Not many people would make a vacation solely out of visiting a kite manufacturer. After all, I was in the city known for great beaches, the San Diego Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, the Aerospace Museum, Balboa Park, etc. I drove past all of them. My focus was one of obsession, I guess.
When I got to San Diego last Tuesday, I wasn't expecting to be sleeping on Ben's apartment floor, but he insisted, so I did. (The plan was to hang out in the car...) Ben even waited up for me because I was about 3 hours late getting into town.
On Wednesday, I twisted his arm and forced him to go out to Mission Beach to do some flying. Considering how much he kept saying he was a grump and all, I was very glad to watch him (and myself of course) having so much fun. It was a GORGEOUS day! I even learned something off of him. It might not seem like much to some folks, but there's a trick to flying a rev with one hand, and getting through it without crashing rather impressed me. I haven't done a dive-stop that way yet, but... I even got some video of him actually SMILING.
On Thursday he had to work, so I went out to Rev HQ in Poway to bug him even more. I was glad to see a photo on the wall of a kite sitting in the snow in Alaska. Having never seen a Bazzer eyes kite up close, I sat drooling over them for awhile. (I'll never be able to afford one, but I got to hold it in my hands...almost the same thing.) Everyone at the Rev offices were about as friendly as can be, especially since they were dealing with someone who was begging for a free Bazzer kite the whole time.
BTW, I think that rev should let people know more often about the things they make there other than kites. See HERE for an impressive product.I had a long discussion with Joe, who seemed most happy to be the front man for them that day, since Ben was spending most of that time yelling at his computer. (Told ya Ben...get a PC. Those Macs are only for yuppies.) Joe answered quite a few questions that those of us up here in Alaska had been trying to work out. He even told me about the 15x1 foot prototype, which I want, but then, I want pretty much anything made by them.
It was a great couple days. I got to fly a kite I haven't tried yet. I decided my better 3/4 can't complain about the back of my truck, because I've seen the back of Ben's van.
I'll post some photos later ... and maybe even the video of Ben having fun when he was supposed to be so grumpy. I guess I understand. It's amazing how your mood changes once you pick up those handles and get the kite into the air.
Thanks to Ben and the folks at Rev for the good time!
--TaK
