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http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/15936770.htm

Go fly a kite

To enthusiasts, winds along Strand inviting

By Steve Palisin

The Sun News

Folks in one facet of flying probably don't take offense at being told to "go fly a kite."

With summer long flown by, Grand Strand beaches provide even more room for flying kites.

Robert Taylor of North Myrtle Beach said he enjoys cavorting with
kites at least three times a week, whenever he can break away from his
professional demands as a restaurant manager.

Speaking one afternoon from his favorite Myrtle Beach spot off North
Ocean Boulevard for his hobby, Taylor, 31, describes his most memorable
- and first - time flying a kite. With a kite purchased on a family
vacation to Myrtle Beach, and extra line added, the kite soared about
3,000 feet high.

"It was so far up there, I'm surprised it didn't snap," he said,
leading to another inevitable family moment - when it was time to go.
"So we looked at one another and asked, 'Who's reeling it in?' "

Twenty-two years later, Taylor views his getaways to fly kites - or
to go kiteboarding, flying himself along the shores - as time for
thoughts, "for clearing your slate."

"You go out there and the only thing you have is the wind and
nature," he said. "Nothing outside of your wind range is going to
bother you at that time."

Rick Kligman co-owns Klig's Kites, with three locations, with his brother, Bruce.

Walking through their store at the Coastal Grand mall in Myrtle
Beach, Kligman says most customers are tourists, and the busy season
starts with cabin fever in February and lasts through September.

With a two-handle roll of string, Kligman said, "You steer a kite just like you steer a car."

Looking up at display models dotting the walls with color, he
pointed out popular shapes of kites, such as diamond, delta (triangle),
parafoil, box, airplane, prism and sled.

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