Sunday, July 26, 2009

Mak Attak






Being all the way in the east on Lake Huron in Tawas Point we motored Clark (The Rv)west through Michigan through very lush green trees, and beautiful bushes and tall Breeze grasses. Straight to a even more beautiful spot to kite at Muskegon, Michigan

Kara and I went to one of the nicest beaches on the hole trip. It was pure white silty sand. The sand didn't stick to the kites. With fresh water in the Great Lake Michigan. It made for great kiting. I wish we were there for the waves! Locals say that the waves can easily get to 10-15 ft!

Setting up kites on clean sands with no shells is just nice and feels good. It reminds me of our home spot at Lake McConaughy, Nebraska. It almost felt like home but it was lake Michigan, waaay bigger!

I flew Kites with some of the local fare. Chilled with there Peanut Gallery on the bench. Down near the old Mack Shack. The water was surprisingly warm, some of the guys sad it was really cold about a week before we got there. Darn, I bought a new dry suit and every where we go the water is warm. Haven't got to try it yet!

After our great session on Muskegon Beach. Mark I wonderful guy that is a photographer in the area invited us to his home. To stay behind his house next to another fellow camper. Mark was so nice after he invited us to stay at his house he invited us to go on a sail. Kara and I got to go out on a 27 ft. sail boat, we kept telling ourselves that we wanted to go out on a boat the whole trip. Finally the end of the trip we got to try out our sea legs.

Thank you so much Mark and Kristy. We had a great dinner with you guys and great conversation. I hope the cats didn't destroy much more in the house!! Thank you

peace
Patrick and Kara

(sorry forgot camera for the sailing trip!)

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Wawas







Next we went North to Tawas Point on Lake Huron. It had a amazing campground filled with big green trees, family's that road there bikes everywhere, and sweet Fire rings. It also had clean facilities and soothing showers that are just a walk from the beach.

The riding spot is cool it takes all wind directions pretty well as it is a point. I got to ride on the inside of the bay where the water was warm. We launch right by the Lights house and walk down to the beach. A little sketchy because of trees make a wind shadow but once the kite is in the air no problem. You can also go down and launch on the beach on drift launch. Not as nice as the grass!

Had a instructor for Great Lakes Kiteboarding, try a 11m Sport. He loved the boost and glide of the kite also the direct kite to bar feel.

I had a great time on a strapless board. Trying to do upwind tacks. Can't figure out the weird under the bar and lines limbo.

Trying new things, keeps live interesting.

Peace

Patrick and Kara

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Red Wings Territory






So leaving upstate New York. We cruised down the shore line of Lake Erie on our way to Visit Red Belly Board Shop. As we cruised our normal speed in Clark around 55-60mph I passed a Nuclear power plant. Wow! Just the structure was massive. A huge round concrete cylinder with crazy amounts of steam coming out of it. I made Kara google right away how a nuclear power plants works, it has something to do with splitting of atoms and the heat it generates produces steam thus turning turbines producing power! It still impresses me, what the mind can dream up! I guess the U.S. hasn't built a new one since the 70's. Even though it is cleaner than coal power.

Anyway, we motored around two plants and we both don't have any glowing parts so it has to be safe, right?

So we made it safely to Anne Arbor to meet up with Alex from Red Belly Board shop. Which I must say is pretty bad ass inside. Lots of cool things to look at and lots of good product, including OZONE's. With Red Belly being more skate and Snow based, kiting just totally complements the whole shop. With red belly teaching kite lessons, it is a great place to buy gear and to learn to shred!

After touring the shop we headed out for Lake Sinclair. Only a short drive from the shop, to get in town kiting. With a good grassy area to set up your kite, and only knee to waist deep water with a sandy bottom it isn't a bad spot. It definitely is a more advance spot in my opinion but it works. It has to work because, it is the closest spot in town and lots of locals and college students go there. You have to either get a assisted launch or just go in the water and drift launch. But be careful of the trees, rock getty wall and boats!

Otherwise a sick spot to ride. When we arrived we immediately got into action and started to pump up kites for the lighter winds. And Alex pulled out his sick Custom Red Belly Board Shop kite that Ozone made for him. The craftsmanship was amazing. Ozone goes and builds the whole kite then cuts in a different color and sews in any logo you want, SICK!

This is the first kite I have seen in person, and I was impressed! The attention to detail and the quality the logos were sewn in was just cool to see. Then watching the kite fly was even cooler. What a good flying billboard. I think this is the best way to advertise a shop or a product. With people seeing such a beautiful sport as kite boarding and seeing a brilliant billboard that can be seen from both sides, cool.

Thanks to Alex for getting that custom rig. It not only makes Ozone look cooler, it helps promote his shop.

The demo went well with winds diminishings be the end of the day, Kara and I were ready to hit the town with Alex. He took us around a hip town just outside of Ann Arbor. Lots of college students and young ones parting it up on there parents dollar! We had great sushi and met a friend of Alex's that is a fire fighter in Detroit. He was telling us about a organization that he made because of all the abandoned buildings in Detroit. As a fire fighter he has to deal with arsonist that burn 2-5 buildings a night! He wants to get all the run down house and turn them into green projects. check it out Motorcityburning.com. Thanks for the cool tee shirt.

We later parked the rig behind Alex's apartment and went to sleep. Thank you very much Alex for the hospitality and the tour of the town. Maybe next time will do it on the snow!!

peace
Patrick and Kara

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Eh Canada Thank you








After having a good time with Air Sport Shop we headed for the falls. The Great Niagara Falls. There was so much anticipation going there. We followed the Niagara River from Lake Ontario up to the Falls. Behind every twist and bend in the road there was a place to stop and check out the river. With cute little river towns thriving on summer tourists.

We stopped at some of the boat launches and checked out the wildly fast jet boats that run on the river. There are points on the river that are white water and super dangerous. But these huge boats hold about 20-30 people and power around the white water with a strong Cummins Jet Boat Engine. Looked like fun! When we were watching there was a big Asian tour group going out with full rain gear just so they don't get soaked! Funny, the tour guide opted out.

Kara and I then went further and visited the many parks on the side of the route. We went for a short hour long hike down to the whirl pool. The water is really clean and a pretty blue. The entire time we are looking across the river and seeing Real Canadians in there natural habitat! I never would have thought i would see a Canadian before.

I must say the Canadians put on a good show. When we finally got to the falls. Kara and I caught wind of someone saying that, "The Canadian side lights up the falls." And also they are having a fire work show for July 1st. I guess the 1st is Canada Day. Our neighbors up north are defiantly not in a recession. They shine a rainbow of lights across the river from there side and illuminate the falls for a great show. If the lights weren't enough the fire work show was awesome. It was super long and very enjoyable. So many colors it was almost an overload, check for yourself!

Peace Patrick and Kara

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Up State




After our adventure on Long Island, New York. We went back through the gauntlet of New York City. Maybe we should have shelled out the dough and paid the toll highway. I am not paying in to the bad roads that are killing Clark!! Yorkeans need to say no! and stop paying the tolls! But I don't know maybe there is just to much traffic and people in the way. So the road construction workers just fill the holes with chewing gum and run out of the way before they get run over by someone!

This time we drove through the city and almost saw a little kid get run over because people hate driving behind Clark. Poor kid was just crossing the street on his bike and two asses wanted to pass me at the stop light so one pulled up on my left side in the crosswalk and the other drove through the parking lane on my right side. When the light changed I just let the looneys go. They decided to race each other to get ahead first, which was a bad idea because it was dark and there was a kid in the road!! So one guy almost took the kid out and just layed into his horn, wow. He didn't even get out to see if this 8 year old kid was all right. "I guess you should move to New York when your soft and move away when it makes you HARD!" Some people just need to step back and take a deep breath with a moment to think.

So Up state New York is sweet! Super rural and mellow. Lots of pretty houses and farms. No traffic and fairly descent pavement. But wow when we pulled up on to Lake Ontario it was amazing. To see the size and massiveness of the lake was cool. It was like being on the ocean. You can't see the other side of the lake and just a big flat plane of water, wow. A little weird to get in the water and expect salt water and get the sweet taste of fresh water in your face with no sharks to eat you or fish to sting you, nice. Just like kiting in the ocean when the wind conditions are flowing the right direction.

We stopped by and visited a cool shop called Air Sports Shop. Stuart and his son came and joined us on a soccer field and we got to fly alot of foils. It was a good time, with the sun gleaming and the wind flowing we all really got pulled through the paces. Flying everything from Imps Little Devils, to Flows, and Frenzys. I wished we had a buggy or land board to rip around on. Oh well we cant fit all the toys in to Clark.

Off to Niagara Falls...

Peace

Patrick and Kara

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Ooo La La the Hamptons







Boy oh boy. Driving to the Hamptons was definitely a challenge. If you don't have the change to go on a ferry across to Long Island from Connecticut. Then you have to drive around through New York! Which is CRAZY! We had to go through some tight streets, avoiding taxis, pedestrians, bikes, everything. Why does New York City hate Clark? Maybe because we are to cheap to pay the outrageous toll fees! For a regular car the toll is any were between 75 cent to a $1.50, but for Clark (The R.V.)the fee is $10 to $20 dollars and some times $38.50. WOW. I don't know why people pay the toll roads, when the roads all suck! Pot holes every where, with huge speed bump cracks. I think there is a conspiracy there!

Any way, driving in New York is a little stressful. People are in a hurry to go where?
It was nice of New Yorkers to give us a lot of honks and waving #1's because we are so cool!!

After the maze of traffic we made it to South Hamptons. When we got there we kept asking ourselves what is all the fuss. Why is the hamptons so nice? But after spending some time there, you realize that there is a lot of loaded folks around there. Beautiful homes that where hidden behind 100 year old hedges, with Mercedes and Maserati's ever where. Okay, now I know why it is so fancy!

There beaches were even nicer, great kite spots all along Long Island. But some of the best were in South Hamptons. We really had fun with Kite Surfing Hamptons. Thanks to John Ford. We had a good light wind demo with the Instinct Light kicking butt. We got to ride in Napeague Bay which is an awesome flat water spot that is nice and shallow in a secluded bay that doesn't allow boat traffic. It looks like a great place to ride. Unfortunately it was too light to go and explore. Big thanks to Justin and Julian for getting the grench winch wake boarding pull thing. Also making the demo better where the dedicated loyal Ozone riders bringing in the stoke!! Also thanks Real for bringing a crowd down for there Alumni event. Two great days of producing stoke for Ozone and Kitesurfing.

The next day we went stand up paddle boarding with John and had a great time. Kara had a hard time at first trying to turn but then got the concept right away and was muscling in the wind. Man is stand up paddle hard in the choppy surf. It is definitely a flat water thing or you have to be just good at it because i was falling all over!

After the weekend we started to start to cruise back west. But not after a great session on Dune Road. Really good shore break and fun in the Atlantic ocean. We then drove to Gilgo Beach and chatted with some kiters there and got to see some sick graphity murals in the pedestrian tunnel under the highway. It was sponsored by the Surf Rider Foundation.

We'll blog later

Peace

Patrick and Kara