sense of smell

a few weeks ago, I wrote about how different foods can trigger memories, of places, and people. I was eating brie during that post. Today, I cracked open a new to me book that I had sent away for, and oh, the smell!
We used to go to Lake Almanor every summer for vacation. Even if my parents were broke as broke could be, they found a way to get us up there. My grandparents lived up there for about 5 months of the year. The car ride was long, and as a child, I was prone to car sickness, and in the last bit, the road was so darn curvy I would always be sick, dying in the back seat. But the minute the lake came into view, all would be well. We stayed at Lassen View Resort. When I was little, the place seemed HUGE. As I grew up, it shrank. I still think I could find my way around that place blindfolded. The public showers always smelled like Pine-Sol, which was funny, because the rest of the resort smelled like the natural pines that inhabit that area. I would get splinters all the time when we went down to the dock so that the kids could swim, and the mothers could bake themselves in the sun. A very nice old man named Brownie used to take the splinters out of all the kids, and give them candy to bite on while he was doing so. Sometimes, it was worth it. Anyhow, back to the smell of the book. The resort had a tiny store, where every night, after dinner, Grandpa would take us to get an ice cream. If he tripped over a rock, he would always say "they moved that one, I know where every rock is at in this place." Next to the store, was a small room that had books in it. FREE books. I have been a reader all my life, and nothing was better than FREE BOOKS. I would go through that room with a fine toothed comb, searching for what I wanted to immerse myself in. I could always find things, too. Never did I leave without a book. It was heaven. And those books had this smell. I can't describe it. When I opened this new to me book, it was only almost the smell I remembered. But, at least I remember the smell.
Lassen View Resort closed a few years ago. I heard the owners sold it to a place that wants to put condo's there. My little slice of heaven is gone. But I have the memories.