Camping Gear

Derek's been itching to get some camping gear since he started working with the scouts.
There was a backpacking trip last weekend, that he had to pass on due to our lack of...well...anything.
Well, NO MORE my friends!

This morning was REI's summer Garage Sale over in Redmond, so we got up early and stood in a line of over 200 people to get first pass over all of the great deals they had. REI Garage Sales are where they re-sell all of the returned/damaged items. They are only open to members, but everything is on crazy clearance. Derek has been looking for a backpack forever, and we were able to find one that was even better than the one he was originally looking at... for a fraction of the price. My best find was an ultra warm mummy sack that had a torn seam. We got it for 20 bucks! Once I got it home, I grabbed my sewing stuff, and I had that baby fixed in 10 minutes flat.

By the end of the sale, we picked up a 3 person backpacking tent, a tent footprint, 2 backpacks (a heavy duty and a lighter duty...both fit Derek, but the lighter one fits me as well if I ever wanted to use it), 3 backpacking sleeping bags, and a water bottle. I love everything we found, and I'm seriously excited to use it! Too bad I'm a little too pregnant to use it!

We also took the chance to go to Renton River Days... It's a free community event with food vendors, craft booths, games for kids, music, and a lot of other cool stuff. Walking around River Days made it feel like summer to me. Almost like the Liberty Fest. Man I love summer.