy portion based on my coin yield. It all depended on the score of dimes & quarters versus the nickels and pennies. There was an art to getting the most for your pocket change or allowance.

Today’s prices are much steeper than they were in the early 1980s.

Hopefully, you’ve had the happy experience of selecting a blend of candy from a general or country store, or even at Honeydukes if you’re more modetn or fancier. There’s even Ralph Lauren’s daughter & her chain of Dylan’s Candy Bar shops!

Dylan’s Candy Bar looks like a Candyland game board.

There’s something that says summer to me when thinking of candy or ice cream. A time when you could be happy with simple things, a sweet tart or a taffy chew. (Molasses & maple are my favorite saltwater taffy flavors.)

Brightly-colored candy displays.

On this hot & fine summer day, my hope is that you get a taste of innocence found in penny candy. Cinnamon hearts, candy bracelets, bottlecaps, licorice, dubble bubble, bit ‘o honeys (my sister’s favorite), lemon heads, jaw busters, atomic fireballs, razzles, mary janes, gumballs, gummies, Swedish fish– the list goes on & on.

Fellow introverts who think about these silly things, which kinds of candy were or are your favorites? Do you still get giddy at the thought of a candy shop?

Outside of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade.