Welcome to Wildwood folks… I know we’re posting a day early but hey, we’re here and why not?! Being this event’s the 20th anniversary, there is a good deal of nostalgia comraderie in the air already.
After landing in Baltimore around 4:30 pm yesterday, I spent the night with good friends Paul LaMasters and his wife Barbara… Then Paul and I were up around 3am this morning and on our way to Wildwood via the ferry going from Lewes DE-Cape May NJ.
Seeing white caps as we crossed the Delaware Bay, I was a little concerned about the weather as reports during the previous week were somewhat foreboding.
Fortunately there was no rain and winds were tolerable as we rolled into Wildwood around 11:30 am… Making a quick stop to secure my 24/7 wireless internet access at the nearby Internet cafe, we then made our way out onto the beach to get some air time.
I’ve been here a few times before, but this is the first time I’ve been privy to the infamous “Lake Wildwood” in action… Whenever there is a steady rain, there tends to be a good deal of standing water and soggy areas all over the beach.
Winds were variable 2-5 mph coming from inland, not really too bad until your kite got a taste of the wet sand/mud (sud?), then it became quite a bit heavier and we could have used a little more wind… While doing a 360, I almost had one of my shoes sucked off in the wet “sud”.
Paul LaMasters, Paul Dugard and myself flew for a couple hours until Ron Graziano and a few of the other tricksters arrived, heading further our towards the water where the inland breeze had a bit a chance to stabilize.
Things that go bump in the night… Revolution kites with multicolors lights! With the evening winds coming diagonally offshore very smoothly at about 3-4 mph, Rick and Robyne Gardner, Al Hargus, Vicki Romanoff and Vern Balodis all flew some impromptu quad line team maneuvers against the night sky.
With no activities on the official festival schedule, it turned out to be a pretty laid back day… A little flying, a little socializing, we’re just getting started.
On a more historic note, the ECSKC host hotel for many years, the Rio Motel, has rented it’s last room and is slated for redevelopment of some kind… Most anyone who has attended Wildwood events in years past has some unique memories or stories from the Rio, and it will be sorely missed as a gathering place for kiters.
That’s all I have to report today… This wasn’t on our list of scheduled updates, but being here and having a few minutes to get it on line, it had to be done.
Stay tuned,
John Barresi