John & Anne Wiley

2012/02/10

Passage

Before a railroad line was built, the passage from Santa Barbara to L.A. was probably fastest by sea. With only sails that might have taken at least a day with good winds. For us it’s an easy half-hour and some, including diversions to check out things like this.

9990 Passage

9990 Passage

To me there’s something enchanting about this angle near the end of day, and the glow of roadway lighting. But all tunnels seem to invite a magic. You temporarily leave all the sights, sounds and smells of the everyday world. For a time you have the sensation of motion, but the variety of life is lost to a nearly featureless tube close around you. When you emerge from the other end, it’s often into quite different surroundings that are greatly accentuated by the deprivation of transit. Maybe the opposite of flying in some way, because the journey itself is so enriching. Earlier we diverted slightly to look at this massive boulder and the graffiti slab above it.

9939 Rock & Slab

9939 Rock & Slab

There are certainly many things more fun and fascinating than flying. I just can’t think of any. 🙂

Advertisement

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

%d bloggers like this: