Want to take a trip to the past, find your favorite memories? Rediscover the fun and adventure you shared with your family and friends a few--or many--years ago? Since I am an author of memoirs, actually two books of memoirs, "The Wishing Years" and "A Tree Grows in Trout Creek," recollecting my life stories is what I do just about every day. Weekdays, I write from my office in Michigan, the stories of my and my family and friends' youthful experiences.

But on weekends, my husband and I take a break from our work and take shorts trips away from home to exciting and wondrous places known as antique malls, flea markets and, yes, garage sales. Here, we continue our travels back in time, searching for any item that evokes dreams of another era, another story, another memoir to write about.

Our motto is: "You never know what you might find!" as we search the sales for treasures. While my husband Jim looks for such items as old railroad books, odd tools and motorcycle magazines from the past, I look for anything that strikes longing in my heart. That anything might be an old floral feed sack from the 1940's, a "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" party game from the 1950's or it could be a family cookbook put together by the good church ladies of Iowa Falls in 1959. None of these items are expensive in dollars and cents but, to me the memory seeker, are worth a fortune in riches for reminiscing.

Each item has a story for me to tell, a connection to a memory of someone or someplace or some special event that has long gone the way of forgetfulness. Either Jim or I remember our mothers making clothes out of feed sacks; playing the donkey game at a friend's birthday party when we were kids, or the enjoyment of good old-fashioned hometown food as discovered in the 1959 cookbook. We share stories, sail on down the road to another favorite flea market and let the sun shine on our day.

There are many antique malls available throughout our wonderful countryside and you will likely find one or more near you. Take a day off from the routine of your daily work and go shopping for a memory or two. Remember our motto, "You never know what you might find!" Who knows what long lost memories might be waiting for you, just a few miles down the road...or in one the thousands of enchanting antique malls online.

About the Author

Coralie Cederna Johnson is the author of two books of memoirs, "The Wishing Years" and "A Tree Grows in Trout Creek." Read more about her memoir writing at www.wildwoodpress.org. Other works by the author have appeared in various publications: Detroit News, McCall's, Woman's Day and Family Circle. Johnson is retired from the University of Michigan and currently teaches as an adjunct lecturer for the Eastern Michigan University