REI Convert

The last time I was in need of outdoors gear, I headed for the big Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine. If Bass Pro is the mecca of the hunting/fishing/good 'ol boy outdoorsy life, REI is the equivalent for the sporty/hippie crowd. There's an interesting dichotomy between the two, a difference in philosophy and approach to nature. I'm more philosophically aligned with the Bass Pro side of things, but since I neither hunt nor fish, REI works just as well!

I knew Sam would be needing rain boots before we were ready to take advantage of the winter weather, and Google informed me that there's an REI near our apartment so I pointed us in that direction. It's really quite close, only about an 8 minute walk past heavy downtown traffic, stores and road construction. Then we turn a corner and find a lovely forested oasis, complete with waterfall and mountain bike testing trail.

A helpful sign explained that this was"the first corporately sustained urban forest in Seattle"

Turns out this is their flagship location! I knew that REI was famous for its indoor climbing walls, but in addition to a large one, this place also has the aforementioned forest and bike trail, a US Ranger Station, indoor children's play area, cafeteria, and who knows what else. I even met another Texas mom! (Yay for Aggie shirts!) They'd also recently relocated to the area for Amazon. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get her name because I'm horribly awkward and scatterbrained. I'm really regretting that because she had a little boy not much older than Sam and it would have been great to compare notes.

By the time we got to children's footwear it was almost lunch and nap time, so Sam wasn't in a mood to linger or particularly interested in trying on shoes (by which I mean he screamed every time we approached his feet). In his defense, Mommy made the mistake of exploring the store and letting him play *before* we tried on shoes. >_< The lady who helped us in the shoe department was still very helpful and sold me a pair of boots (to be tried on at home) and a membership. 

So now I have another good destination to take advantage of while we're downtown! On the way out, I snapped a picture of the view:

Not bad for downtown!