The year I was in second grade I donned a little brown uniform every Wednesday for our weekly girl scout meeting. I was a Brownie, y’all. I have the sash and badges to prove it.
That year I learned two things: 1) I love girl scout cookies and 2) I hate camping.
Which is why I hadn’t been a frequent visitor to REI stores, because I thought they sold camping stuff. And they do. Sell camping stuff I mean. But they are SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
This is the story of the time I went shopping at an REI store. Also, there’s a giveaway for a $100 REI gift card in this post to entice you to read it 😉
I used to be fairly athletic. I was a gymnast in my youth. And in college, I took up rock climbing.
I’ll pause and let that sink in for a minute.
Not only did I rock climb, but the first time I ever went climbing I was with the guy I was dating and one of our friends. And do you know what I did? I hiked up a cliff and repelled off the top of it. Did I mention I’m afraid of heights? Or that we didn’t have any certified climbing people with us? And that it was probably one of the most reckless things I’ve ever done?
Turns out, I’m really good at rock climbing and decided to take up the sport after that.
Since having the baby I have done a little yoga and patted myself on the back for attempting to get in shape. But now that our quarantine is over, I decided that the baby and I would join Jeff and take up running. Which meant I needed some running shoes. Which, okay, probably they’re more like jogging shoes. But the point is, we’ll be doing something active and healthy together as a family.
REI generously offered to let us tour their store so that they could show us how they are all about promoting family friendly outdoor activities. They set us up with Tim, who hit it off with my husband and gave us a briefing on getting started as a runner. First up: running shoes.
I convinced Jeff to try on these:
Apparently these 5 fingered shoes are all the rage with runners right now. Tim told us it has to do with the placement of your heel when you run. The barefoot style shoes keeps the pressure off your knees and heels. I wanted Jeff to try them on because they were so funny looking but he loved them and ended up with a different pair in the barefoot style.
I have a crazy high arch and I’m incredibly bow legged and so I thought I’d be kind of a challenge for Tim. I wasn’t. He totally knew what sort of shoes I needed (special running inserts, actually) but the problem? I am really tiny.
Here is where we ended up buying shoes for me:
Yeah, I’m sporting some kid’s running shoes. Don’t hate.
Then we ran into some of friends that we met when Scarlette was in the NICU and chatted with them for a long time. Tim was really patient with us as we caught up on how their baby is doing (really well, in case you were wondering.)
Then we browsed the jogging strollers. I fell in love with the BOB Stroller but it was definitely out of our price range, even with REI generously footing the bill for our shopping trip. Footing the bill. I crack myself up.
Then we shopped around and picked up a few BPA free water bottles, some running attire and a couple little sunhats for Scarlette. Jeff browsed through the mountain bike section because he is really into trail biking. I tried trail biking once. I fell off the bike. I think I need the kid’s size in bikes too. While he talked to the sales associates about the merits of tire sizes, I swooned over little girl’s bikes and imagined a day when the baby is older and we can all go bike riding together.
When we do, REI has these great little Adventure Journals where kids can track their outdoor activities. Plus, REI offers some really great classes on cycling. Actually, they have some really great classes on a lot of topics, including one on outdoor photography that I think y’all would like. And by y’all, I mean all of you scrapbookers who read my blog. It’s definitely the one I’m most interested in. (Specifically, the digital camera basics class in Atlanta is only $30 for member and $50 for non-members. That is an excellent price for a beginner’s photography class.) Or you could take a rock climbing class if my tales of hanging from a cliff in West Virginia got you all inspired.
For now, I’m focusing on the running. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m feeling pretty inspired about the idea of getting in shape and having a concentrated family activity to get us out of the house more.
And since REI is all about inspiring you to get active, they are giving away a $100 giftcard to one of my readers!
What outdoor activity do you pledge to do with your family this summer and how would a $100 REI gift card help you get there? Take the REI Outdoor Pledge and submit your comment to be entered.
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older and runs from 8/17 – 9/20/11. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. Head to the BlogHer round-up page for more chances to win.
