I wear a pair of Adidas sandals since they're the cheapest thing that is vegan... I also have a pair of courderoy adidas shoes... I laughed my ass off when I first saw them because they were so funny looking.
I know what that's like. After a long winter, I went walking barefoot a long distance on trails with gravel mixed in. My feet were still tender from wearing shoes in the winter and I got a few blood blisters on my soles. It takes a couple weeks for the soles to really toughen up. I can walk on gravel in the summer with no trouble once my soles are tough. Bare feet are really cool.
Hey PorkStock, sounds like maybe you are a fair skinned person. I think shoes are uncomfortable and pointless so I don't even own any. My feet are constantly exposed to the sun especially in summer. I don't remember ever suffering from sunburned feet, they just instantly tan. Two thumbs up for all the other barefoot hippies out there!!