Mementos of the Road

My boyfriend, Dan began our road trip to the White Mountains by asking me to pack extra water in case we got snowed in. "I doubt we'll see any snow",I said. "It's November 5th! I don't think it's cold enough yet." We didn't notice any white stuff lying around during our four-hour trip to my aunt's cabin. We settled in to the house by sundown, and enjoyed the first night of our long weekend.
We were greeted in the morning with the stunning view of the neighboring Christmas tree farm covered in a delicate blanket of snow. I was practically in tears marveling at the beauty of the scene, and laughing at the look of annoyance on Dan's face. "Come on, get those boots on. We're going into town." We bundled against the chill, and made our way towards civilization. What we found instead was a small clump of stately homes and businesses in hibernation before the Christmas tourists arrived in a few weeks. At the end of Main Street, we spotted a weathered sign for an antiques shop behind a gorgeous old farm house. The barn doors were thrown open wide to reveal a building packed wall-to-wall with beautiful artifacts. I quietly shuffled through the rows for over an hour, collecting an armful of treasures along the way - a vintage souvenir glass, a Snowy Owl figurine, among others. Dan found me amongst the stacks and whispered excitedly, "Sally, you have to come see this." He led me back out to the front doors and pointed across the walkway. The owner was opening up a small storage shed. "That...is full of Christmas stuff." I was lost again, squirming my way into the delightfully cramped shed. Boxes upon boxes of Shiny Brite ornaments glistened as my eyes adjusted to the light. Huge paper wall hangings featured a smiling Coco-Cola Santa, still in vibrant color. I wanted to pay the man at the counter for the whole thing- shed and all - and drag it home with us hitched to our tiny Volkswagen. I settled for a box of six delicate, cobalt blue Shiny Brite balls. Each year they hang from the boughs of my Christmas trees, reminding me of that perfect early November snowfall, a chilly treasure hunt, and a cozy cabin in the woods of the White Mountains.