Flying High!!!

Those of us who went to the beach yesterday were flying high, both literally and figuratively!!!  If you could use a little exercise and a LOT OF FUN, this is an easy sport you should try.  It's very portable for those RV'ers on the road and just a kick in the pants!!!  I can't thank Nick and Terry Russell enough for getting me involved.

We trekked out to the beach, laid down my big tablecloth and deposited my new kite bag full of all my gear.  Let's get flying!!!

I was worried there wouldn't be enough wind, as there wasn't even a small breeze at the campground.  The beach however, was a different story!!  Nick's little wind meter said l7-20 mph.  Perfect for my Revolution 1.5 full vented kite.  Isn't she pretty???

With the wind blowing nicely, it was a piece of cake to get her in the air.  She almost flew herself!!  In no time at all I was doing spins, stalls and landings.  No, I'm not telling you about those times I flew it straight into the ground with a  C  R  A  S  H  !!!  For my first time in "real" wind, I think I did pretty good!!!

Dan flew his Prism Snapshot like a pro ... zooming back and forth across the beach until his arms gave out.  This time I brought my little point and shoot camera, so he took these pictures for me.

Even with the vented kite, it pulled me around the beach like a feather, which I'm definitely NOT!!  Pretty soon my hands began to cramp up.  Time to take a break!!

Miss Terry didn't really feel well and decided not to fly.  After Nick flew his new Prism Micron stunt kite, which looked like a bumblebee on steroids, it was so fast, he and Terry set up his new Revolution B-Series beauty!! 

It's amazing with just a tiny flick of the wrist, these will fly aloft and soar through the sky.  It takes some concentration the first few times to be sure you don't flick your wrist the wrong way, but it's definitely learnable and FUN FUN FUN!!!

If you're susceptible to the sun, be sure and cover up, or wear lots of sunscreen because you are going to be out here for hours, actually enjoying exercise!!!  Notice the thing at the right of this image that looks like a bird??  That's a hydrofoil kite attached to a surfboard!

Nick was flying high ... or rather low in this case, trying to keep the kite in front of me for a picture.

Here's the best shot I could get with my little camera of the wind surfer out on the water.  It was amazing to see how far this guy could go in a matter of a few minutes.  He is barely visible in the bottom right hand corner.

Time flies when you're having fun and two hours went by in a flash.  Time to head back to the rigs for another great Patty Chance dinner and a load of advil for my aching arms.  The funny thing is, I can't wait to do it again!!!