Flying Kites in Berkeley

The northern end of the Berkeley Marina, on the other side of what is now the Doubletree Hotel (and what used to be the Berkeley Marina Mariott), is famous for kite flying.  On a recent late Saturday afternoon, we ventured to the park to watch the kites.  An enormous parachute-like kite dominated the scene.  It was anchored to a post in the ground in the occasional gusty but cooperative wind and looked like it would stay up there for hours.

Nearby, we encountered a group of friends flying a normal-sized kite.  Made of space-age material and controlled with two ropes, the kite made an amazing zipping noise.  The owner gave my son a quick flying lesson.

Up the hill, we found two guys piloting home-built drones.  One was using virtual-reality goggles to pilot his drone, and he let my son try them on and watch through the drone's eyes.  In the next few years, as accessibility improves, these devices are going to be all over the place.   Toy-style models are already appearing in toy stores though they aren't nearly as sophisticated as the one we encountered.