Saturday, August 21, 2010

At The Kite Festival

Welcome aboard to new “Followers” Sherry and Charley Dilworth.  I appreciate the time you take in your day to read this blog and follow along with our RV adventures.  THANK YOU very much for coming along.

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Bruce thought the alarm was turned off when we went to sleep last night.  Wrong!!!  Today we had the chance to sleep in but the alarm went off at our babysitting wake-up time of 5:30 am.  Great way to start the day.  Grrrrrrrr. 

The day started out very overcast here in Long Beach, but the clouds began to blow away by the time we headed out to the beach area for the Kite Festival.  We told the Grands we’d take them into the town to see the kites and do some shopping.  They wanted to buy a Long Beach sweatshirt.

                                                           A variety of shopping stalls were set up with the usual “stuff” for sale.DSCF6114

There were so many beautiful kites on display.   There were also the usual assortment of flying gadgets folks plunk out in front of their RV’s.  You could buy anything from a Nemo to an old fashioned car to flying dragonflies that will indicate wind strength and direction. 

                                           Mackenzie and Zoey posed with some kites flying overhead.DSCF6115  
We all started out wearing warm coats and by the time we finished up at the beach and walked toward downtown, it was time to change into lightweight jackets.  The clouds were beginning to break up and the sun was shining down on us.

                                                               Arrrrrrr!  You could buy pirate flags and banners here.DSCF6117

 

                                                          It was like a sea of beautiful colors.DSCF6118

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There are a lot of different competition areas for this whole kite business that I hadn’t really known about before.  I’m not much of a kite flier.  There are the dual line and multi-line categories for a sport kite.  Sometimes kites are flown to music (very loud music playing on large speakers) in a ballet category.  Then there is the precision competitions and various other skill levels.  Kites are remote controlled sometimes too.  All very complicated and important from what I could see. 

We went into a bakery on the main street.  The girls picked out doll cupcakes.  Bruce and I got a cinnamon roll.  The place was jammed with people so we figured the baked goods must be really good.  We figured correctly!

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I also took a photo of the girls with the world’s largest frying pan.  This has been here in Long Beach since at least the 1970’s when my folks came here for a vacation and took a photo of it.

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Before we left to go back to the motorhome we made a stop at the rip-off center…..I mean, the arcade and amusement ride center.  The cost of tickets was $1.00 each.  Rides required 3 tickets per person.  OK then….we told them they could get one ride and one ride only.  Sheesh!  Disneyland could be cheaper than this place if you stayed here all day and played the arcade games and rode the few things they have.  The girls wanted to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl so I figured I better go along since Zoey was under age for riding alone.  So $9.00 later for the one ride, we took our turn.  At least the guy gave us a really long ride for our $9.00. 

                                                           We leaned to the side to make it whirl faster.DSCF6127

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We didn’t even know it was Kite Festival when we book our reservation.  Just got lucky with that.  The town was filled with cars and people but the RV park is very quiet.  After the Tilt-a-Whirl we went back to the relative quiet of the RV.  It’s never quiet inside the RV when the Grands are there.  It was a good day.

Until next time…..so long for now!

19 comments:

Travels with Emma said...

That Tilt-a-Whirl would have made me lose my lunch for sure, Kudos to you, Margie! :)

pidge said...

Love the picture of the girls with the kites overhead. They look like they are having a ball. Cute cup cakes too.

Rick said...

Looks like you picked a great weekend to go to Long Beach with the Kite Festival and everything. Another fun day for the kids and Grandparents too I bet. Those Tilt-a-Whirls have been around forever it seems!

Gypsy said...

You are one terrific grandmother - I would do nearly anything for my grandchildren, but getting on a Tilt-A-Whirl is not one of them. I will take Ara to a mall now and then, and probably Black Friday is worse than riding on a Tilt-A-Whirl!

Good pictures today.

Margie and Roger said...

I always loved the Tilt-A-Whirl. Can't decide which I liked better...the beautiful kites or the doll cupcake!

Dennis and Donna said...

I am NOT a rider...Ya gotta love the grandkids though!! Looks like you had a great day!

John and Carol said...

What a great day. The kite festival must have been amazing.

Along the Way with JnK said...

Love the kites, for some reason for me it's peaceful.

Those doll cupcakes were so cute, not sure since they were so pretty if I could have ate them but hopefully the girls enjoyed them.

Just 3 more weeks and we will be heading in that direction...anticipating once again the sound of the ocean waves, another serenity peace for me.

meowmomma said...

I'm surprised about the RV park being quiet! Several years when we were there, they were all full and we had to stay someplace else! The economy maybe? Saturday was rained out that year... :o( We both got kites and have yet to fly them!!! lol

meowmomma said...

I forgot to say we went to the bakery too!!! It was very busy and some friendly local people let us share their little booth! Those little cupcake girls are precious ~ and the "eaters" are too!!

Happytrails said...

Looks like you had a really good time at the beach. I love all the banners on the beach blowing in the wind. I am sure the grands have had an incredile summer with you guys... memories are priceless for everything else there's well, I don't know. Great times and memories for ya'll and the grands.
Take care and be safe

Cindy said...

Now that looks like fun!! Are you kidding me..coats on the beach..yikes..it is over 100 here

I like my beach to be warm..lol

Have fun..Cindy and Walker

Carol K said...

You would have to mention the bakery...LOL! Actually, I have never been to that bakery. I have, however been to the Sand Dollar elephant ear place!

Sue and Doug said...

love the banners and the kites!!!..and the tilt a whirl!!..too bad about the alarm this morning but it is nice to be able to roll over!!!

Chuck and Anneke's RV travels said...

We love kite festivals. You really showed the grands a great time! I am sure they will remember a great day at the beach.

Al Bossence said...

From a photography point of view I'm sure I would really enjoy all the fabulous colors & shapes of all those kites. Same idea as a hot air balloon fest. Lots of color in the sky.

Unknown said...

It's so funny to see all of you on the beach with jackets on. It has been so hot and steamy here. Looks like you all had a great time.

what'supwithsusanandcompany said...

Love the kites, banners, and cupcakes. The Tilt a Whirl was my mother's favorite ride. Glad that you had so much fun with the grands.

JODI said...

A. I want to be in a place in this country where wearing a jacket in August is neccessary.

B. I want a grandma who takes me to a bakery and buys me a huge doll cupcake.

C. All those unique kites were an awesome sight. (Did I say awesome? Yep and I don't care!)

D. You are a brave soul to ride that carnival ride. I would not chose the Tilt-a-Whirl. Vomit comit! This qualifies you for Grandma of the Year.

Looks like you had a great "grands" day :-)