We seem to be so caught up in activities of the season that it’s been a long time since we’ve posted. No time right now either, but here’s a hasty share of scenes we’ve been enjoying on recent flights. This one from the region looking across the southern Santa Maria valley toward Lompoc. With the return of near normal rainfall lately it’s all about green!
8874 Green Acres
We circled the Point Conception Lighthouse again a few days ago, and on the way out West I captured this glorious light in the water.
8058 Water & Light
Clear air, angle of sun, iridescent reflection of sky, reddish sand, bright green seaweed, and a hint of Bahamas turquoise water – all conspired to paint this moment on our magical Light Flight.
8071 Forbidden Light
I managed to get permission for this normally forbidden view of the lighthouse from offshore. Few people even see this light, and fewer still from this perspective.
8093 Point Conception Light
I was able to snap many views of the point, the light, and the rarely seen sea caves.
8136 Point Conception
From the jagged point to the old light foundation, “new” light, telecom hut, and keepers quarters, to the hidden protected cove, this place has powerful charm.
8169 Calm Day
I circled several times to be in position for this eight foot wave’s arrival at one of the caves. It’s rare to have such a relatively calm sea with almost no wind or turbulence and such clear air. Quite a treat to get permission for this perspective in such idyllic conditions.
8213 Ancient Light
Then we saw new sights along a route new for us, almost direct from the point to nearby Lompoc. Back when swimming pool filters used diatomaceous earth, this quarry near the outskirts was alive with activity. Now the remains of ancient microscopic diatoms are bathed by today’s light, revealing new shapes and colors in the often silent dig. After a stretch break, Tripp lifted us back into the clear air and we turned toward home.
8295 Evening Light
In the warm glow of approaching sunset we passed this derelict retreat center in the hills six miles or so East of Lompoc. Shadows and light, colors and textures together evoked a meditative quality for me as we passed.
We find many layers of enjoyment in SB. When we moved here twenty-some years ago, the first layer was local beaches. Every day we’d stroll the sands, until we discovered other layers and our beach walks dwindled. But on a recent flight, the ancient sandy beach layers of this sedimentary boulder caught my eye.
7590 Broken Beach
Looking at the pic just now, I noticed that the big boulder is broken. That of course got me pondering the fact that the boulder is an ancient beach broken on today’s sand. Nearby is this beach bungalow said to belong to one of today’s biggest movie stars.
7602 Beach Bungalow
Just as the waves gently swish pebbles at water’s edge, I imagine time in this place washing layers of relaxation into every pore of the people playing there. In the still of night, drifting into to sleep in that music, we dream…
Lately I seem to like wide panoramic slices of many pics, maybe because they evoke some hint of the vast panoramas we see. Tripp basically gives us, aside from a few window posts, a 270 degree panoramic slice. Here for instance is what a slice of UCSB looked like as we approached along the shoreline.
DSC_7276 UC Slice
SBA runways show at the left edge, but the main attraction is UCSB with the lagoon highlighted by the mountains beyond. A moment later we took in a similar scene looking back toward Pt. Conception far in the West.
7290 UC West
Because the pix I post here are reduced they look blurry compared with my full size originals, so I sharpened this one slightly to give an impression of how crisp the views are. After a pleasant cruise along the shoreline past Hope Ranch beaches and mansions, downtown SB comes into view past Shoreline Park (now brown in the drought) at the bottom-center edge.
7421 Shoreline To SB
Soon we’re closer to SBCC and turning toward the northwest, the changed angle further away from sunlight yields a little less haze to emphasize how this campus snuggles into scenic SB.
7427 SBCC Slice
Then looking back more toward the west we see colors shift again, along with the different perspective of this small piece of the slice we saw from Tripp. The first point is Shoreline, almost at the horizon is Campus Pt. (UCSB) with a slice of SBA visible to the right of it, and far in the distance is Pt.Conception.
7438 Looking Back
Many scenic slices later we turned over Montecito Village where a few mansions shine green and even sport tall fountains, amid the brown yards of conscientious neighbors.
7457 Oprah’s Green
Then on our way back to SBA from this brief tour of paradise we looked past Laguna Blanca allowed to dry up in the drought, to More Mesa, UCSB, SBA and onward toward the west.
7536 Beyond Hope Ranch
Flying the SB region is always new. We’ve logged many hundreds of hours flying here and as we’ve said many times it’s always fun, refreshing, beautiful, and we invariably discover something we’d never noticed before. When we flew Tripp up to Santa Paula for her oil change a week or so ago, we went higher than usual and got new views of familiar places like Padaro.
7920 Padaro To Carp
Looking past the point at Padaro Lane, Carp nestles in the hills with mountains beyond and the broad Oxnard plain in the far distance. Over our harbor, I got this reflective view of Stearn’s Wharf.
7924 Stearn’s Reflections
Late afternoon sunlight glinting off the restaurant windows, paints a shimmering reflection of the day.
John & Anne Wiley 
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