John & Anne Wiley

2011/10/10

Sea & Sky

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 03:25

After a solemn short sailing out of the marina at Santa Cruz yesterday, we flew low over the same spot today.

7055 Sailor Site

7055 Sailor Site

At the harbor mouth, we’d floated slowly past the lighthouse on the breakwater at the left. Then we dined in the Crow’s Nest on the other side of the outlet just below the rows of moored small craft. There is a special magic for us, in looking both up and down. Floating on water, and floating on air. Like seasons of life, perspectives are enriched by contrast. Our muse followed us along the beach to Paharo Dunes where memories and marriages were formed years ago.

7087 Paharo

7087 Paharo

Skirting the Monterey airspace where the city was under a solid blanket, we popped over the low hills to weave among the scattered scud along Big Sur.

7128 Big Sur Coast

7128 Big Sur Coast

As I typed the name just now, images flooded back from our magic carpet ride along there a few hours ago and a great long sigh swept over me. I’ll be reviewing our collection of pix and uploading more here, on Edhat and on my Photo Page (links at right) over the next few days. sigh…

2011/10/09

Study In Blue

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 06:53

The colors here in Santa Barbara are a treat for the eye. Approaching the airport, I was struck by the variations on a blue theme looking out across UCSB to the thin haze hanging offshore.

6887 Study In Blue

6887 Study In Blue

The blue predominates so much, I had to tone it down to bring out the orange kelp and various green areas. Yet again the camera only sees an impression of the breathtaking vistas we enjoy on most every flight.

2011/10/01

Higher Math

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 02:49

You don’t need a college degree, but it helps. You can get them here, as Molly can attest.

6250 Slough & UCSB

6250 Slough & UCSB

So here’s the math problem. You’re in a plane leaving Santa Barbara going North to Santa Ynez and you pass an Amtrak train that is Southbound.

6257 Amtrak at DP Beach

6257 Amtrak at DP Beach

OK, you may have already figured out the answer: I’m messing with you. Though the train is Southbound, it’s actually going East because of our coastline here and we were flying West out of SBA before turning toward Santa Ynez. But it serves to illustrate the sort of higher math I’m really talking about: Anne + John + Tripp = way too much fun. 🙂

2011/09/29

Castles

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 08:57

One of the many things I enjoy about flying, is seeing what people do with their homes. Sometimes a business will really stand out from the air, but more often it’s homes that display creativity and/or wealth clearly visible from a quarter mile up. This estate for example.

6199 Montecito Money

6199 Montecito Money

It’s such a magnificent place, and I like the pond in particular. I wouldn’t want to live there, but it’s easy to understand how plenty of people could yearn for that. The setting is great too, close to the amenities of  Montecito Village.

6205 Montecito Village to Ventura

6205 Montecito Village to Ventura

Hope Ranch has some really impressive mansions too of course, but I like how this “village” on the opposite side of Santa Barbara still has some relatively modest homes. People whose families have lived there for generations before it sprouted some estates of the uber rich. If I had unlimited funds and wanted to spend extravagantly on a house, what would I create? Each one is so different, and like admiring beauties like that first one it’s endlessly fascinating for me to watch them being built.

6203 Future Fantasy

6203 Future Fantasy

Adding to our fun flying this part of town was spotting Pierre LaFond where we’d just bought a cookie. It’s nice that we can still afford to buy something in this part of town. 🙂

6207 Fav Cookie

6207 Fav Cookie

Pierre’s is at the top of the pic, and though I prefer Anne’s exceptional oatmeal cookies and Molly’s insanely great chocolate chip, the best store-bought cookies are here. It’s a great place to sit and enjoy a cookie and a cup of coffee when we’re not home with much healthier home-baked goodies. As for my castle, it would have a glass turret and countless other quirky additions but it would all easily fit in the garage of most estates. It would have no more than three bedrooms with small attached bathrooms, and a low maintenance xeriscape yard. After setting aside funds for flying and some travel, the rest would go to making the world a better place. What would you do with the funds of the top one percent?

2011/09/27

Scenes

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 18:39

The seasonal sunsets have begun, and we enjoyed this one from a nearby hill where we paused on a walk to admire the light and color. Noticing the gathering colors as we left the house, we’d talked about bringing a camera. Luckily this cellphone pic came out passably well as a memento of a magical moment together.

9/25 Sunset Phone Pic

9/25 Sunset Phone Pic

Had we brought a better camera, you could get a clearer look at the glowing virga that made this scene extra magical.

Our 9/22 flight included a scene that evokes toy sailboats in a pond. These are the small single-person craft that seem to often gather in a frenetic cluster offshore, but this time they were just outside the harbor.

6184 Toy Boats

6184 Toy Boats

From the air, this tumult of turning boats is great fun to watch. Maybe we should try to get video some time.

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