J, yeah bummer about the shades...oh well. I appreciate the kind words...we'll see how things pan out in the future. Yes it's a little tough when the kids are cranky and you're exhausted yourself, you wish the other parent was there to help but c'est la vie.
I've never backpacked but I've done hiking and camping a lot. We even bought a travel trailer last year and wanted to do lots of camping trips with the family this year and years to come. Oh well. Oh yeah there's REI here but not that close to me so I don't usually go there. Even with the meetups etc I prefer to go with at least one person I know so I'm usually in a chicken-or-the-egg situation but sometimes I do step out of my comfort zone and just do it.
Me: 35|WAW: 38|D: 6yo | http://tinyurl.com/2dxx7m6 Feb 2006, left, came back in two weeks Aug 2006, left again Apr 2007, filed for divorce Dec 2007, reunited Mar 2010, moved out, filed again
