Tearing It Up at Manatee Park

Saturday was an especially windy day- great weather for kiteboarding!  J had heard that Discovery HD was filming a show about kiteboarding in the Banana River near Manatee Park in Cape Canaveral and wanted to check it out.  Since I was fresh out of photography class I was excited to take a few shots with my 300 mm lens.

So, the boys and I tagged along for this extreme sport field trip.  And a few shots turned into over 300…  Thank you, burst mode 🙂

Cutie Pie and Wildman had fun collecting rocks to skip in the river and checking out all of the colorful kites at the park while J set up his gear and I set up mine.

Manatee Park has lots of open, grassy areas that make launching kites a breeze (pun intended, ha!)

J’s kiting glasses kind of make him look like a cyborg or something but I think this shot looks like he should be in a magazine.

I found a spot along the bank of the river so I could catch J cruising by and doing tricks.  It was really cool!  The boys were hooting and hollering for him.

Eventually the boys grew bored with watching J and asked to go to a playground.  The strong wind made it especially chilly outside so I was thankful to retreat to the warmth of the car for a ride over to a park with a jungle gym.  J went on to kite further out in the river near a sandbar.  He also got to see the film crew on a boat.  I’ll be interested to see the show to see if J made it into the footage somehow.  Not sure when it airs though…

Of his afternoon kite session, J said it was one of the best ever!

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Blustery Beach Day

J and I took the boys up to the beach the Saturday before last.  Deciding to forgo Cutie Pie’s nap we left the house around 3 PM with a truck full of toys, snacks, towels and chairs.

It was a windy day thanks to Tropical Storm Bonnie so J brought along his kiteboard along too.

He was off in no time.

The boys and I enjoyed watching zoom past us up and down the coast.

I kept busy reading my book and keeping the kids out of trouble.  Actually, they were really good.  No one ran off or got sucked out to sea.  Have I told you how thankful I am that they can both swim?

It didn’t take the boys long to start rummaging through the beach bag for snacks…  The Nutter Butters didn’t stand a chance!

This one is quite the charmer.

Next to watching Dad kiteboard, playing in the shore pound was a highly rated activity.

There was a time, not too long ago, when Cutie Pie would not have done this.  The ocean freaked him out.  I am happy to report that his fears have gone.  He’s even tried surfing with J and Wildman.

J gave the boys rides when he finally rejoined us.

After two and a half hours of fun in the sun, it was time to pack it in.  I have a feeling that J would not have wanted to leave had the wind not died…

It was a great afternoon that ended in Cutie Pie’s downward spiral into a full-blown, four-alarm temper tantrum once we arrived home.  He eventually exhausted himself to the point of passing out on his bed at 6:30 pm.  We didn’t hear a peep from him until 8:30 the next morning!

Kiteboarding Session

J is the one in the middle.

After our hopscotch session in the front yard, we joined J up at the beach with his buddies to watch them kiteboard.  It’s fun to watch them speed across the water with the kites.  I’m always afraid that they’re going to get to close to one another and their kite strings will cross and create a huge mess.  It hasn’t happened yet, thank goodness!

Wildman tried on J’s wetsuit before we left the house.  He looked so darn cute that I had to snap a quick picture.  He looks like a little person kiteboarder…

Geeg and her kids, VG and AL, met us up at the beach as well.  Wildman and VG are really good friends and play together so well.  I love watching them.  Geeg had just had her brows waxed.  Don’t they look great?  They remind me of how bad I’ve let mine become…

Once J’s kite was aloft, he gave the boys a few quick rides much to their delight…

When the guys hit the water Geeg and I sat back to watch the boys play in the sand and much on some snacks that I brought.  The kids had a great time as evidenced by their soggy, sandy clothes…

We stayed for probably an hour and a half watching J and his buds do crazy airs like this…

But I didn’t last too long on the beach.  The wind was so darn cold and I didn’t bring a jacket.  I herded the boys to the car, dropped Geeg and her kids off at their house across the street, then headed home to make dinner.  Thank goodness J and I drove separately!

It was one of those awesome spring evenings that make me so glad to live where we do!