mystainedskin Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Ok a recent experience. I fly because it feels great to smile and influence someone else. In Wildwoods, blocks from the event, on 2 seperate occasions. I had people stop me and mention that they had been watching me fly for hours. How entranced they were with the movements of the kite...and wondered if I would ever put the kite down for a break. I talked with both groups for a good 20 minutes and explained the kite and how it works..offered them a chance too fly. Neither excepted unfortunately. But how cool...it makes you feel as if your efforts to bring smiles and something better into this world are all worth while. Not exactly a "how I got started" but why I continue... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Ok, ok. So here's my story. I was walking along the beach at North avenue in Chicago and saw the neck of a bottle sticking out of the sand and it still had the cap on it. So, I tried pulling the bottle out of the sand, but it didn't move. However, in my effort to pull the bottle out of the sand the cap came off in my hand and a genie popped out of the bottle and said, "I can't grant you 3 wishes because you didn't rub the bottle - you only pulled off the cap - but I can give you motivation." I told the genie, "No wishes? Go fly a kite!" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted May 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Ok, ok. So here's my story. I was walking along the beach at North avenue in Chicago and saw the neck of a bottle sticking out of the sand and it still had the cap on it. So, I tried pulling the bottle out of the sand, but it didn't move. However, in my effort to pull the bottle out of the sand the cap came off in my hand and a genie popped out of the bottle and said, "I can't grant you 3 wishes because you didn't rub the bottle - you only pulled off the cap - but I can give you motivation." I told the genie, "No wishes? Go fly a kite!" Now that's more like it........."Go fly a kite", is certainly not a bad thing ...... I know there's more to come ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted June 1, 2014 Report Share Posted June 1, 2014 Yeah, there's more -- as soon as I get motivated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted June 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Yeah, there's more -- as soon as I get motivated. Well, we're waiting ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul LaMasters Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I continue to fly kites, (Revs in particular) because the activity causes smiles, stopping pedestrians in the tracks! This past Sunday I ignored all my friends' requests and headed alone down to the Washington Monument. It was fantastic weather and the crowds were substantial all day long. The monument just re-opened again this June, after a couple of years of being closed due to earthquake damage. It's tourist season in the nation's capital with summers off from school. Many youth groups had matching t-shirts on. My latest crowd control trick is to use 4 plastic orange paint can funnels (as a ground markers) for the flying lines to lay along side. Then you can take a break and folks don't drop a blanket and picnic basket on MY claimed area! The neon orange markers are so low you can step on them backwards and not tumble over, yet visible to the obli-viots stuck in a cell phone screen. Not enough wind unless I worked at it, so no lessons offered for most of the day. But lots of chasing kids, landing on the unoccupied strollers, scaring the photographers and entertaining the crowds witnessing these antics. I flew for eight hours and would have stayed longer except the aching back withdrew it's support for our mission finally. Hundreds of people thanked me for the show and some even enjoyed my soundtracks music too (<LOL!>) Half a dozen wanted to buy and many more inquired about renting a kite for the day. I fly kites so that I might will be a topic of conversations around the dinner table that evening. Enthusiasm is undiminished after more than 2 decades. The point is to share what you love with everyone who crosses your path. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted June 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Great story Paul. That's got to be a great place to fly...............thanks for sharing with us ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted June 27, 2014 Report Share Posted June 27, 2014 Wow, Paul... that's the exact opposite of my kite flying... I try to find the place with the least amount of people ! With summer coming into full swing, the beaches are filling up, and the only thing I can fly is a quad on short lines. People up here aren't as easily entertained by kite flying, and antics like that could easily end up in a fight. Once July hits, I'll be headed inland to a grassy hill that is totally void of people. I can't wait until the day after Labor Day, the beaches will be mine again ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul LaMasters Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Know your audience, make sure they are okay with your antics, eye contact and careful control, can't start a relationship using a supersonic and the dive/stop together with the twins in a stroller! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 A SUPERSONIC ! OH, now that you mention that, I've got to get my new SuperSonic into the air. Had it since March, and haven't flown it yet........... I know, I know...........that's terrible (my bad) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmadz Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 A SUPERSONIC ! OH, now that you mention that, I've got to get my new SuperSonic into the air. Had it since March, and haven't flown it yet........... I know, I know...........that's terrible It's not too many kites. It's that you were letting the anticipation build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Colht Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 I just started flying kites in May but got my first kite (besides those paper eddys from childhood) several years ago, I used to fly RC helicopters but wanted to try something else. So I bought a Prism Adrenaline from the local (only and now gone) kite shop. The first time out I had a great time but the second time ended up with a tangled mess of lines so I just shoved it all into the bag and put it away. Fast forward about 8 years. My family has been going down to Homer Alaska for the last few summers and for those that don't know (almost everybody) it is a fishing town on Kachemak Bay that has a nice beach on a long thin peninsula called Homer Spit. Yes, it is a real sandy beach. No, you don't frolick in the surf without a wet suit. Great wind and I always saw kite surfers out there. We rent a condo right on the beach. Anyway, I had been moving this Prism around and always meant to do something with it. This year I decided to take it with me to Homer but also bought several other kites 'for the grand kids'. First time back out one of my lines snapped from age. Fortunately I had plenty of line so that just slowed me down a bit. Back in the air, my wife said my face just lit up. The only way to describe my expression was as pure joy. I was barely keeping up with the kite in the high winds but knew I was hooked. Back in Anchorage, the winds are generally light and variable so the Adrenaline was literally grounded. So I got a 4D. Lots of fun that! Then I got an iFlite and started making miniature kites. My kids are used to me doing quirky things so flying a kite around the house is considered 'normal.' My wife is a quilter and is going to teach me to sew. Who knows where that will lead. I also just got a Rev B Std but my first outing in light wind was not too successful. This is to be expected and I still had a good time. That's what matters really. Single line kites are special too because of the way they work with the wind. I can lose myself just watching them drift around, feeling the changing pull on the line. I have no interest in competition but still want to get as good as I can while keeping the joy in it. Hopefully that will take the rest of my life. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted July 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Chuck......great write-up! Thanks for sharing your journey in kiting. Alaska, eh ? Great ! Oh, welcome to Kitelife , and for sure, welcome over to the "Dark Side".......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted September 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Ok, it's time for someone else to step up to the plate...........let's hear it from some of you newbies (no disrespect intended)..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred van Curen Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Will its a long story , but will keep it short. It all started back in the med 50's, flying the single line kites in Marin, Calif. just north of the Golding Gate bridge. Would fly the kite out over the bay oh SF. and put more line on as I let the kite fly out over the bay as much as 6 spools of line be for the line would brake and then watch the kite flutter into the bay. Did that cause I could and I don't thing any one else ever did it before. That was then and now I fly because I love to watch the kite fly in the air and I can fell the wind pushing the kite faster and higher than ever before and its the only way I how to hold the in my hands, and now I have a REV. and I can control the wind. Just because I can. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitetarian Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 I fly for that first moment the kite leaps off the ground. Every time I crash or land or have to adjust the bridle or whatever I can feel the sadness and disappointment from the kite. It needs to be in the air and I took it down. The launch signals a return to it's home after what seemed like forever away. You can feel it in the lines, even in light wind, it yearns for the sky. I fly to be a part of the magic that occurs when the kite returns home/escapes/runs free. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted September 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Great stories guys................somebody else jump in..........keep this thing going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 I'm in it for the cookies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PereiraM Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Well for me it started back in the late 80' early 90's when I bought a dualie (Fire Dart) from the Key West Kite Company. Went out to Smathers beach and put it in the wind. I was just amazed at the pull it had and how you could control it. I flew this for about a month and then went and picked up a Trlby 3 stack. I flew them for a little over a year. After that I would fly them off and on but life as it does turned me away from kites and so for many years I did not fly. A few months ago a very good friend and I were talking and I was telling him about my adventure with kites down in the Keys and after talking for awhile he said to hang on a sec. He had something for me. He went to his closet and brought back a Prism Quantum. He said he saw someone flying one at the beach and wanted it but never had time to go fly it so he wanted me to have it. I was so appreciative of the gift and the next day I took my son to the beach and broke it out. It was like I had never left it. I taught my son how to fly it. (The Basics) and he just fell in love with it. A couple of weeks later I decided to go and buy a Prism Hypnotist so that we could fly together. My son loves this time with me and I have to say that I am enjoying it as well. We both have started to try and learn slack line tricks and have had a blast helping each other pick up our kites after each failure. I jumped online to try and find some tutorials on some of these tricks and ran across these forums and started reading and watching videos and ran across a video of JB and his Rev. I saw it and thought that it was amazing and precise. I had to try it. I just purchased a B series and took my son out to give t a try. yep you guessed it. He loves it too. My daughters have now become a little jealous about the time he and I have been spending together so they asked if they could come along. I said of course and went down to the local kite shop and bought an HQ Symphony 1.8 for them. It has truly become a Family activity but I do it for the mind cleansing that it provides for me and the time I get to spend with my children. I will never let it go again and will fly until.... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 What a great story, and what a rewarding outcome.............thanks for sharing that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 I love this thread, neat to "taste" how kites have touched each of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWkiteluv Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 Hi everyone! My name is Aaron. I'm new here and it had been since I was a kid that I flew kites and I'm really loving these stories and this forum. I recently got back into kites while at a flow arts festival on the Oregon coast. Flow arts is a term many use to describe a mental state achieved when getting into a movement based art (object manipulation). Where practice and muscle memory kicks in and you can truly turn off the internal dialogue and just be in the now and connect with the activity at hand. These festivals involve fire spinning and toys of all types. (staff, hoops, poi, clubs, juggling etc). Lots of workshops and some of the finest skilled circus and flow arts folks in the country. I bought a single line kite to have something to do on the beach besides play with my other props. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to put kites in the air and the magic that they add to the world. It also occurred to me that kite flying could and is very much a flow art. As a kid I had a cheap two line, two kite stack made of plastic with no standoffs that I flew on vacations with my family. I flew that till it fell apart and learned some very basic things with it. I decided that I wanted to get a dual line kite when I got back from the festival and so I got my first dual line kite in probably 30 years and have been flying as much as possible. The learning curve is still very rewarding and after watching some tutorials I'm getting the hang of basics with it. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I get into quad line. Kind of seems like the ultimate but I totally am loving flying my dual line kites (at this point I have 5). Thank you all for the inspiration and knowledge. I've already learned a lot and hope to make it to some kite festivals in the future. Hope to meet some of you and happy flying! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatakam Posted October 26, 2014 Report Share Posted October 26, 2014 Hi, NWkiteluv. Welcome to the forum. Lots of good people here, ready eager to help and advise anyone who needs it. Anything you may want to know will be found here. I have flown single and dual line kites and am now flying mostly Quad-line. Hope to fly with you someday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted July 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 I just ran across this old thread and thought that I'd bump it back to the top, so some of our "newer" members (and old), could share their stories with us. There's some really good stuff here..........Please share your journey into the world of kiting with us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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