Last year, I ran a race in Santa Barbara. It was a tough race; it was a half marathon that started at sea level and ended at 3000 feet. I hate hills so you know I would not have run it unless I had a reason. And I did. My friend was going to do it and I decided that I would love the challenge (and Santa Barbara was not too bad). As I thought, the race sucked. I actually ran fine. Until the eleventh mile when I began to cramp. Imagine running two miles while your quadriceps are cramping. It sucks. I did everything I could to get rid of the cramping. I drank water, thinking I might be dehydrated…but it did not work. I took in electrolytes thinking I did not have enough in my system…but it did not work. Finally, I realized I just needed to man-up (is that a misogynistic statement? Not sure…whatever) and just run the last two miles.

Well, I made it. I was miserable and the finisher medal was…not really worth the effort (I think I might have lost it). But I finished and it was the toughest half marathon I had ever done (oh, thank God! There is the medal. I didn’t lose it). I was a happy camper.

But I digress. This article has nothing to do with running or my race. It is about drones.

When the race started, I heard this soft hum. I looked up and I saw a medium-sized drone looking down at the runner, apparently filming the start of the race. It looked glorious! It hovered in the air like a hummingbird and had a graceful way about it. I had found a new hobby. I was going to learn how to fly drones.

First, what kind of drone to buy. I cruised through the Internet, first watching YouTube videos with people flying the different types of drones. I saw drones for a couple of hundred dollars and I saw some worth thousands.

You know what I learned? Drones crash. No matter how high quality the drone is and how good the pilot is, a drone will (no might) crash and it will break. I was disheartened. I have no experience flying these things so the thought of buying a two hundred dollar drone made me think that I was just asking to throw away two hundred dollars.

I gave up. I thought my dream of flying through the skies (well, a toy I control flying through the sky while I watch a video recording from my GoPro camera mounted on it) was over. I could not afford it.

That is, until December 22. In California, it has been very cold and rainy. When that happens, my skin get very dry and itches. The only cure is moisturizer. Something that does not smell too much and will not make me feel like I am coated with candle wax. So I stop off at Walgreens on my way home.

And there it was. In the “crap-that-no-one-else-could-sell-so-we-will-discount-it-for-Christmas” aisle. A drone. On sale for $24.99. Now, this was not the most ominous looking thing. It was probably a little bigger than my hand. But it could do tricks and would teach me how to fly. And, it was big enough to require an FAA license (frigging $5 that I am not going to pay so I guess I am a fugitive now). It even has a camera so I can get accused of being a peeping tom (though I do not know what I can record with a two megapixel camera and a flight time of seven minutes).

I have been practicing inside my room, afraid of breaking it. Now I am ready to take it out in the open and spread its wings. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Photos courtesy of:
pixabay.com
droneandquadcopter.com
walmart.com
cabrillo.edu