Downtown, Parking, and Thrift Stores

I commented the other day on a blog post about the fact that paying for parking is a problem (in my opinion). A nice commenter (Joe Moore) put together a great plan for a day of thrifting and fun all with free parking! I totally putting this plan into action soon and maybe with a few friends who have also been wanting to go to thrift stores! So what stops you from going downtown? Is it the parking?