John & Anne Wiley

2010/10/15

Leaving SB

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,People,Random — John @ 08:25

I’ve been meaning to post more pix of our flight to San Diego last weekend, and time just flies by! For one thing, we got busy getting the word out about the Indy (SB Independent newspaper) SBCC candidate endorsement. So here are some pix just after the prior ones, still leaving the SB area.

 

1936 Mission SB

1936 Mission SB

 

The main SB Mission (center) is all many visitors ever see, though a few walk across to the magnificent rose garden (right). On this day there was some event going on at the school (left), and we once taught a seminar in one of the meeting rooms there. Across the road (top) are some remains of the aqueduct that we’ve also encountered traces of far up in the creek. Interesting to ponder what this area was like back when the native people built it for the missionaries.

I enjoy noticing how people with lots of money spend some of it on real estate. One that often gets my attention is down by Summerland. The story according to someone on Edhat is that the owner couldn’t get permits from the County to build freely, since the land was zoned agricultural. The solution was to build a horse ranch, that is in reality a polo field. This mansion and pool adjoin the field that’s out of frame at the top. I’ve posted different pix of these spots on my Photo Page (link in right column of this page).

 

1977 Agriculture

1977 Agriculture

 

Shall I post more pix from the flight, switch to our flight back from Santa Ynez on Tuesday (Tripp was stuck there due to fog at SBA), or concentrate on flying again to get new pix? Maybe all three. 🙂

2010/10/13

Mind the Gap

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 02:27

It’s been fun treating this blog like a diary of sorts because we sometimes review the posts and recall related experiences, and also because it’s fun to share with you. So the longer gap between posts lately is a little surprising. We’ve had plenty of fun, but just didn’t blog for some reason(s).

We’ve become a little involved with the growing movement to replace four of the seven current SBCC Board of Trustees. Four new candidates are running for the first hotly contested Board election in recent memory. They were begged to run by many friends who know how much they can contribute to getting SBCC back on track, and we’re very much hoping to help get the word out because the local media hasn’t done a very good job. If you’re interested in education, take a look at the Citizens4SBCC group’s website where you can learn about the issues and the four to vote for: Haslund, Croninger, Blum, & Macker. If all you need is something to remember when voting:

No SBCC Incumbents!

OK, so another recent activity was our Sunday flight to San Diego for Dad’s 91st birthday. The date was actually last weekend, but we missed the family gathering then due to thick local fog that prevented us getting Tripp out of SBA using “Visual Flight Rules” (VFR, basically meaning clear of clouds).

As if to reward us for waiting, the weather was glorious! Here’s what we saw soon after takeoff, looking past SBA and UCSB out to the islands.

 

1910 SBA to Channel Islands

1910 SBA to Channel Islands

 

Looking the other way, the canyons leading up to the mountains were also incredibly beautiful. Such a place to live!

 

1922 Quiet Mountain

1922 Quiet Mountain

 

The first small bare spot on the ridge just left of center is a favorite local hang glider launch spot, but I guess the air was too calm because we didn’t see any flying. For more detail, click on Our Photo Page in the top right column to see tagged identification of areas on the mountain.  I’ll blog more about the trip soon (I hope).

2010/10/10

Soft Sunset

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 03:58

We took a short and serene flight out to Montecito at sunset, and are still in a quiet mood. More people than usual were out for a sunset stroll at Hendry’s (Arroyo Burro) Beach as we quietly passed half a mile offshore, remembering enjoying a glance at passing planes on our own walks there.

1853 Hendry's Walkers

1853 Hendry's Walkers

Oprah’s fountain was on and lit, looking especially lovely. I think that’s a small amphitheater at the right.

1856 Oprah's Fountain

1856 Oprah's Fountain

I’ll probably put another pic or two on my Photo Page, and then maybe just meditate on happiness and contentment for a few minutes.

2010/10/06

Elect a New SBCC Board

Filed under: Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 07:14

I’m not a political sort of guy. Mostly I quietly follow the news and vote in private. No bumper stickers, yard signs, or canvassing. Tonight I’m fired up.

1795 New SBCC Board

1795 New SBCC Board

We attended a candidate forum downtown, and the slight hesitation I had about voting out the four incumbents is gone! Not just because the only two incumbents who showed up are either misinformed, misrepresenting the facts, or both. Not even because each of the four challengers (Macker, Haslund, Blum and Croninger) is a strong and articulate person I now support. More importantly I see this choice as one between incumbents who have presided over destruction of many educational programs our community needs, and four challengers who will repair that damage and go on to make the college stronger than ever. I’ve been involved in education and SBCC enough to know this is a crucial turning point, and our votes are needed.

I hope you’ll forgive my uncharacteristic political stand, join me in electing four new SBCC Board of Trustees we can trust, and share any comments or questions you may have.

2010/10/05

Sky Show

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,People,Random,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 04:30

Sometimes the show from below rivals the spectacular shows we see from the sky, and Friday’s sunset was one of those. We noticed it from the living room and grabbed cameras for our evening walk up the hill. Stepping outside we were amazed by this “cockatoo” cloud exploding over the mountain.

1757 Cockatoo Cloud

1757 Cockatoo Cloud

Five minutes later it had completely transformed into a very different apparition of some white-haired creature with dark arms swimming over the mountains.

1758 Transformation

1758 Transformation

Another four minutes saw light gone from the mountains and color ebbing from the skies, leaving just a few orange-tinged cloud shapes to entertain us.

1767 Fading Colors

1767 Fading Colors

A few more minutes found us further up the hill, where we startled a bunny munching ice plant not far from the highway. I like how the flash makes the eyes look demonic, and this effect started a fun discussion in the comments to the version of this pic I submitted to Edhat.

1770 Vanishing Bunny

1770 Vanishing Bunny

It’s interesting to me that often I’ll spot bunnies or quail and be watching them when they suddenly dart for cover and startle Anne. She on the other hand will often point out interesting plants, flowers, and fruits along the way. Guess I’m the hunter, she’s the gatherer, eh?

We haven’t taken any pics since, having thought we’d be getting some great shots on our flight to San Diego for Dad’s birthday. Turned out the airport weather was not as predicted Sunday, and the fog was low enough it would have made for an interesting pic of the hills when it “lifted” to a few hundred feet allowing visibility of a mile or two. Today it’s been windy, so like our planned MerriTimes trip we’re glad to have skipped this one.

Tomorrow we hope to venture out, maybe get some pix, certainly do some errands, perhaps visit Tripp to try out a sample clip-on window deflector I made, and in the evening attend a college meeting that could be quite lively and interesting (where I also plan to get some pix). We’ve been helping some with posting info to the “C4” website, and we especially enjoyed Lynda’s letter posted today. It feels good to be making a contribution to the growing community effort that’s hoping to bring about positive changes in the college leadership, because so much of Anne’s hard work has been undone since she retired!

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