Off to Long Beach this morning for 5 days at the annual kite festival. We left the house with sun in our eyes so it looked good for the drive. After leaving Hwy 101 near Montesano it got pretty cloudy and we were driving through mist by the time we approached the beach. It was cloudy and pretty windy until early evening when the sun broke through. The town looks pretty much the same as two years ago with no additional vacant businesses. We are staying in the Sandcastle RV park about 1/2 mile from town. Don the owner is really nice and mindful of our needs. He stacks the rigs in close so we don't have much of a "yard" but we don't plan on spending a lot of time in the park.
August 20, 2013
We woke to a beautiful sunny and windy day. Perfect for the kite fliers. After breakfast we drove to the Astoria area to do some shopping and preview a park we are staying in next week. Back in Long Beach we had lunch and walked to the beach to watch some competition and general activity. There was a group of quad line, that's four control lines, kite fliers rehearsing for an event. At one time there were 36 kites and another 16 kites doing synchronized maneuvers. Really amazing.
We also watched some kite fighting where several kites launch and try to knock each other out of the sky by crashing into each other or cutting the opponent's line. Then we stopped at the Castaway's Bar and Grill for a drink and a cup of fantastic clam chowder. Back to the park for the remainder of the day enjoying the great weather. We had a light dinner and sat out by our fire until about 10.
August 21, 2013
After breakfast we walked into town to see if there was anything new going on. More kites, sun and wind. A real strong wind. We walked back to the park on the paved trail along the beach with the wind dead in our faces. Quite brisk. After lunch we again walked into town to watch kite ballet. In this competition a flyer or pair of fliers fly their kites to their choice of music. Pretty entertaining. Then back to the park for dinner. The wind died down a little in the evening so we sat out enjoying the full moon and a mild night.
August 22, 2013
After breakfast we got drove to Oysterville on the North end of the peninsula to explore the old community and get some fresh oysters. Didn't find any of them I wanted so went to Ilwaco and various other locations to find some. After lunch we drove, tired of walking, into town where Gail checked out the stores and other attractions while I went to the beach to see what the kiters were up to. I found a couple from California that we met here two years ago. Jim and Lynn are avid kite fliers traveling up and down the West coast attending numerous events from March-October. They were part of the 36 person flight I talked about and pictured earlier in the week. As I was watching some of the kites the wind stopped! I mean the kites were falling from the sky. It was very weird. I walked back into town and met up with Gail. I found some oysters at a fish market, brought them home and ate them. Pretty good but not as I had anticipated. We had our camping neighbors, Gil and Sherry Martin from Osoyoos, BC over for cocktails after dinner. They are a fun couple traveling the Washington Coast.
August 23, 2013
Well it was a cloudy day at the beach but the wind was up so lots of people were having a great time. After breakfast we walked into town and watched them. In one area the four line Revolution kites were gathered en masse and were putting on quite an exhibition. There were 64 kites in the air doing synchronized moves. Very impressive. Then back to camp for lunch and just sitting around. We were getting pretty lazy so went for a walk north of town for a change. Most of the RV parks and motels are full for the kite festival. We went out to dinner at the Lightship Restaurant. In the 80’s when we started coming here it was the Potlatch at the Chautauqua Motel where we stayed. The restaurant had gone through some changes over the years, none for the better, but now its quite nice. Gail had prime rib and I had New York steak. Both were very good and more than we usually eat. We watched the Seahawks beat up on Green Bay so that was a great desert. Gil and Sherry, our neighbors, went into town to watch the lighted kites and fireworks display. It was very cloudy and even rained during the time these events were to happen. We could hear the fireworks but the clouds were so low most of them went off in or above the clouds so they looked like muted flashes.
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