The Great REI Extravaganza!!

So it is not new to everyone that Dustin and I love being outdoors and like sports, etc. So when we found out about the REI Attic Sale we decided we weren't going to miss out on this one!! Dustin and I could easily spend thousands of dollars here. So we made a plan. We went a few weeks before to go try things on make a game plan, decide what we needed and what we just would like, and what we just wanted. We were told that they hand out tickets at 8am to the people in line, and then at 10am they open the doors, only letting in 25 people at a time, in the order that they handed out the tickets, so you get your tickets and then go somewhere for 2 hours and come back. But then they told us that there was a lot bigger store and so they had a larger selection and we thought we'd go there instead.

So on Saturday morning we woke up at 5:45, dressed, ate and got in our car with some warm clothes and snacks. When we got there, there were just 13 or so people in front of us so we thought we had it made, and it was only 7:15. But 8am came and went, and then 8:30, and we had by then met the people all around us in line, and we found out that they just open the doors at 10am and let everyone in and it is utter chaos. So we took turns waiting in the car trying to warm up, it was freezing!! Here we are waiting in line.

People came with camping chairs, and their sleeping bags, and yes, someone put up a tarp to keep the wind away.

The line continues to get longer and longer....

Dustin trying to warm up in the car!!

The line still keeps getting longer...

Yes, there were that many people, and more in this tiny room in the back! The attic sale is the discounted prices of all the returns. So you get great deals, but they might have something wrong with them, like a little pull, or missing a bolt or something, or they were just returned. But you cannot return them once you buy them at the attic sale.

So we didn't get a picture of all the items we got, but we wanted winter stuff mostly for me since I didn't have much. Dustin had the mission of grabbing boots for him and me, and I went for the coats, gloves, clothes, etc. Then we met outside the tiny room and stood in a corner and tried things on.

We ended up getting Dustin a pair of North Face really really nice winter boots for $50, me a great pair for $30, and a pair of nice hiking boots for $10. Then I got a long sleeve running shirt that is super nice for $5 and Dustin got a pair of knitted gloved for $8, the kind that the top flips off and the thumb top flips so you can expose your fingers but keep your gloves on. Then we got liners, and ski socks and snow pants, and some other stuff and we actually stayed in our budget!! It was a fun time and we're very proud of our spoils, but next time we're going to the store in Fairfax where you only have to wrestle 25 people at a time and stand in line for 1 hour instead of 3!!!