Here�s a little dating advice, from me and David Gomberg: forget the movies, or a fancy dinner. Everything you need to know about a potential partner, you'll discover on a trip to the beach, flying kites. It certainly worked for David Gomberg and his wife, Susan. Twenty-six years ago, this couple spent their first date on the beach, at the D River Wayside. Today, they own an international kite design and fabrication company, Gomberg Kite Productions, and two retail shops in Lincoln City. They create many of the giant kites you'll see at the Lincoln City Fall Kite Festival this weekend, from the geckos and frogs to the flags and massive windsocks. This romantic strategy could work for you, too. Take your date to the beach, and you will both forget all the dinner date anxiety. Hair, clothes, shoes and makeup are largely irrelevant, and nobody has to pick up the check. Don't worry about making clever small talk, because most of the time, she won't be able to hear you. You won't learn much about someone�s personality at the movies. Fly a kite with someone, and you'll learn a great deal. Will he pick up your kite when it�s down, and hold it up as you try to launch it again? If you�re about to walk backward into the ocean, will she let you know? More importantly, does he know which way the wind is blowing? These are attributes that an online dating questionnaire cannot discern. A kite-flying date will even work for old couples, like me and my husband. The occasion was my first lesson on single- and dual-line kites, out at the D River Wayside. I learned a little and crashed a lot, and made more than one tourist jump and run. My husband was there the whole time, laughing and helping, and capturing the whole thing on video. It�s our relationship in a nutshell � or perhaps, wrapped up in nylon string.

By Saturday morning, then prospects for the Lincoln City Festival didn't look very positive. Forecasts were hinting at steady rain and serious winds. Stalwart fliers began to gather at the Wayside Park early. They included invited performers and early arrivals for the Seaside Convention which stats Monday. But optimistic outlooks and warm smiles could not hold the weather off. A few fliers tried to launch in the drizzle while the rest of us huddled under the tents.

We had five AKA presidents in attendance -- Jensen, Dermer, Skinner, Meyer, and myself. And we had guests from as far away as Australia as well as New Jersey and Rhode Island. By noon, the rain was coming down steady and most fliers shifted to the nearby Cultural Center. Workshops, exhibits, and indoor flying was planned there. I was amused to enter the small auditorium and see the audience seated on the stage while fliers performed on the floor. The day before, I'd dusted off my collection on 3-meter Japanese kites and hung them in the room.

Out on the beach, festival volunteers pulled down flags and banners. The tide was peaking, and waves crashed across the sand. Staff trying to collect field markers got their feet wet. So all-in-all, it was a friendly day but not a good flying day by any measure. But lest you think it always rains in Oregon, check out this fine video of our last festival here.

Saturday night, we dropped in on a Chamber of Commerce Auction. The local auctioneer jokingly cornered me with a winning bid for kite flying lessons from "National Rokkaku Champion Ronda Brewer". Ronda is a local too. But what the kiters at my table knew (and the auctioneer didn't) was that I had seven national trophies in rok fighting...

Sunday was a completely different day. The mist burned off and the afternoon weather was perfect. Unfortunately, the tides remained very high and peaked mid-day. That left the waves sloshing over the beach and drenching kites and gear. The sound system and festival tents had been pulled the night before when winds starting lifting them into the parking lot. So there wasn't much of a "festival" Sunday. But there was a wealth of kite talent on the beach and we made the best of it!

Tonight, about 70 of our closest friends are coming up to the house for a social evening. Looks like we wiull have a perfect evening! Susie is offering dinner for 10, or snacks for 50. The first ten in line get to decide which! First thing tomorrow, we all head north to Seaside! Mike and Judy Agner are representing GKPI with a kite show for the San Francisco music festival this weekend. And Al Sparling is flying for us as part of OSOW in Denver. Somewhere, the sun is shining.

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