I finally did it- I retired!! To celebrate my retirement we decided to take a trip to Long Beach (Washington) in the Pacific Northwest. Little did we know that the Washington State International Kite Festival was being held in Long Beach that same week. It was a little crowded, but we were able to see some beautiful kites. (Many of the kites were so large that they had to be fastened to a vehicle to keep from being blown away.)
There was a group of six people that did amazing tricks with their kites and they were very good at precision flying in various formations. It was fun to watch them play follow-the-leader.
When the sun went down, most of the kites were stored for the evening and then the big lighted kites came out. The lighted kites looked like bright stars in the sky!
Located near the beach is the World Kite Museum that contains modern and historic kites. There are a number of viewing stations in the museum where you can watch videos about kiting from around the World. It was really interesting to learn about the large Japaneses Fighting Kites and the work that goes into building each kite and the hand-spun attachment rope, only to be destroyed at the annual 5-day Kit-Fighting event.
The eight-mile long Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail starts at Ilwaco and ends north of Long Beach at Clark's Tree, which is the place where there was an old dead tree upon which Clark carved his name. The tree has long since disappeared, but a replica has been constructed on the approximate site. There are various displays along the 8-mile trail representing things that Clark observed and found on his trip, including "a Sturgeon which had been thrown on shore and left by the tide 10 feet in length," "whale bones", and "a curious flat fish shaped like a turtle, with fins on each side, and a tale notched...has a white belly on one side and lies flat to the ground." There is a sketch of the flat fish on a marker.
Congratulations on your retirement!!
ReplyDelete