The land of Shopping

The second day in California was a light variant of the first day. I just went to ONE store, instead of one huge mall. But what a store. It is my favorite store in USA - REI. It carries outdoor - and sport clothes.

Since last summer I haven't bought any hiking clothes or equipment even though I needed quite a lot. I waited for the California trip. Especially I needed boots. Hiking boots it's a sensitive thing. They have to be bought with a great deal of care, since you know that you will have a long relationship with them. My first pair I had for 7 years and my second pair I have had 8 years. 

So it was with great expectations I entered the shop which I planned to spend a couple of hours in.

First I got slightly disappointed! I was off season, so there wasn't a lot to choose from and there were not much left in the "Clearance" either. But I found a nice young guy that could help me to find at least the basics that I needed: Hiking pants with zippers (which they have stopped making for some strange reason), wool T-shirt, Fleece and hiking underwear.

And then we stepped into the boots department. I think I tried hiking boots for more than one hour. And finally I found my pair in the correct size (which was a struggle to find since the translation from European to American sizes were different from one pair to another). A pair of Assolo, light weight Gore-tex , with good Vibram soles (and only a hiker understands the last sentence). I was happy!!! The young boy that helped me was also happy - I was his best customer that day. And I managed to finish almost my whole shopping list in 2 days. Only a few minor thing and pair of jogging shoes left. Pretty awesome to feel on top of the shopping schedule. 

We have one BIG issue on the trip. My brother hurt his back a few weeks back. It was getting better before the trip. But the long flight here and the first long day of shopping completely destroyed it. So now we mostly see him laying down and he has a hard time to move and can't sit in the car. This meant that the planned trip to Napa Valley today had to be moved until Wednesday. Hopefully he will feel better then.

My brother's normal position at the moment