Go Fly A Kite!

Lisa, me, and the kids went out Saturday morning to fly my kites at Heritage Landing! What a blast! We had a little trouble because the wind was a bit too light at moments, but after a while got everything up and flying all at once!

It all got started when my kids had a "kite day" one Saturday at their school. They had a guest speaker, semi-retired Gordon , who talked about kites and had a little kite-making workshop too where everyone got to make their own kite. He brought some of his really nice, and larger kites from his family's store, the Mackinaw Kite and Toy Company in Grand Haven. They have a lot of really cool kites, accessories, and also specialize in Kite Boarding gear and training.

The last kite I had flown was a small kid's kite I got from Meijer back a couple of years ago. I had the thing up around 300 feet before the cheap line broke. It was fun while it lasted. It was quickly apparent that the newer, high-end kites were going to be even more fun! So......I went to the store, and after talking to Amanda about the various kites they sell, bought a 9 foot delta kite and a bunch of line junk (or line laundry).

During my various trips to the Mackinaw Kite Store, I also got to spend one-on-one time, on a few occasions, with nationally know kite expert Steve N himself, learning about kites at his store. This is like a guitar player wanna-be getting to spend time with Eric Clapton; an aspiring actor getting personal acting tips from Tom Hanks! I've been like a sponge, soaking up as much conversation, reading, and learning as possible about kites, gear, knots, rigging/anchoring, etc.

The majority of kite flyers tend to gravitate in one direction or another; usually either stunt-kite, two-handed, acrobatics flying, or sky decorations, as I call them. After flying my 9 foot delta a few times and hanging a bunch of line-junk on the line, it was apparent to me that decorating the sky would be my new passion. So.....I went back to see my new buddy Steve and found out what I would need to get to the next level. Once he showed me the 11 foot sled, more of a parachute-style kite capable of lifting about anything I could possibly attach to the line..well.....I couldn't resist. My current kite inventory now consist of the following (listed how I fly them) My primary kites and most of my line junk are by made by Premier Kites:

-9 foot delta (triangular) kite with five 6-foot banners on each back corner
____Line Junk___
-24 foot tube tail (blue/green/white color scheme)
-15 foot rotating hypno-twister
-20 foot transition tail (green and black)
_____________________

-11 foot Power Sled 36
____Line Junk___
-100 foot rainbow tube tail
-76" rainbow twisting windsock
-6 foot sky-guy
-7 foot diameter rotating wind wheel
____________________

-3 foot neon box kite

Let me tell you, I am having a complete blast flying these kites! It's a bit of work, fun work however, getting everything unpacked & packed, and it's so cool once they get in the air. They are absolutely beautiful.Saturday, after we got everything up and tied them off to a couple of the the concrete pillars on the north side of the park, quite a number of people began driving through the park to look at them including some friends of ours, Kim and Brad. They were cracking up because they saw the kites with their kids and decided to ride through to see them, not knowing it was us, at first.

I'm hoping to go out with my dad too. My mom and I bought him a kite for his recent birthday. It's a poison frog design with 14 foot legs that hang off the back.

I can't wait to go out again!!

-jeff