New hiking boots!
My new hiking boots!
I went to the REI garage sale over the weekend and scored myself some new hiking boots! We were having dinner with friends Friday night and debating on whether I was really going to get myself out of the house in time to stand in line for the doors to open. I tried to convince my girlfriend’s husband to carpool with me since he’s in the market for a new snowboard for their son. Alas, I was on my own.
Fortunately, I’m up before 6 a.m. every morning making coffee for my husband anyway.
Viki negotiating rock fall inside Ape Caves – Washington State
I know, I’m an amazing wife. Really, it’s just that if I didn’t do that, I’d probably sleep ‘til 8 a.m. and then beat myself up about it all day long. But, I digress.
My boots…bought them for $60 and they’re regularly $150 boots so I’m jazzed. Admittedly, we haven’t hiked for a while but, gosh, we were going all over the place a few years ago. We’ve hiked Dog Mountain, Mt Defiance, St Helens, and so many other trails in the area.
We’ve hiked the Atalaya trail in Santa Fe, the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali Coast in Kauai. I’ve taken my boots to France, Germany and Italy and, yes, I used them enough to warrant lugging them around in my backpack.
Shoot, I’ve used my boots on trips just because the other shoes I brought were a bit too feminine to protect myself in the face of imminent danger. September 30th, 2010 we’re having a lovely time at the beginning of our third week in France when my husband sees on the internet that France is on “red alert” after bomb threats have evacuated the Eiffel Tower. Where are we headed to next? Paris, of course! Suddenly, my cute strappy sandals that match my equally cute skirts don’t have the same appeal.
By the time we arrived, there were so many armed guards with machine guns running around that my husband told me we weren’t setting foot outside our room unless I wore my hiking boots the entire time. So much for my romantic notion that I’d flit about the Champs-É lysé es with my adorable skirts flapping in a light breeze. I traded in that dream for khakis and boots and might as well have joined the soldiers guarding all the popular tourist attractions. Hey, it rained the whole time we were there anyway so the sandals just made my feet wet and cold.
Dan, Viki & our friend, Vikki, on our way to the Ape Caves – Washington
Viki
I am a Clark County native. I am Level 2 WSET (wine and spirit education trust)-certified and enjoy pairing wine with my passion for travel and fondness of food. My most prized possessions are the memories of places I've been with my husband, the chance encounters we've been blessed to have along the way and my carry-on bag. I can often be seen around town and in tasting rooms with our two beautiful, double-Merle Australian shepherds, Challenge and Baby Girl.