Today we went to REI, a.k.a.the Restoration Hardware of adventure travel stores, to stock up on gear. Absurdly expensive, but we did manage to find some bargains. Bonus Points awarded for not spending all of the money in our bank accounts, so that’s a win.
Observations and questions:
- The staff members are fantastic! They took they time to answer every little question we had and often pointed us to products that were not the most expensive on the rack. Big ups! In addition…see #4.
- Does the NorthFace company create their clothing from nymph-hair and platinum-plated spider sugar? Is that the reason that a 3oz rain shell costs $300? Do they give you magical powers?
- Backpacks should come with a) one rain cover that sprouts from the lid and b) a duffel bag that is excreted from the bottom of the sack. It seems silly to buy multiple bags for your bags.
- Everyone is really in your face about whatever trip that has prompted them to sacrifice their checking account. We saw one women demanding that the friendly staff member, who was diligently listening to her tell him about the shoes she had in her hand, guess where she was going based on the type of shoe she wanted. Surprise, surprise…he didn’t care. In fact, he refused to guess, which made my day.
- The cats really enjoy the paper bags REI sent home with us.
- John bought some magic underpants.
Magic Underwear
Loot!
A side trip to Best Buy and I finally bought the camera we will use on the trip: a Canon PowerShot G16. I expect that there will be many pictures of the dogs taken over the next couple of weeks as I figure out how to use a point and shoot again. I usually stay away from the ‘scene modes’, but this one has a Star nightscape and Star trails mode, as well as a Star time-lapse movie mode that ‘provides an easy introduction to the world of astro-photography.’ (!!!) – CameraLab’s Review, October 2013.
That’s enough retail for one day.
A: Knock Knock.
B: Who’s Th-
A: I’M GOING TO ICELAND!!!!!
Categories: Preperation
365 Days on the Road 