Kites (Again) and Goodbyes!!

Before the kites and goodbyes, Patty and I struck out for the Croc store ... no, not the crocodile type of crocs but the shoe kind.  Patty has a great pair of waterproof sandals that she wears daily.  Sand just rolls off the sides and she swears they are comfortable.  Now THAT's the kind of sandals I need for kite flying!!  These are NOT what I bought ... the biggest pair in the world ... but I did get a cute pair of waterproof Mary Janes.

I know, more kite pictures ... but I'm here to tell you this is FUN!!  Soon we were off to the kite competition at the Turnaround in Seaside.   People actually compete for points like in race car driving.  This is the site that greeted us on the beach!  During some later conversations, I heard these static kites can run from $3500 to $4500 dollars.  Makes my Revolution absolutely CHEAP!!!

There were lots of sea creatures, including this shrimp!  You can see here the number of lines needed to keep one of the other kites afloat.

The turquoise is an octopus and the one laying on the sand is a dog.  A little later, another orange octopus got airborne, even with the light winds.  I could just sit and watch them all day.

We caught sight of Nick and Terry ... working hard on a story I'm sure ... and joined them on the beach along with Ray and Carol Bouchart.  Ray spent 30 minutes with me explaining how he flies his Revolution.

Just to the right is a large section roped off for the competitors who fly to music while being judged.   This is Travis, a twelve year old sensation of the kite world who has only been flying for two years.  It's amazing the patterns he can make that kite do.            

Behind Nick was this gentleman getting a kite ready to fly, so I walked up close to see how the lines attached.  Come to find out, this is John Barresi ... designer of the Revolution B series of kites, as well as many others, the Mario Andretti of kite world.  I got a little closer ...  he was talking about flying, about the twelve year old, about lines and handles.  I got a little closer ... then I watched in awe as he maneuvered this kite along the sand, in the air and along people's backs as they walked by.  I got a little closer ... and learned everything I possibly could.  Come to find out, he is more than a master kite flyer ... he has won every kind of competition EVER ... is Editor of Kitelife magazine, and travels around the world teaching and promoting kite flying.  What an amazing thing to watch as he played the kite like an extension of his arm, interacting with the crowd.  I know he's a superstar and makes it look easy ... but now I want a Revolution kite even more!!

Nick introduced me to the owner of the local kite shop, Northwest Winds who took me back to the store for a quick lesson in all things Revolution.  He even took one off the wall for me to play with, giving me lots of instructions along the way.  I couldn't help myself ... this is what I brought home!!!  Funny ... I've always hated the wind ... now I'm looking for it!!

And then it was time for the goodbyes!!  We spent the evening with Terry and Nick Russell saying our goodbyes over great food, telling war stories and having a good time.  For me, it's rare to meet such nice people with whom I have so much in common.  Of course, we'll keep in touch via our Blogs, but I'm sure hoping I meet up with them down the road some day so we can share more fun!!  Thanks Nick for the conversion to kites ... I just LOVE it ... and thank you Terry for the spinning and yarn links.  I'm going to be very busy in the next few months!!

And lastly, it's goodbye to Seaside, one of the best places I've been on this trip.  With my new Thousand Trails membership, you can bet your bottom dollar, I'll be back!!!