John & Anne Wiley

2010/06/03

Long & Short

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 06:14

Today we had a short flight that seemed much longer, flying slowly out to Carpinteria and back. Not much more than half an hour on the clock, but it feels like a journey of several days in dreamtime. I’ve sent some words & pix from the outbound flight to Edhat (I might add a link to the page, but you could also use this) and also put two more on my Photo Page. Coming back, we had a look at the demolition of St. Francis Hospital where so many people entered and left the community of Santa Barbara.

6619 St. Francis Demolition

6619 St. Francis Demolition

I hope our medical care won’t suffer from the lack of competition, and it’s strange watching from above as this landmark vanishes at the same time as Cottage Hospital nearby is getting a major expansion.

Another large construction project is going on at our home airport of SBA. The new long terminal will still have much of the short charm we’ve long enjoyed here, but things will be much more comfortable for everyone who works there and hopefully more streamlined for the passers through.

6625 KSBA Expansion

6625 KSBA Expansion

After leaving Tripp, we drove to SB Mission and it had an especially magical feel. People were quietly talking, almost reverent strolling quietly amid the amazing chalk art works of “i Maddonari” as an early summer frisbee toss coexisted with people lying and sitting on the grass out front.

6626 Mission Moment

6626 Mission Moment

The people-watching there is almost as remarkable as the chalk art, and will be for weeks as the crowds ebb and flow with vacations and weekend visitors.

6634 People & Art As Art

6634 People & Art As Art

2010/05/30

Big Game

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Has Photos,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 18:37

I found out today on Edhat in Comments to my photos from yesterday’s flight, that the big crowd we saw at SB High was for a special alumni game, so I’m posting these aerials to enhance the collection of photos at PresidioSports. These were taken at about 3:20pm from opposite sides of the stadium. Note: as with all photos on this blog, to see the largest version just click until it doesn’t get any bigger (sometimes two to four clicks).

6509 SB-SM Alumni Game

6509 SB-SM Alumni Game

6521 SB-SM Alumni Game - N. Side

6521 SB-SM Alumni Game - N. Side

Young & Old

We flew to Lompoc today, and at the airport a man was trying to find someone willing to show his son an airplane. We of course gave them a Tripp tour, and it was heartwarming to see dad’s patience and the youthful excitement. Dad was excited too, and walked over to Above All to see about learning to fly.

6507 Future Pilot

6507 Future Pilot

Before heading for Lompoc we flew over iMadonnari at Mission Santa Barbara to check the progress, and it was quite a contrast with yesterday. Many of the chalk art projects are nearing completion, and the place is alive with people.

6510 iMadonnari

6510 iMadonnari

Tomorrow if we don’t fly I’ll post more pix and tales from today, but for now I’m going to rest and relax in the warm glow of slow flight over scenic wonders.

2010/05/23

Socializing

Filed under: Happiness,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 04:25

Our fairly new retirement is a delightful blend of quiet time and connecting with people we care about. Today we went to a party and then had friends over.

The party was celebrating a wonderful woman who just endured the mixed blessing of unemployment. You know the feeling, lots of free time and enough savings to go for a while but the nagging fear you might never work again and die of starvation and neglect? Well, this party was to celebrate the new job and the freedom to fully enjoy these final days of unemployment.

0797 Employment Party

As her husband cut the (delicious!) cake, it had an almost wedding-like quality. We all felt so happy for them!

0799 Cake Study

Some were also happy about the cake, and this guy had a particularly studious enthusiasm. 🙂

In all, it’s been a relaxing and warm day that began with lounging around, transitioned to a leisurely drive into town for a library stop before the party at Rocky Nook Park, home for our visitors, and now a reputedly entertaining movie. What will tomorrow bring?

2010/05/22

Sparrow & Hawk

Filed under: Aviation,Has Photos,People,Random,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 04:52

Today I decided to share a snap of Tripp in the hangar, and found it poetic as I chose the angle. A sparrow nesting in the hangar was singing magnificently as a red tailed hawk circled outside. Tripp huddled at the back of the hangar as an A-4 Skyhawk jet “watched” her from just outside the beautiful old Accurate Aviation hangar.

0791 Tripp at Accurate Aviation for annual

0791 Tripp's Annual

All the planes in the shot are faster and bigger, yet Tripp seems perfectly comfortable and confident. Maybe because she knows we treasure the relatively low and slow flight she excels at. Today was all about the routine checklist of every annual inspection. I did lots of mundane stuff while Anne’s focus was waxing & cleaning. Also getting done are lots of little things on my “squawk” list with supervision and tools provided by Glenn Fuller, Chris Jewell and the sharp crew of A&Ps working for them.

It’s fascinating to hang out in that environment, watching the wide variety of planes and pilots come in with problems and leave happy. Still, we felt some disappointment when it became clear Tripp’s going to sit in the hangar this weekend instead of taking us on some fun flights. sigh…

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