REI comes to Florida!

    ©2013 Lydia Hinshaw

Opening day, with the beginning of the long line

 JACKSONVILLE, FL -- First let me say that we don't go to grand openings of retail stores.
 Friday morning we made an exception.  We arrived at the new REI store here half an hour before the doors opened and found ourselves in line behind about 350 others.  We got our free water bottles (retail $14 each), but our bottles didn't have the gift certificates that went to the first 200 customers.
 We didn't mind.  It's enough to have an REI, the first in Florida, just 80 Mapquest miles from our driveway.
 For decades we've shopped at REI, the Seattle-based outdoor store whose products used to be available to us only through mail order or road trips.  Long road trips.
 By my count, we've visited 19 other REI stores over the years, only two of them east of the Mississippi:  Albuquerque, Anchorage, Bloomington (MN), Boise, Boulder, Bozeman, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Eugene, Folsom (CA), Greensboro, Henderson (NV), Missoula, Reno, Sacramento, St. Louis, Sandy (UT), Santa Fe and Sacramento,
 About six years ago, I was delighted when REI opened a store in Greensboro, NC, in the county where I grew up and where I still visit relatives at least once a year.
 What's so great about REI?  It's a co-op, and if you're a member, you get annual dividends on everything you spend in the store, plus everything else you charge on an REI Visa card.  You can trade the dividends for something else you want from REI, and believe me, if you're an outdoor type, there's always something else you want from REI. 
 Customer service is outstanding.  Best of all, REI stands behind everything it sells.  If you aren't satisfied with a tent or a sleeping bag or a kayak or a bicycle, for any reason at any time, even 10 years after you bought it, you can return it for a full refund, no questions asked.
 Not long after we got into the new REI, we noticed another long line -- people were lining up with their purchases, ready to check out. 
 We didn't buy anything, which is rare for an REI visit.  But we spotted a few items that would come in handy this summer.  Last year's dividends should be in the mail soon, and REI is just a day trip now.