Renton, WA

Here is something fun for your family to do together this summer, that will get the kids moving instead of playing computer or video games during our glorious and rare sunny months. This is not a sport camp that you can drop your child off at and go back an sit on the couch yourself. This will actually get you moving too, and require participation (and fun) on your part.

REI Passport to Adventure gives kids a passport book/journal and list of suggested family hikes and bike rides. Each time the child completes an “adventure” they bring they passport into the store to be stamped. After completing a certain number (the webpage says five, the pdf says three) the child receives a certificate, a water bottle, and an entry into a contest. They are also encouraged to write about their adventure in the journal.

While I am quite sure that REI does this as a sales opportunity, I am fairly confident I can resist impulse purchases there, unless they drastically expand their product line-up in the next few months. I’ll have to weigh the added incentive of the passport (kids love to have things stamped) with the shopping hazard of having to make at least four trips to the store. One to get the passport book, and then one for each stamp.

Each store location provides a list of the local suggested hikes, and a very helpful description of each location. “Local” is obviously a relative term, since one of them suggested for the Tukwila location is a 2 hour drive away at Mt Ranier, but the brochure assures us that it is worth it. Since my youngest has not yet even mastered the art of riding a bike in a parking lot, I think we might start with some local bike rides first.