Kite Festival

     Yesterday we went to Lincoln City and attended the Kite Festival. Now I thought that we might spend an hour or so there; I mean, how long can you spend watching kites fly??? I was wrong. There are a vast array of kites in all manner of shapes and sizes. They looked more like balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade but they were wind powered and not filled with helium. The one in the picture above turned out to look like a pod of whales swimming in the air.

     This guy is a dog and just in front of him (not seen in this picture) was a cat that he was chasing. These things were huge. You can see the size of the people in the background.

     This set of kites really needs a video to give it justice. They are four separate kites, each with a person at the end of the strings (four strings per kite). They are amazingly maneuverable and they flew together in an intricate formation all set to music. They would fly together and apart, in formations and alone. It was really amazing to watch. I was fascinated by how they worked their maneuvers such that they would cross then uncross and didn't tangle the strings.

     This one was just funny. The large soccer player legs would bend back and forth like they were chasing the ball or trying to kick it. Cute and clever idea.

     At the end of the festival, several of the kite owners invited members of the crowd to join in and take a go at flying their hand made kites. They looked like a cross between a sting ray and a jellyfish. As you can see, I couldn't resist and got out there and tried my hand at it. I'm glad to say that no kites (or flyers) were injured by my actions.