Is anyone else interested in swimming, kayaking, and bicycling?

I'm pretty sure I do. I'm positive that shopping with me at REI is not an experience people who aren't me should really be subjected to. Not only do I have to check out all the gear, I have to examine their merchandising strategies and check out all the testing facilities.

There's the shoe testing one, but I'm blanking on any others. (Maybe you can test the bikes? I don't bike, so I don't know.)

I used to hit it about 3 times a week, before we switched day cares. Thus far, it has failed me on bras (nothing over a DD), shoes (nothing that fits my weird feet), and possibly socks (for reasons I'm unclear on at this point, as that was when I was attempting to jog, so a while back).

On the plus side, it has provided me with freeze dried ice cream bars and titanium sporks.

I worked at an REI for two years and an independent outdoor store for another 3. The upper limit to the amount of time I can spend looking at things made of Gore-Tex and/or titanium is very high indeed. And I've got a big fat dividend from buying the canoe last year. It will be like unto a day at a spa for me.

I hope they still have the raingear testing room, I've been wanting to see that a long long time.

They might! I only am really aware of what you can see in front of your face, thus my awareness of the shoe testing range.

If you do decide to make a trip there, don't eat at the World Wraps. Grab real food at one of the places across the street.

I'd be interested in kayaking, if it's calm water & casual.

Any kayaking people would do in the city proper would probably be on Lake Washington. Which is pretty placid.

Buffista BBQ sounds excellent.

I'm only good for an hour max. at REI, probably.

The underground tour sounds interesting.

I did the underground tour years ago -- as in Matt and I were ust starting to ate. and we've been married 20 years. it was amazing. I made Matt read the books I bought

It's not that it's far, it's just that there are multiple pain in the ass roads to cross to get to REI from the Space Needle, including Highway 99.

Yeah, that's the same awful pedestrian-unfriendly area as that one hotel next to a Whole Foods was. Also, there's a monstrous hill to climb. Not good.

Horrible Fucking Building That Deserves To Be Sporked: the fucking Central fucking Library. Ghastly, appalling, already-dated-looking-piece-of-crap.

Huh. I quite like the building. Well, the exterior. Never stepped foot in it.

Oh, and hey! I was thinking I should mention that I'm totally up for a Buffista BBQ at my house, if anyone's up for that.

What day were you thinking?

I dunno. Any of 'em.

The interior looks like ass. Let us put it this way: even I am against the way they used LIME.