Explore the best Milwaukee has to offer with VISITMilwaukee and OnMilwaukee this summer by "Urban Exploring." We'll be sharing parks to hike, walls to climb, rivers to paddle, trails to bike and so much more. Be a tourist in your own town and experience it with us!

Kids nowadays; they have it so easy.

When I was a kid, I was the last of all my friends to get a cell phone. I had limited computer time. I could only play video games if they allowed me to be active ("Dance Dance Revolution," Wii, etc.). Of course, sometimes I would be bitter and frustrated with my parents about it.

In the end, however, I am thankful for it. Because I had limited access to other things, it forced me to spend some time outside, where some of my best childhood memories were made.

The neighborhood kids and I used to play kickball in our backyards. We would ride our bikes around the neighborhood and play cops and robbers. We would have campfires and take a part in a good ol’ game of Ghost In The Graveyard. We would set up lemonade stands at the end of my driveway and so much more. We basically spent every second we could outside. 

Now that I am a 21 years old, I have grown tired of some of these activities. However, some are fun to revisit, which I exactly what I decided to do one recent beautiful summer day in Milwaukee when I finally decided to stop into the Gift of Wings shop by the lakefront.

At Gift of Wings, they sell kites, ice cream and other treats. I thought it would be fun to fly a kite with some friends because I remember it being really fun; however, it'd been quite awhile since I’d done it. Due to that, I decided to ask the shop staff some questions and tips after I bought my diamond-shaped kite. They told me their best advice with my particular kite was to run with the wind to my back and give it a lot of slack. That way, it could get high in the air.

After that advice, I felt confident. I remember that kite-flying was easy, so with that tip, my kite should be up in the air in no time. I put the kite together – and to be honest, that was the easiest part. Actually flying the kite was so much harder.

I was running around Veterans Park like crazy trying to get my kite in the air. I even had my friend try to hold it in the air as I ran, and then she would let go of it. As expected, it just flew straight to the ground. We tried just throwing it up; that didn’t work. If we ever got it to stay in the air, we really couldn’t get it higher than 10 feet. I went back inside to try to get more advice, and they seemed to think I was doing everything right.

The worker at the store told us the wind should be 8-10 mph for the type of kite we had, so I would like to blame it on the fact the wind wasn't the right speed. But, if I'm being honest, it is more likely that I’m a bad kite flyer. In the end, whether I am meant to be a kite flyer or not, it was a great way to get out and enjoy the summer days of Milwaukee with my friends. It was a fun day, and I would highly recommend it for others to enjoy.