For many, many years there has been an arms race between us; he got back into cycling in the late 80's, so I had to get a bike. He started windsurfing, so of course I had to get a board and a sail - duh! For the past ten years, minus that little five-year hiatus in South America, we've been kiteboarding. As usual, he has raced ahead in terms of skill.
So, off to warm(er) Florida!
Since the Wright Brothers, there has been a cruel and unjust situation in air travel. Golfers
and skiers
have been able to schlep their oversize heavy awkward stuff aboard airplanes just like any other piece of luggage, with no special tariff. On the other hand, we poor, downtrodden, misunderstood kiters have had to pay $150 or so extra for ours. As in any such unjust situation, innovation sprang forward. Behold, the Golf Bag!
Kite guys figured out that a bag the same size, cleverly marked "Golf" could instead carry a couple of kiteboards and a handful of kites. Some even pushed the subterfuge further, bringing along a 9-iron and a putter for the x-ray machines and nosy airline personnel.
However, all this nonsense became moot recently, as most of the carriers recognized this massive injustice and relented. You'll still see guys in board shorts (obviously kiters from the sloping foreheads and knee braces) furtively looking around as they drag their "Golf" bags through the airports.
Tampa Bay has massive areas of shallow, warm(er) water and in the right seasons, a lot of wind. A favorite spot is on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge approach.
So, after quickly renting a car, dropping our stuff at the AirBnb and donning wet suits, off we went!
We got lucky and had three days of good wind. At one moment catching my breath on the beach, I counted over thirty kites in the air, as plumbers, accountants and architects lied to their wives and employers and cut out for the Skyway rest area. Remember, priorities!
Guys were hitting 30+-foot jumps and all sorts of cool tricks. As usual, I was just trying to survive. That, and for a desperate two hours, looking for the rental car key fob - $450 - that I dropped while changing boards, but hey, that's another fun story. (I found it - major "Whew!")
Remembering that we, too had responsibilities we finally packed up,
carefully swept the sand off the front porch of the AirBnB, and headed home.
Noticing the glances at our luggage in the airport, I commented to a fellow traveler, "Yeah, a few good rounds. I would have hit the ball better but there was too much wind!"
We hope that you also have siblings that keep you doing fun stuff!
Dave
