Kite Day 2021 (Albany Beach, CA)

With a backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline to the West and a tall grove of Eucalyptus trees on the East, a sunny West Coast Kite Day 2021 at Albany Beach began. Thanks to a Kite-Making Day the previous weekend hosted by the McGahans, there were many handmade kites and decorated t-shirts to add to the excitement.

It was a breezy late morning but around noon the winds became more turbulent. Kites were launched quickly until there were 6 simultaneously blowing easterly across the baby blue sky, towards the Eucalyptus stand. Kites guided by Luna, Tamara, Pedro, Lucia, Jan, Richie and Ricardo all took flight at once. Alexander’s ‘Prismatic Albatross’ blew far, high and nearly out of sight as it has done in year’s past. Many participants took turns at the helm of the ‘Albatross’ throughout the day although it remained placid tethered to half buried driftwood and in little need of monitoring. Off to a good start!

But… as the intensity of the wind gained force, calamities began - kites were tangled, mangled, strangled and caught in the Eucalyptus jungle.

Early in the day, Lucia faced the often experienced Existential Kite Krisis. For the second Kite Day in a row, her kite ‘The Color Sun’ broke in the wild winds – perhaps a crushing blow for a 9 year old. But, with fierce determination and the mentoring of a couple of adults, the spar was repaired and Lucia went on to take down several kites, most notably, Pedro and Karen’s ‘Never Give Up’ which was made in the form of the Chilean flag. Dan refereed this fight to the death.

The brisk wind was perfect for Anya’s newly fashioned windsock, ‘Boisterous Bloomers’ but not so much for Jude’s ‘Ice Dragon.’ Working diligently with his dad Patrick, the snarled lines of his self-made ‘Ice Dragon’ and Richie and Ricardo’s kite were detangled with a surgeon’s patience and both flew again, although in an altered fashion. Jude’s Eddy kite had a broken spar and magically morphed into a Delta kite which then morphed into a flapping bird! Pretty good magic for this 6 year old. Meanwhile, Lio challenged himself to fly his kite while solving his Rubix Cube with the other hand. He expects this feat will be perfected by next kite day.

After a pizza and strawberry lunch, Ava, 11, shouldered the responsibility of waltzing to the outermost flying fields with the mobile cookie jar containing Nanna’s chocolate chip cookies. This compassionate gesture was appreciated by all the outfielders. In a herpetology side show, Noelle played the barker for a 6 foot long gopher snake in the Eucalyptus grove. It was a PG-rated performance, so Anton didn’t get to see it, but cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents vied for a chance to catch Anton’s sunny smiles and giggles, until he landed with his Papa (Alexander) intently exploring the tremendous tug on the line of Anya’s ‘Lamprey’ windsock.

Lio, 10, came to Kite Day with a Rubik’s Cube and an agenda. Skee came with a kite emblazoned with a Rubik’s Cube and a clear memory regarding the outcome of an arm wrestling bet. If Skee lost to Lio at Kite Making Day, his obligation was to “complete THE CUBE”. If Lio lost, he’d make a kite! Dutifully, Skee completed the Cube (on the face of a DIY Rokkaku kite made of paper). This would cover both flyers in the event the Rules Committee checked into the follow-through on the aforementioned wager on Kite Day.
Skee approached Lio with the bespoke “team kite,” named ‘Lio’s Lament.’
“After I lost to you in arm wrestling, my requirement was to complete the cube. Here it is!” Skee announced. Lio responded with indifference. He was busy marveling at the speed with which his fingers were moving across the face of his cube.
“You ready to fly… grasshopper?”
Again, indifference. “Watch how fast my fingers move!”
Skee queries from a different direction, “You know how to calculate the speed of fingers – in Miles Per Hour? That’s an engineering thing.”
“What?”
“MPH – miles/hour that’s how wind speed is measured. Your fingers could be moving at 70 miles per hour. You won’t know until you calculate it out.”
In related news… Lio’s Lament had a shorter career than James Dean, breaking it’s spar 30 seconds into its virgin flight, ripping the perhaps poorly considered flight paper. Both Lio and Skee moved on with resolve and subsequently won awards for trying, flying & vying.

After the Prismatic Albatross was lovingly reeled in and all kites retrieved from the Eucalyptus canopy, the call to assemble was heard over the din of the gale. With the assistance of Anya and Jude, awards were announced by Cailin, 12, who was a fantastic MC mimicking an Australian accent. Awardees morphed into alternate beings when receiving their rip-stop nylon cape awards lovingly made by Anya. We’re hoping to see some of those same capes made into kites for the 2022 Kite Day!

Awards 2021:
Green Bend – Jude, ‘Ice Dragon’
Majestic – Luna, ‘Rainbow’
Yellow Strangler – Lucia, ‘The Color Sun’
Ben Franklin – Nana, ‘Golden Yellow’
Harry Ness – Jan, ‘The Fauci Flyer’
King Tet – Skee, ‘Lio’s Lament’
Puzzler – Pedro, ‘Never Give Up’
Charles Lindbergh – Ava ‘Hazardous Tale’
9 Run Run – Lio, ‘Beer’
The Rocket – Alexander, ‘Prismatic Albatross’
First Ever Flyer – Anton, ‘The Lamprey’
Ruptured Duck – Everyone! If you try, you fly.

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