It was a crisp winter morning as the snow clouds moved across the sky
above the small
town. Outside, a
calm stillness filled the bitter cold air. Inside, the house was
filled with a warm
joyous sense of
spirit. I was staring out the window in a daydream when falling
snowflakes
caught the corner of
my eye.
Later on, my father
could only watch the snow as it piled up on the car and in the
driveway. It was the
weekend, but that would not stop the physical task of shoveling snow.
In
fact, there was 7
inches of snow piled up and it was time to clear the driveway. My
father and I
both went outside in
the snow. His purpose was to shovel the driveway. Whereas, I went out
to
play in the snow.
Thirty minutes passed by and the driveway was cleared of snow.
At this time, we
both were cold and our gloves were wet. Therefore, my father and I
returned inside to
get warm. The snow continued to fall, but my father knew it would be
easier to
shovel the next
time. Now satisfied the driveway clear my father could relax. An hour
passed and
we could hear the
city plow coming from around the corner. The plow picked up all the
snow
from the end of the
neighbors drive all the way around the corner and dumped the mound of
snow into our drive.
Nevertheless, the ritual dumping of snow into our driveway was known
to
happen each time it
snowed.
The next day, all
the snow had settled and there was 10 inches of snow on the ground.
The town roads had
been plowed and a mound of snow filled the end of our driveway. By
the
time I woke up, my
father was already outside shoveling the driveway. He was making room
so
my uncle could park
his car in the driveway. Uncle Roger and Aunt Rena had decided to
stop by
and pay a visit to
the family.
Soon after, my
parents, aunt, and uncle were carrying on a conversation at the
dining
table. In the
meantime, I was pestering my parents to take me sleighing at Holmdel
Park. My
aunt could see my
boredom and she was beginning to feel confined in the smaller ranch
house.
An hour passed by
and my aunt thought it would be nice if she and my uncle took me
sleighing
in the park.
Therefore, I
started walking towards my sleigh and winter clothes. On the drive
there, we
passed the train
station and drove up and over a couple of small hills. We continued
on over the
highest point and
all our ears popped as we headed down the backside of the hill. At
the bottom
and on the left hand
side, we passed by the town police station. A little further down the
road
was the local high
school where I dreamed of attending. Then the road had straightened
and
flattened out from
beyond the high school.
Further down the
road, there were large upscale houses off in the distance. The homes
were beyond open
fields covered in snow. Local farmers used the fields to grow their
crops
during the year.
However, the right side of the road was dominated by a large hill.
The hill
gradually sloped
down and pushed away from the road. On the side of the road, the hill
had
opened up into a
local farmers concession stand which was boarded up for the winter.
As we
drove by, I recalled
picking out our Halloween pumpkins with my father just a couple
months
ago.
Up ahead, the park
entrance was getting near. I knew it. I could see the different size
pine
trees planted along
the landscape. The evolution of pine trees were laid out before me.
The
earlier seedlings
were up to 3ft. tall, they blended into rows that were up to 6ft.
tall, and then on
up to 12 ft. tall.
The snow spread out along all the many trees and their branches. A
soothing
calm came over me as
we drove passed the pines.
Suddenly, we were
turning right at the corner of Pine Tree Farm. The park entrance was
not much further
down on the right hand side. The road had a gradual rise that brought
the
vehicle above the
valley of houses on the left. We could see the roof tops covered in
snow as
smoke flowed out
some of the chimneys. In the distance, beyond the rooftops, I could
see the
huge office building
were my father was employed. The car was now on its slow decent over
the
hill where the
roadway leveled and the tree line ended.
Unexpectedly, the
trees on the right ended and a long wooden open fence appeared with
two horizontal
wooden poles. It was connected to wooden posts that continued down
the length
of the road. The
fence was painted a rustic redwood color, but now was capped with
snow. A
huge field was just
beyond. We could see the snow was flat and untouched. It created a
feeling of
freshness and
adventure.
In preparation, we
slowed down for the right hand turn at the park entrance. The open
field was to our
right as we entered and we could now see some children building a
snowman.
On the left was the
huge barn were employees cared for horses, pigs, chickens, and other
farm
animals. The park
roads were plowed and clear of snow. Continuing on, we made our way
down
the entrance and
then turned left into the parking area. Parking spaces where on the
left and right
down a one way
drive. Located on the left was the animal barn and to the right was a
large lodge
building where
everyone visited during their time at the park. My uncle pulled the
car into a
parking spot near
the walkway leading to the barn. I opened my door and sprang out of
the car
excited to be in the
park and that the fifteen minute long car ride was over.
Now, I was standing
outside and could feel the cold air upon my face. My aunt and uncle
made their way out
of the car and towards the trunk where I was already standing. Uncle
Roger
opened the trunk and
pulled out the sled handing it to me. Aunt Rena told me to grab her
hand as
we walked across the
parking lot towards the lodge. Restrooms were available via an
outside
entrance that
connected inside the lodge as well. I was so excited that I didn't
want to stop, but
they both had to
relieve themselves. So, they took turns while one remained outside
with me.
Around the corner
and beyond the building, there was a huge lake that was frozen over.
However, it was too
early in the winter and not thick enough to ice skate on. A garage
was next
to the restrooms
where the park rangers stored their equipment. A walking path was
plowed from
the garage of the
lodge to the left side of the pond. It moved over a levy that led
towards the
flower garden which
was now covered in snow. The path continued on into the woods beyond
and around the pond.
However, the path plowed to the right of the garage went along the
pond
and across another
open field where many footprints were visible. Beyond the pond and
the open
field we could see
the mountain filled with visitors sleighing down it. We followed the
road
along the pond and
headed out towards the mountain. In actuality, it was just a big
hill.
Nevertheless, the
hill appeared more like a mountain through the eyes of a young boy.
Further down the
path, we came across a levy bridge that connected the huge pond on
the
left with a smaller
one to the right. We were now at the bottom of the hill and there was
only one
way up and one way
down. Visitors climbed their way up the left side of the hill. The
rangers
had built a
makeshift fence of light wood and orange plastic X material. The
fence protected
visitors from the
sleighs racing down the hill. The walk up took a good 5 - 10 minutes
depending
on the visitors age.
Younger children (like me) would rush up the hill within 5 minutes
and find
an aisle to set up
and get ready to sleigh down.
Once I saw an
opening, it was time to run and jump on my sleigh. In an instance, I
was
on smiling and
laughing with joy as the excitement of going down the hill took over
my being. I
found my aunt and
uncle at the bottom and immediately asked if I could go up again. My
uncle
nodded his head up
and down. Before he could say yes, I was on my way up the hill again.
They
watched me as I
climbed up the hill blending with the crowd of visitors. It was
another ten
minutes before my
aunt and uncle saw me again. I made my way over to where they were
standing and I was
ready to start heading up the big hill again.
However, This time
my uncle suggested that I try something different. A mound of snow
was created from the
plows along the side of the levy near the smaller pond. The mound was
10
feet high and my
uncle helped me create a path at 45 degrees down the mound. It only
took me a
moment to get to the
top and I could sleigh down for a short ride. It was more enjoyable
for me,
because I did not
need to make the long climb to the top of the hill. Furthermore, I
felt a sense of
relief from my aunt
and uncle as I remained within their sight. I can still recall
looking up at
them and witnessing
the inspiration of love they possessed when they looked into each
other's
eyes tenderly.
Finally, the
outdoor elements had forced us into the lodge where we ordered hot
cocoa. I
enjoyed the company
of my aunt and uncle. We watched the logs in the large fireplace
while the
smooth taste of hot
cocoa warmed my soul.
