Seal Beach Pier
Originally uploaded by Bassoon Man.

To say I’m totally and completely addicted to KAPing is now an understatement. As is easily confirmed by looking at all the photos I’ve posted on Flickr, I’m simply enthralled with this new hobby.

In addition to the major benefit of obtaining much-needed stress relief, flying kites is simply fun. I’ve also met quite a few other kite flyers and others while engaging in this great activity. The cool thing about kites is that they are inherently joyful objects that bring smiles to everyone’s face. It’s hard to think about anything stressful or worrisome while holding on to a kite string and watching it dance in the breeze. Of course, the environment also helps – I’ve always loved the beach and adding a kite (or kites) to the scene only enhances an otherwise fantastic place to be.

Just a good is the fact that the beaches are not crowded during the Winter which adds to the enjoyment of listening to the waves, breathing the fresh air, and getting some exercise without having to deal with any crowds. Interestingly, I’ve even had people pull of the highway to say hello just because they saw that I was flying a kite!

Another interesting aspect of this great hobby is that there are people of all ages participating. Interestingly, I’m also finding a lot of folks around my own age (no, I’m not that old) who are engaged in flying kites. I hadn’t really flown many kites since I was a kid and the incredible technological wonders of the past few decades have really added greatly to the rather low-tech experience of kite flying. Not only are the materials used far different than those used when I was a kid (most kites were made from paper and came in just three basic forms – diamond kites, box kites, and the newly invented delta kites), but advancements in such things as kite string has made the whole experience that much more enjoyable. Of course, this says nothing about the emergence of digital cameras which are absolutely phenomenal to use with KAPing – it’s possible to take hundreds of photos (I generally get 200 to 300 photos each time I go KAPing) but one just needs to erase all of the bad photos without losing any money on developing them in the first place. As a result there’s no need to worry about taking too many shots. All in all, this is just too much fun!