Well this has been brewing for 3-4 weeks now. Everything was finalized yesterday and my family and I will be moving from Central Georgia to just outside the San Francisco/Oakland CA. area. It is both exciting and scary depending on what your focus is. I'll be geographically leaving my SoFKA buddies, but not in spirit. Luckily this forum has helped me cultivate friendships with a hefty handful of kite minded fellows very close to where we will live. I look forward to being part of epic days at Ocean Beach (if they will let us) and of course the sod field. The move will likely take place early December. This will certainly eliminate the tough travel part of getting to major kite events out west not the least of which is NABX. I'll try my best to bolt up the midi tires and stir up a little dust on the playa next spring.

Go West young man and prosper. We will miss you.

A few times when at meets or industry meetings, folks from the industry have come up to me and said things like "Hey, it sounds like you have it going on, building up kiting in the southeast...". I've always had to explain that it is the SoFKA gang, and that Bobby Muse has the most to do with it. I've done my share in SE Georgia and the Golden Isles Region, but Bobby banged the drums throughout north GA and South Carolina and beyond.

Bobby and son Wexler will bring a lot to the West. Take care of them.

(Bobby told me about this yesterday, shortly after his family had confirmed things. He had already figured out mileage and proximity to key places like Ocean Beach and Ivanpah. Gotta love a guy with priorities)

Bobert,

Congratulations! Sounds exciting. Gonna miss seeing you at the local events. Always like your enthusiasm. I suppose the next time we might see you will be on a video kiting under the Golden Gate bridge?
You stated the move would be in early September? Did you perhaps mean November?
Maybe the founding members of SoFKA could get together for one more meet up. Let us know if you have the time.

Best of luck to you and the family. Enjoy the adventure!

Mel
Pssst, buy a wetsuit

Congrats!

When are you gonna post some surfing videos under the bridge?

Thanks Angus for your kind words. Any drum beating I've done has been purely due to an unbridled (hehe bridle, get it ;-) ) enthusiasm for all things kiting. Throw in my love of being around people that share this hobby/passion and it makes for lots of fun for sure. Edited the move date to early December.
If I can enhance my skills quite a bit, I'll be certain to get video if I'm ever confident enough to head out across the entrance to the bay and have the GGB in the same frame. I told Angus yesterday that I really hope a weekend will pop up with some wind, favorable tides, and an opportunity for most or all of us SoFKA guys to have a big hoorah before I head west in the Conestoga with my buggy riding in the back. Thanks everyone for the well wishes.

PS. I have a shorty wetsuit and a drysuit. I guess I'll have to add a full wetsuit to be able to cover typical water conditions.

Welcome to California!!

S.F./Oakland...now does that mean you're going to become a Raiders fan ;-)

I've heard that if you can afford to live there, S.F. is one of the best places to live if you're a kitesurfer

If you ever make it down to L.A., let me know. It would be nice to have some company at El Mirage. If you like the water, Oxnard has some great beaches as well...

Quote:

Originally posted by lunchbox Welcome to California!! S.F./Oakland...now does that mean you're going to become a Raiders fan ;-) I've heard that if you can afford to live there, S.F. is one of the best places to live if you're a kitesurfer If you ever make it down to L.A., let me know. It would be nice to have some company at El Mirage. If you like the water, Oxnard has some great beaches as well...

Well we can afford to live within driving distance of the bay area, but that's close enough. I hope to enhance my kitesurf abilities having good wind and water available relatively close. I'm sure LA will be a travel destination. I'll be sure and let you know if I've got kite stuff in the car.

I've actually already been to a 49ers game, so we'll see how that works out. Peyton Manning has me a Colts fan for now.

Good luck on your move Bob!! Now that you're closer to Idaho there might be even more of a chance for me to get to meet you some day. It could be at NABX!

welcome to west is the best. j/k

see you soon.

Welcome to the wild Wild West !
:bigok:

You will have to put Canada and Van. on your travel plans. I would suggest that the Oregon Coast is far more important to travel 1st. Absolutely beautiful and all sorts of interesting places to ride. Highway 1 and 101 is one of the most scenic drives in the world From San Fran on up IMHO

I guess you'll be flying Cabrina soon enough :smug:

@f0rgiv3n yeah, this makes it easier. Since our kites are traveling buddies, we need to foster their relationship!

@BR, I"m not one to go with the grain very much, so I'll probably continue on with the arcs especially if they seem odd or peculiar to the rest.

So Angus, is this a player to be named later type of trade?

I would like to suggest Bladerunner. Bob has to be able to stay on his feet better!!

or maybe Texas Steve. He does have a nack for finding things on the beach with his buggy!

Bob, anytime you feel the need to fly your old 8.3 Reactor, I'm only 10 hours north of SF. lol

We'll have to get together sometime and if conditions demand the big kites, we can trade off so you can have a go on the RII 8.6 as well. We will end up at an event sometime I'm sure. I've already taken a bead on NABX so that's a possibility. I'll try to do some Washington/Oregon events as well.

Good luck with the move bud. Thats a beautiful area to be in, for sure.

wow i must have missed something ..

Bob ya'll are moving to CA , that's super cool !

good luck with the move . the virtual world will keep us connected

PAC water is cold! the dry suit gonna be your friend.

hope to see you guys before you jet west.

I'm keeping my eyes on a early/mid November weekend I can get together with a big SoFKA gathering.

Welcome to the Bay Area Bob! I'll probably be one of your closest kiting neighbor after your move. So you're more than welcome to share my playground at Shoreline kite field, or drive east to Dino's. (It doesn't matter). Shoreline is about 40 minutes south of Oakland.

e

I found your park at Shoreline using Google maps and your videos of the park. That looks like a nice place to ride for sure.

Shoreline kite park aerial

BB is going to be located about in the middle ... he will have the choice to go where the wind is blowing Plus he will almost be screwyfits neighbor. They can carpool :wink2:

Welcome to Cali BB. It was a true loss to the kiting community here when Ocean Beach had a ban placed on it - but the nice thing is that you can still static fly there and there are still plenty of places to go in the bay area, the Sacramento valley, and even parts of Nevada near Reno to get your buggy fix. The crew here will give you a warm welcome once you have settled in and are ready to do some exploring.

Thanks Flexi. I hear you have some good reports on your buggy site you tried down near Monterey. I'll tell you, this move is much easier knowing the network of kite guys there are out there.

Yeah Moss Landing was a dream come true - 7 1/2 mile reach in one direction - not even fully dropped low tide and easily runnable - few walkers - only drawback were the horses, need to work out a proper hand sign etiquette for passing - I just stayed away from them and let them pass me low towards the waters edge while I took the high ground (upwind) to avoid spooking. It was by far the best day out I've ever had - can't wait to get back.

Welcome to the West Coast and the NorCal crew. Alameda is a good spot for kitesurfing and it is minutes away from Oakland.

Hey PKF gang. I'll be unplugging today so I'll be offline for a few weeks during the move. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you. See you on the other side.

Have a good holiday season and best wishes for the move

WHAT? No Balckberry, iPhone, E-book? We want to at least hear about the kite stops.

Good luck on the great adventure and have a safe trip.

Thanks guys. Maybe I can get a surrogate poster to post about my travels. I'll get more into the 21st century on my next phone next summer.

Happy Kiting Hoidays , Beamer Bob

Ok, life is approaching normal again. I have a real internet connection and will soon resume my visits here. It's funny but I feel like a visitor today. I'll be doing some lurking while getting back in the swing of things. It seems that all the kite equipment made the trip just fine except for my rear axle bolts for the buggy. They were in a zip lock baggie and labeled and sitting in the seat of the buggy but somehow made it into one of the 12-16 large boxes labeled "garage". Labeling hasn't been at all accurate either. Bolts are on the way from Angus as we speak. The old ones should turn up when unpacking the garage. No kites for 3-4 weeks now so I'm jonesing for a day of wind and opportunity.