Apr 29, 2007

Travel store opens downtownBy Dan DalyRapidCityJournal.com

Rapid City — Birdie Machacek is only three years old, but she has probably traveled more than most adult Rapid Citians.

Last summer, she joined her parents, Bridget and Jon Machacek, on a trek to China and its Great Wall. Her blond hair and rosy cheeks were a big hit among Chinese farmers and residents they met along the way, her mother said.

So Birdie should feel right at home among the patrons at Roam’n Around, the new retail store her parents opened recently at 616 Main St.

The downtown store is big, bright and devoted to travel, trekking and hiking. A large-screen television mounted on the wall airs the Travel Channel. There’s an open area in the middle of the room that will be used for slide shows, travel talks, classes and other gatherings. And all the products in Roam’n Around are related to travel, tourism and the outdoors.

“I’ve had the idea for a store like this for five or six years,” Bridget Machacek said.

Bridget has a degree in geography. She loves to travel, and she loves to hang out with other travelers. When she was teaching geography in California, Bridget used to frequent a similar store in Pasadena. Bridget, Jon and Birdie have been living in Rapid City about a year and a half.

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