Fishing for salmon in Patagonia

Day two in the land of bacon and hash tags. We just happened to be down the road from the Patagonia outdoor clothing company, so popped in for a visit. Man, I tell you all you NZ retailers, you need to take a look at how these guys do business.....they had free food tasting of alaskan salmon, and free cups of a local craft beer. Loved the salmon and crackers, not so much the IPA wanna-be though. Lots of happy shoppers wandering the store with a beer in hand, the amount they spent depending on how many refills they had had! And yes, I did walk away with a few goodies myself :-)

We then hit another outdoor gear chain store called REI. Sort of like a Bivouac, really. Got some good deals anyway. Then Carmen wanted to go to a Target store (no, not Figure 11's - more like a Ware whare). Just to give you an idea of why the west is the way it is, take a look at the 80 inch TV I saw. Yes, you read that right, a mere 80" of coloured splendor for a mere $3699.99US. Sigh.

It was also here that I witnessed the height of idleness - an escalator for your shopping trolley! So when you exited the shop, you didn't even need to push your trolley (down hill!) yourself. Just place it on the escalator and grab it at the bottom. Boggled the mind.

We then went to a picnic at a beach, to spend some more time with Carmen's sister and her neice. Didn't think I would need trousers and a warm jacket, but I did! Lots of food and a good time had by all. Got back to the hotel looking forward to a quiet night. But guess what? Yes, another party. Sigh.

The following day we hit some more stores. This time the biggest damn outdoor store I have ever been in - Bass Pro Shop at Rancho Cucamonga. The name rolls off the tongue, too!
This shop is like Hunting & Fishing stores on steroids. Complete with indoor trout pool, boats, ATVs, guns, gear, food, restaurant, you name it. Heaven under one roof. A very, very, very large roof.

Wow!

There is even a class on outdoor gear for the kids, going on in the fore-ground.....

In order to preserve some funds for the rest of our trip, I refrained from buying large amounts of kit, only some bits-and-bobs. Believe it, or not....