Let's Go Fly a Kite

I went out to Brenton Point State Park today to watch people fly kites. Brenton Point is the perfect place for this, being where Narragansett Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, so there's always a breeze out there. Today we had a stiff 15 mph/24 kph out of the NW shifting to WSW (while I was there; it probably shifted further to SW later in the afternoon). With the bright blue skies and bright sun, it was a perfect day to be out and enjoying the great outdoors.

There was lots of color up there in the skies today, along with a lot of multi-line kites, which you can make do flips and soar from here to there and back again.













There were also plenty of traditional single line kites, although there was nothing traditional about these shapes! Plenty of color still, you notice.






But the star of the show is a guy who's out there every weekend with his synchronized kites. He has three two-line kites with long, dramatic tails that he puts through their paces. If you think controlling one kite is tough, try controlling three! Here are some shots of what this man can do with three kites.

And of course you can't look at kites without thinking of Mary Poppins and the song "Let's Go Fly a Kite". This version is from the stage musical. Enjoy!

Photos & text © 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger