{"id":197334,"date":"2024-09-27T10:18:34","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T17:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=197334"},"modified":"2024-11-20T11:15:48","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T19:15:48","slug":"my-optoutside-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/my-optoutside-tradition","title":{"rendered":"My #OptOutside Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2015, REI Co-op closed its stores on Black Friday for the first time, giving its employees the day off to #OptOutside and encouraging others around the country to skip the shopping lines and do the same. In the nine years since, millions of people have decided to #OptOutside, enjoying the outdoors not only on Black Friday but year-round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To honor the origin of #OptOutside<\/a>, we asked REI Co-op Members and employees to share their annual day-after-Thanksgiving traditions\u2014including some that began before 2015 but have become cemented in the years since\u2014like picking up litter in the local park and planning creative camping trips with friends. Several people also decided to describe what opting outside means to them. We hope these stories inspire your own time outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What’s your #OptOutside tradition?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We want to hear about your favorite way to #OptOutside. Drop it in the comments below!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Run with the College Crew<\/h2>\n\n
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\"Photo
Photo courtesy of Kim Kreuzman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Name<\/strong>: Kim Kruezman
When tradition began:<\/strong> 2014
REI Co-op Member since 2014<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My #OptOutside tradition is all about spending time with the people I love. They say you meet your best friends in college, and for me that proved true. The 12 of us met at Ball State University in Indiana through the college\u2019s runner\u2019s association, and we bonded over a shared passion for the sport. Every day at 5 pm, we\u2019d gather at the campus pool to begin our daily ritual: a run. But we shared more than just miles. We trained for races and ate meals as a group. Some of us even lived together in an off-campus house we fondly called “The Run Club House.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been about 10 years since we graduated college and went from living just across campus from each other to living all over the country, yet our bond remains strong. Every year, we plan a running trip\u2014a half-marathon, marathon or 200-plus-mile relay in a city we\u2019ve wanted to visit, often where one or more of us now lives. We\u2019ve run through the mountains and along Washington’s coast; circled Michigan\u2019s sparkling lakes; trudged through Florida\u2019s humidity and sand; and enjoyed carefree miles amidst the cornfields of our home turf in Indiana.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each trip, we rent the biggest Airbnb we can find to recreate our college camaraderie. We prepare a prerace pasta dinner and relive old rituals like hiking to a cold lake for a postrace \u201cice bath\u201d or piling into a car and blasting songs from the early 2000s. We end our celebrations by exploring whatever city we\u2019re in\u2014cherishing our time together and the tradition we\u2019ve built. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Connected to Nature<\/h2>\n\n\n
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A Reprieve from Retail<\/h2>\n\n
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Photo courtesy of Sarah Skeffington<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Name:\u00a0<\/strong>Sarah Skeffington
When tradition began<\/strong>: 2016
REI Co-op Member since 2012<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Every year, my husband and I find time to go outside the day following Thanksgiving. After 10 years working retail, I felt a sense of relief when I started at REI as a part-time sales manager at the San Antonio, Texas, store and had Black Friday off work. It\u2019s become a time for my husband and I to head to the local park to either pick up trash or relax. We have enjoyed many #OptOutside days in different states due to visiting family or moving for work, including Texas, Delaware and Connecticut. This year, we will celebrate #OptOutside in Ohio! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Yurtsgiving”<\/h2>\n\n
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\"Close-up<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Name:<\/strong> Stephanie Sellinger
When tradition began:<\/strong> 2015
REI Co-op Member since 2007<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

My friends and I celebrate Yurtsgiving: We gather at a state park, rent a few yurts, and cook Thanksgiving dinner outside in the firepit and on camp stoves. Some of the meals are camp-cooking masterpieces! But it’s really about the camaraderie, especially when it rains, and we have to band together to cook a dinner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Family Cleanup<\/h2>\n\n
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\"Photo
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Finlayson<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Name:\u00a0<\/strong>Elizabeth Finlayson
When tradition began<\/strong>: 2020
REI Co-op Member since 2008<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Every year, my husband, son, daughter and I pick up litter around our kids\u2019 elementary school. It’s always fun because at the end of the day we get to have a cleaner school and<\/em> spend time together outdoors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Finding Peace Outside<\/h2>\n\n\n