Occasionally, when I have time, or when company’s coming, I browse the calendar section of the newspaper for fun and interesting things to do around here. Two weeks ago there was a “Wind-powered Vehicle Event” happening on the beach that caught my eye.

The brief article said that “Kite Buggies” were a 25-year-old worldwide sport. Well I remember my friend and former student, Scott, who used to work for the original Long Beach Kites, demonstrating this new activity. And yes, it WAS about 25 years ago!

Again, according to the article, kite buggies on the beach are now only allowed by special permission, so I decided to take this opportunity to go check them out.

It was a gloriously sunny Sunday morning when I walked down Sid Snyder Drive to the beach. (I am not making this up!) The breeze was rather gentle, perhaps not quite strong enough to power the buggies. And apparently, although advertised as a 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. event, not many got the memo, and a friend and I watched as only two hearty souls attempted to harness what wind there was by 11 a.m.

Our time was limited that day, heading over to Astoria to see “The ‘Real’ Story of Lewis and Clark” at the Astoria Street Opry Company (another good find in the newspaper), so we had to leave before any real action took place.

As we headed up the beach approach, another man and his buggy were headed to the sand. The buggy was loaded to the gunwales with apparently necessary paraphernalia to launch his ride. Leading the way was a small short-haired terrier on a leash. At first glance, it looked like the dog was pulling the buggy.

“I think I might have chosen to leave the dog at home,” I remarked to my friend.

“That’s not a dog,” my friend replied, “that’s an alternative energy source.”

No wind? Powered by kibbles? What an earth-friendly idea!