Picture perfect kiteboarding at Golden Gardens

When the weather is just perfect, Jim Stringfellow has one thing on his mind: kiteboarding.

Stringfellow lives and breathes this sport. “You wake up, the first thing you want to do is look at the wind readings,” he told us recently at Golden Gardens. “If it’s blowing, you figure out how you can call in sick or rearrange your work so you can get away for a few hours. I do that on a daily basis.” Thankfully Stringfellow is self-employed and has more flexibility than some. When he’s out kiting “I tell customers I’m at a board meeting,” he says with a chuckle. Pun intended.

“It’s a plus when we can kite here,” Stringfellow says of Golden Gardens. “This is probably, in my opinion, the most picturesque beach in the whole state. You’ve got the beautiful Olympics and you’ve got the marina right there.”

Friday’s weather was perfect for kiteboarding. With wind gusts up to 45 miles per hour this afternoon, you can bet that kiteboarders like Stringfellow was out at Golden Gardens.