Follow Your Nose to the Beach

When I was a kid we spent a few summers on the beach in Panama City Beach. This is where I first saw the Gulf of Mexico and the beautiful white sands for which this area is known. I was hooked. We visited the area for family reunions on my mom's side of the family. Mom is from Mobile, AL and has family all down south. Whenever we would visit Alabama I always knew we were hitting the south when I started seeing red dirt. There was also something different about the smell in the air.

The same went for Florida. Once we hit the PCB area I knew if I rolled the windows down, letting the precious AC escape, I would smell a distinct smell, one that I couldn't put a finger on, but was always indication that we were at the beach. All of these years later since moving here, I have discovered the culprit of this smell.
Welcome to the paper mill. Lately a hot topic in the news around here concerning closing and lay offs and other news of the sort, I never knew that the strange scent in the air came from the inner workings (or output) of this institution. I think I just figured that was the way it smelled down here. I think I even thought it had something to do with the type of trees. Either way, I don't like it. It's an annoying smell and I wish I could come up with a way to describe it. When I do, I'll let you know.

In the meantime, I just have to be thankful that the smell doesn't waft its way toward Wewa. Strange how we're just about 30 minutes away, but we avoid the smell. I sure am thankful this nose is spared.