I’ve missed posting lately, and decided to start catching up. I’ve been helping with a free new Android app for pilots, named Avare. Click the link to check it out if you’re into aviation, or just want to see what I’ve been up to. Anyway, here are some random surprises, starting with a view that greatly surprised us the first time we saw it.
1139 Tucker’s Grove
We’ve been to the Tucker’s Grove park at the north end of Turnpike many times, and hiked the trail up toward the hills from there a lot too. On the trail it feels like we’re in a wooded wilderness along the creek, but as you can see there are lots of homes on both sides. The park entrance is at the bottom-center, and the trail goes to the right and then up into the mountains. I’ve made this pic bigger than usual if you’d like to click it for a better look. Next up is a more recent surprise.
1163 Oprah’s Cottage
When we fly past Montecito, it’s fun to glance at Oprah’s modest SB cottage. Recently there’s been major construction work there, and that’s surprising given how beautiful it was before. I think she’d already done major renovations when she bought it a few years ago. Will be fun to see this latest work finished and compare with how it looked before. Last up in this random set is a familiar building that surprised me.
1179 California Light
We thought the California Hotel was going to be demolished, but seeing it from State Street we thought the project hadn’t started. I was surprised to see that it’s hollow inside except for a stout steel framework, and even more surprised at the translucent back wall. I guess they wanted it to look substantial, and maybe offer the neighbors an impression of how it will look with windows where the black areas are painted on the tarp. Next time we’re down in that area, maybe we’ll go by for a closer look.
John & Anne Wiley 
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