I also like the smell of skunk, excercises the sinuses and reminds me that all things in life are precious, beautiful and pungent.

 

I love the smell of the beach, as you're driving down the access road behind the dunes. The wind isin't blowing as hard, and you pick up a nose-full of sea salt & dry, hot grasses. I instantly think of all the times my Dad would let me putter down the beach in his Toyota 4x4 P/U when I was a kid.

I also enjoy the smell of thick clay mud hitting a hot exhaust! A sweet, woody aroma that makes me want to go 4-wheeling!!

 

I would have to say,
For the best smell,A cider mill during the autumn months
And for the worst smell,,,,
Well,I already told ya about the Queen,and her pickled bologna

 

Smells that bring back fond memories:

The kitchen at my Grandparents' cottage - a mixture of pine and Grandma's English-Canadian cooking (their home kitchen just wasn't the same).

My Uncle's pipe smoke (Old Port). He died when I was 16, but I had not seen him since I was 8. My Aunt's cooking and coffee. She is an amazing traditional German cook. She makes the best coffee I have ever had. She still uses a percolator and it is VERY strong. Many times I have willingly sacrificed a night's sleep for a second, third or even fourth cup of coffee.

Fresh baking bread, wood oven pizza. No memories, just great aromas.

That earthy smell in an old growth hardwood forest. I spent many hours poking about the forest as a kid.

Muskol. Some spilled in my Dad's tackle box when I was really young, so it always reminds me of fishing at the cottage. Probably also explains why we never caught anything.

Lumber yards and fresh lumber. Reminds me of the excitement I felt when Dad and I had a project to do.

Chain saws. I don't associate this smell with anybody. I just enjoy cutting and trimming trees (when necessary - I'm not out to denude the landscape), so it reminds me of enjoyable times I have had.

I only have one negative smell memory that comes to mind right now. Please note that I am NOT looking for any sympathy here. My mother died last Thursday after a three year battle with cancer. Mom's natural body smell while living was not typically unpleasant, but after a month in the hospital, and despite daily sponge baths from the nursing assistants, it was pretty strong. It was not offensive, just strong. I am sure that if I ever encounter that smell again during the rest of my life, I will be taken back to the night she passed away.

Typing all this makes me want to take Dad to a lumber yard. Not to buy anything, just to walk around. I can't describe how proud I am of that man for the selflessness he displayed through Mom's illness.

Cheers,
Eric

 

There’s nothing like the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory.

One of the best lines/scenes in a movie. Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now

 

The smell of a Late July rain while standing at the trailhead to Mystic Lake, after you have just descended from the top.

Nitrocellulose and Nitroglycerine based powders, particularly Hodgdon H1000/50BMG/Retumbo.

My garage, and the tinny smell after the AutoCAD drill press has cut a pattern in metal.

 

The inside of a burnt building has a distinct smell. My aunt was in a fire many years ago, and I can still remember the smell of the apt since I was like 5 years old

 

Carburetor cleaner !

 

Around 25 years ago our house burned beyond repair. We were able to salvage some things from the home. The only items that we have left are the photo albums.

close 25 years after the fire I can still smell the smoke in those phot albums. It gives a whole new memory to my childhood when I open up those albums.

 

Well there is really no way to describe it, but it is the smell from Basic Training. Or maybe it was the floor wax, or the smell of 60 guys confined to two bays. It was just wierd, you could still smell it in tech school, on the new guys coming from Basic Training. That is one smell that you want to leave behind.

Harlow~J4F~

 

my very first girl friend in high school used some certain kind of shampoo. i have no clue what kind it was, but if a women walks by and i catch a whiff off it, wow it takes me right back. also every day I'm reminded of my dad when i jump in my work van. plumbing vans have a certain smell to them (not what your thinking). maybe a mixture of acetylene and pipe dope i don't know but it takes me right back to twelve years old riding to jobs with dad.

 

I love the smell of 2 stroke smoke in the morning after I start my bike for the first ride of the day. Also like the smell of race gas.

 

I love the smell of Bondo. When I smell it, it takes me back to the body shop where I worked when I was 15.

Copenhagen, reminds me of my Dad

Musty, leather smell reminds me of my Grandpa

Truck stop at 4am, reminds me of traveling with my Dad.

Fresh cut alphalfa, early in the morning, reminds me of all the service calls me and my Dad went on. (New Holland, serviceman)

man, I never thought of smells so much

 

This has been a great thread all. Funny how we are all different but the overiding theme in this thread seems to be the smells that take us back to our younger days. Also really neat to read and "see" the different parts of the country and how they affect the posts from one coast to the other....north and south. Awesome guys, it really is.

 

For me it has to be the smell of turbo prop fuel. Knowing that when the Super Otter gets off the ground and the smell is flowing through the plane, ah sweet. Then when " DOOR " is called and the aroma is back again... well just step out into the blue and enjoy the F+3 fall. Always remember the sky is not the limit...the ground is. Enjoy.
Zapp