TA DA!!
Drew has been searching for me the perfect backpack (no, not like take your backpack and lunch box to school... but like.. I am going out into the wilderness for days with only this pack on my back!) for months and months. I went from knowing zero about packs to knowing a pretty decent amount. I have tried them on. I have researched them online. I have read backpacker magazine and compared.
Then it happened.
Well the back story is we almost bought a Gregory pack, which is a super nice pack but didn't have as much space per weight as Drew wanted for me. He is hardcore so I just go along! (plus it wasn't that pretty...) We were looking at the basic brands REI (we are loyal to them most of the time for gear) carried and then after looking at a backpacker magazine all about packs I started looking at this other brand...and prettier brand. It just so happens (I think this is how it went down... Drew might have looked it up first and then the magazine etc etc) that this is the exact brand Drew's pack is! So then he started looking at the packs in this brand. They are really nifty with front pockets and a top pocket (this is helpful) and they are mostly really pretty! yay! They even had one that was almost pink... but it was too small. We were undecided b/c they cost a little bit more and REI didn't carry them, thus no change of clearance!
So, Saturday Drew was very gracious to me and took me out to the Summit (outdoors shopping center across town) because they have the only DSW in the area and I needed some new black flats (my favorites being two years old from payless and while still comfy and cute, useless for the foot!). I also never make purchases alone unless I am really sold on a item so I knew going alone would be useless. So we finally...finally picked out a cute pair and were off to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, which is also at the Summit. Then, alas, the factory was gone. The one time I actually went to purchase some guilty pleasure and it had just vanished. No champagne truffle for me. I was bummed... but since we were at the Summit we decided to go into Quest... which is a very pricey but cool outdoorsy store... and the sign out front read CLEARANCE! perfect.
We went in and found this SUPER COOl coat and lots of fun other clothes for other fun activities that we didn't need. Don't worry we didn't purchase them. We did find Drew a nifty water-proof (not resistant like those bag thingies) rain jacket that he has been wanting (maybe needing... but probably not) for a while. Then we went to look at shoes, mostly ugly and packs. We had looked here already before while researching but hadn't noticed the brand we now were looking for b/c we weren't looking for it before. haha. There is was! They carried it!
I found a REALLY PRETTY ONE (pictured above) and we wanted to try it on since it was the right weight/space ratio for me. TOO BIG. Well the guy walks into the back to find the smaller size. The downside of this pack was that it wasn't women's specific like we had been looking for, which shifts the weight slightly in some areas. Not a huge deal but not ideal either. The guy comes out with the smaller size and it just happened to be a men's pack that had been customized to fit a woman! (that's the non-technical way of saying it). HURRAY.
So I tried it on and liked it just as much as the other packs (it helped that it was really pretty and nifty). Then to my utter shock and surprise Drew bought it for me! After all our searching my pack was found. It was a pretty penny but we still had birthday and Christmas money that never got spent, so it's okay. I wanted to wear the pack around our next stop (Barnes and Noble) but Drew didn't think it was a good idea. So I wore it as soon as we got home instead. We also got a backpacker salt and pepper shaker thingy! Isn't my hubby wonderful?!
The whole reason we are going through all of this is because we want to be in God's creation more. We want to rejoice in God's splendor that He has graciously given us and experience it hands on! We are young and yet we live in a pretty mundane schedule most of the time... with a lot of our time going to school and work. Drew already has all the gear for camping and so he has had to catch me up on a few things (sleeping bag and backpack mainly) and off we go! As soon as it warms up a little we are hitting the trail with our backpacks on and granola in hand!! It's so fun because this is also an area where I learn to submit and trust my husband. If you know me from the past, I am not really the athletic or outdoorsy type. Since being married to Drew I have biked 60+ miles in one day, started running, gone hiking, gone rock climbing and now camping! I don't know anything about anything and so he teaches me and guides me all along the way and it is such a joy for me to follow him and a joy for him to teach me and lead me. It's neat.
We also might be embarking with our packs on a little longer of an adventure an ocean or two away. hmmmm more to come!
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