Wind + Waves = Great Day for Kite-boards

True to the forecast, we awoke to blustery winds. So we headed to the beach at Grand Haven, just as we had been advised from the kite-boarder we met a couple days ago. We pulled into the parking lot to get our first sight of the crashing waves and a sky-line filled with kites.

Attached to each of those kites was a person, surfing over the waves at break neck speeds.

We should apologize right now for the number of pictures in the blog today. But we stood on this beach, spell-bound for what we were getting to witness. We have seen kite boarding before, but never so close. They were riding the waves as they broke on the beach, and sometimes the kites were right over our heads.

We could see the boarders up close and personal. When they were so close to each other, we wondered how they kept from getting their kite strings tangled.

It seems that their arms would get tired from holding on to that big kite. But they wear a body harness that attaches them to the kite, and only use their arms for steering.

They were loving the waves that would lift them high up in the air.

The reason that we are getting such a great show today, is because a planned demo of the top equipment companies was already scheduled for this weekend. The beach was filled with the latest and greatest in kites and boards for these dare devils to try. So the equipment and the boarders were planning to be here today--they just lucked out for the impressive waves to show up too.

We watched as this guy tried out a hydrofoil board that kept him high above the waves.

When he jumped out of the water, we could see the hydrofoil board better.

We talked to locals who came out to see the spectacle of the big waves, and were surprised to see so many kite boarders. It isn't often that Lake Michigan looks like this. In the background we could see the red lighthouse and fog light we walked to yesterday.

All this wind has deposited green weeds onto the beach, something we haven't seen before.

The storm clouds were looking dark and ominous as we looked to the south.

It was a beautiful sky line peppered with some of the kites that are now heading to deeper waters.

Besides the kite boarders, a big group of of surfers also showed up to take advantage of these unusual waves. After striking up a conversation, we found this was a group of high school students that are enrolled in a class where they are building surf boards. Next semester they will be building snow boards, so they can take advantage of Michigan's snow, as well as the surf.

Further down the beach, we saw that a couple was tying the knot amongst wind gusts clocked at 30 knots. The kite boarder in the background probably wasn't on the wedding invitation list.

After spending most of the morning watching the the kite-boarders, we needed some exercise. So we took off on a hike from the Hoffmaster State park just a mile from our campground.

Just like many forest hikes, we found some neat fungi along the way.

But it was unlike most of our hikes, because it ended with a walk on the beach.

The waves on Lake Michigan still look like ocean waves,

and it's a hold-on-to-your-hat kind of walk.

Love must be in the air, as this company was setting up for another ceremony for this evening on this beach.

We feel the love as well! We love these days along the shores of Lake Michigan, even if we have to take too many pictures.