John & Anne Wiley

Was it Johnny Carson who said his dentist’s name was Phil McCavity? Well as you may know this distinctive peak above Santa Barbara reminds me of a dental work so I call it Tooth Rock. It even has several “cavities” on the face. OK, it’s true I intended to stop sharing 3D pix here but I really like how the shape and cavities stand out.

3884 3D Tooth Rock

Again, to view it look at the line in the center and gradually cross your eyes until you see three photos side by side and then focus on the peak as you cross or uncross your eyes slightly to bring together the two images of the peak in the center of the three photos you see with your eyes crossed. Once you learn to do this it’s quick and easy, and it’s great fun to look at the pix.
Here’s a frontal view of the rock, that shows the caves better. Especially in 3D!

3887 3D Tooth Face

This is more the view from town, where it looks like a conical tooth shape. In the first pic at the top, you can see it’s actually a thick slab of rock. The second pic is fuzzy at the top-right because the angle on the hills behind changes so much between the two pics that make it 3D.

Having seen it close up like this, often when I look at it from town now I can imagine us up there with friends sipping wine and watching the sunset. Later quiet guitar and singing around a small campfire during the wet season. Maybe sleeping in the big cave at the base and watching the stars whirl by outside the opening. Surely many people have spent time there over the ages. Their enchantment there has captured my imagination, and resonates in my soul.

What is it that stirs in us when we see something from a bygone era? In the case of this staple feature in Solvang, maybe it’s the fading shadows of a simpler life?

2569 Solvang Windmill

Perhaps the way it evokes the culture and values of an entire region? Or in the case of this one in Buellton, maybe it’s the road movie that created a tourist boom that still persists in the valley.

2574 Sideways Motel

More evocative for me is this old highway bridge nearby, now abandoned next to the 101 freeway. Did my family cross that span when I was a small California child?

2580 Shadow Crossing

In the shadows beneath, life fades into memory along with the last glimmer on water moving inexorably to take its molecule of stone from the gorge at Gaviota and blend back into the sea of time.

Our dreams last night were more interesting and vivid than usual, probably related to the surgery. It got me thinking about daydreams, in the sense that when we haven’t flown for a while we sort of daydream about it. For example, on a clear day we look at the mountains or get a view of the ocean, hear the distant siren song of a passing plane, or just notice the sky. In a heartbeat we’re remembering moments from a previous flight or dreaming of a new one. Today I daydreamed about this one.

2518 Elegant Hood

I remembered enjoying this elegant neighborhood in the hills as we climbed out of the airport. So many beautiful homes and mansions around here, each one a long story of how those people got all the money involved and chose how to spend it. Looking back toward the airport I snapped this tiny slice of the much better view I was paying far less to enjoy a lot more.

2526 Better View

We both used to be Ocean View devotees, but the great mountain view from our modest home has switched us. When driving across the Stevens (San Roque) Bridge and voting on the best view, it’s rare for the ocean to win. So I liked the view in the opposite direction, from up here also better than those manse owners get and of course far beyond what we see from our place.

2530 Mountain View

Of course, at the same time we’re enjoying the ocean and mountain views, we’re also looking East and West along the coast and down at interesting and beautiful attractions along our path. Can you tell that flying appeals to us? Do these words & pix convey some dim impression of how easily I can get dreamy about it? Have you guessed that we’re eager for Anne’s foot to heal so we can get up again? 🙂