There’s just something about antique shops, and I’m not sure what that something is. I find it hard to pin down how I feel walking through a collection of old miscellaneous items of generally no real theme other than being exceptionally old.
To be fair I believe the complexity of emotions I feel is for the fact that antique shops remind me of books I use to read when I was younger and back in Dominica Where the concept of an antique shop was weird altogether. It just always seemed like the author took the opportunity to describe any manner of curious object that could cross their mind, like a beaver-playing-a-banjo shaped candle or snake skin boots for men, from a surely more interesting time. And to top it all off the owner was always rather eccentric or mundane in a suspicious way. So I believe being thrown back in time but not in the way the space intends gives a feeling quite hard to explain. I find myself in the memory of novels where every item in the shop is a potentially cursed object, I mean why else would a character enter an antique shop if not to jolt the plot into a series of rather interesting events? Unless of course the main character seeks a solution for an already precarious situation, or better yet introduce the store owner in a mild but meaningful way that allows for shock when we discover they are so much more than we originally thought. After all the shop owner who claims to be from New York but with a rather distinct British accent must be hiding something, and not from the protagonist of course but generally the reader who has the honor of knowing far too much about a stranger in a perfectly acceptable manner.
All this to say that antique shops are something rather strange to me. Like walking through the space of a hoarder who has taken the time to carefully display each object. Walking through a physical embodiment of our romanticism of the past and refusal to let go. It seems odd to assign a thing value simply because it’s old, even if it’s not, in what can be deemed “good condition”.
Make no mistake, this is not a critique, I understand the desire to treasure the past and anything that in someway makes one happy or even nostalgic, but the entire setup does tickle my brain a bit, making my weekend in Hunter, NY a potential core memory. As if connecting with friends was not enough!
I am genuinely in love with the idea of traveling for the sake of relaxing somewhere new and intriguing, especially given that my home and work location have been merged indefinitely, making mental relaxation a thing that eludes me in my own space. I found eating snacks and drinking hot cocoa while binge watching Bridgerton on Netflix with close friends, in a winter wonderland cabin to be theraputic to say the least. We could have spent the entire weekend inside and I would still be just as content.
To prevent further rambling I think it’s best for me to rewind to the begining of the weekend and walk you through what would sound like very average everyday events, especially for college students like our past selves who could have done this on a whim with very little forethought and planning if any. #TheGoodOldDays
We arrived Friday evening. The drive was only about two hours from NJ but things were a bit treacherous in the dark, what with the snow, steep hills and sharp turns. On top of that the mountains, hidden by a dark sky loomed with a barely noticeable silhouette that commanded an unnerving feeling as if some monsterous creature lay sleeping. By day such feelings would be quickly dispelled by the glory of the morning when the mountain would become nothing short of picturesque. However for our arrival we were comforted by the fact that our cabin was not in the middle of nowhere and instead surrounded by a sprinkle of similar properties that were at a not too distant range.
The Airbnb was perfect! The space, the view from the space and of course the fireplace which had already been prepared and ready to be lit by yours truly. Our host left out smores supplies and I believe a bottle of sparkling cider. The evening was spent snuggled up by the fire watching Netflix and planning for the next day.
One of the main reasons I adore Airbnbs is the availability of a full kitchen with all the general amenities like utensils, baking sheets, pots, pans and all the other little things that make a kitchen a kitchen. Having brought our own breakfast supplies with us we were able to dine at leisure instead of going out to eat. This gave way to a morning of dominos (the game) and well-missed casual conversations. Once the temperatures rose to a whopping 30°f – the best we could hope for – we happily ventured outside to the Windham Path trail for a light walk in the snow. The route proved great for pictures and was short enough that the cold didn’t make it uncomfortable to stop and take photos.
Once that was done we hopped on over to this quaint little coffee shop resturant for sandwiches and in my case tea. Curiosity won me over – as it usually does – and I ordered a Dirty Chia, the dirty part was a shot of espresso (my money was on chocolate to be honest), after which we headed back to lodging to feast on our bounty. And I do mean feast, apparently it’s very easy to ignore hunger when you’re cold and so ravenous chewing left very little space for conversation.
The rest of the evening was spent watching Netflix, playing uno and dominos, and of course setting the scene for a proper date night with our charcuterie board and wine before retiring to bed at the surprising hour of 2am – which we were able to with little consequence seeing as our hosts extended our 11am check out to 1pm.
The next morning saw a late start – having went to bed that very same morning, it was quite understandable – but after breakfast we took the chance to get all dolled up for fairwell pics to commerate the weekend and our fashionable stroll throught the town.
Which brings me to the anique shops, a place of curious odd and ends – or so I’ve read – that truly does intrigue. But that was it for our weekend!
Short, sweet and simple! It may sound underwhelming but I assure you it served it’s purpose. I was able to hang out with friends and escape my home/work station for a few days and isn’t that all we can hope for in this covid limbo? Well if you live alone and work from home I suppose.
