Second Visit at R.E.I.

On the way to REI, I am so surprised to hear Christmas music on the radio. Come on, it's not even Thanksgiving yet! At least we should wait till after Turkey Day before playing Christmas songs. The parking lot is full at the back of REI. As soon as I step into the store, I see red signs all over the place with snow flakes on - Winter Sales! Wow, thanks to the Christmas spirit, maybe I can get some deals too.

I am looking for the Sahara hiking pants Julee recommended. She says she will bring four pairs of pants including two Saharas, a normal khaki pant for roaming the cities... I was going to just bring two Sahara pants to conserve space until she says "well, I want to look at least half-way decent. So I wear my city khaki pant when I go sight seeing." After that I cannot help but paint this horrible picture of these Sahara pants. They must be seriously lacking in style. Here they are, very practical with big cargo pockets on the thighs, a hidden inside pocket under one of the side pockets, and two back pockets. You can remove the lower portion of the pant and convert it into shorts. Also it's light and supposed to dry in 20 minutes. I pick out the only two colors, charcoal and beige and try it on. I stare at myself in the fitting room mirror. From the side, it seems ok but as I turn around, my lower body is bloated like a hot hair balloon. I look like a turnip! I guess for flexibility, the pant is wide at the hips and thighs but narrow at the ankles so insects cannot get in easily? Ha, now I understand what Julee was talking about. I will need to bring some extra city pants too. :-)

One and half hours later, I've picked up two Sahara pants, a pair of long socks and a sun hat. I could not find the cover duffel for my Kelty. They ran out of the larger size. I will have to pay another visit later.