John & Anne Wiley

2010/06/27

Parade Approaching

Filed under: Random — John @ 01:03

The fun and colorful Summer Solstice Parade, one of our fav things about SB. Today we took lots of pix as usual, and perhaps more than usual we also put down the cameras to Be in the flow of it. Here are a few images as the parade approached, and we’ll post more sometime soon.

7262 Sibling Grooming

7262 Sibling Grooming

Waiting for the parade, kids draw chalk art on the streets and break confetti-filled eggs on heads or toss it in the air, or sometimes just apply a garnish.

7266 Transitory Art

7266 Transitory Art

A few kids might go on to artistic careers, but most just leave precious traces of their passing. Like iMadonnari, it will linger for a few weeks as colorful reminders of this glorious moment.

7267 Hats

7267 Hats

Another attraction of the parade is the array of hats and costumes in the audience,

7268 Hats

7268 Hats

and the warm interactions of friends and strangers.

7270 I Love Orange

7270 I Love Orange

Some of the kids like to paint inside the lines, and focus on their favorite color.

7271 Behind the Mask

7271 Behind the Mask

There’s a carnival atmosphere, and more people are wearing fanciful masks in recent years.

7274 Waiting is Hard

7274 Waiting is Hard

Some people arrive early and wait for hours, and it must seem eternity for many kids.

7275 Approaching

7275 Approaching

The balloon arch in the distance heralds the start of the parade proper, but until it arrives the streets surge with conversations, colors and the approaching sounds of drums and music.

2010/06/26

Fire Season

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Has Photos,Random,SB Region — John @ 06:52

Summer solstice has already come and gone this year, but the Santa Barbara celebration is tomorrow and Ventura has already had a wildfire. Flying to Santa Paula with a friend, we saw the hilltop “Two Trees” fire.

7203 Two Trees Fire 3:40pm

7203 Two Trees Fire 3:40pm

This view is toward Oxnard, and you can make out a truck and fire crew between the trees. Coming home to SBA we flew along the freeway near Ventura and caught this aircraft fire retardant drop looking in the opposite direction.

7214 Air Drop 4:18pm

7214 Air Drop 4:18pm

If you click to see the largest version, you might make out what looks like someone standing on the ridge below where the aircraft is. Also a fire crew standing on the ridge to the right of the drop zone, above the puff of white smoke.

As we descended over town toward the airport, it was fun to see a part of Summer much happier than the start of fire season: preparations for the Santa Barbara Solstice Parade that ends at Alameda Park.

7258 Alameda Park Solstice Setup

7258 Alameda Park Solstice Setup

Tomorrow these streets will be packed with floats from the parade and the park will be overflowing with festive costumes, live music, and at least one drum circle with happy dancers.

2010/06/22

Home Is

Filed under: Flying,Has Photos,Random,SB Region — John @ 07:37

Someone seems to be building a home on a hillside with magnificent views of the mountains just up from the shoreline we were flying near when I snapped this. It’s not far from Santa Barbara, so one wonders how expensive the property might be.

7193 View Property

7193 View Property

The line of trees will grow into a nice wind break. It seems possible though, that additional factors may have motivated the tree planting. To cite the realtor mantra: location, location, location.

7194 Tajiguas Landfill

7194 Tajiguas Landfill

In this wider view, you can see how the line of trees relates to the neigborhood.

A bit closer to town is this modern hacienda ranch that seems to be centered around equestrian activities, though I only notice two horses in this photo.

7195 Horse Ranch

7195 Horse Ranch

Nearby another pair of structures could be part home and part stables. Though the roofs are different colors, together the two adjoining building outlines seem to spell out a greeting to pilots.

7198 HI Flyers

7198 "HI" Flyers

2010/06/21

Dads Pass?

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Has Photos,Random,SB Region — John @ 02:23

If you were a CHP officer flying over traffic or sitting in a patrol car on Father’s Day, would you let speeding Dads off with a warning or perhaps come down a bit harder because you’d rather be home with your family?

7110 Traffic Patrol

7110 Traffic Patrol

Whatever your answer, here’s hoping you have a very

Happy Father’s Day!

2010/06/19

Carp and Back

Filed under: Flying,Has Photos,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 03:52

Just half an hour of “engine time” this evening gave us almost an hour of transformative flying. We cruised slowly along the 101 toward Carpinteria, then climbed offshore for a look at the oil platforms. For some reason it’s been quite a while since we looked at them. Usually we’re over the water along the shoreline, or climbing much higher going over to the islands.

7095 Oil Platform

7095 Oil Platform

The shimmering seas remind me of that old TV series “Victory At Sea.”

Then we climbed over Carp toward the Santa Ynez range, deciding whether to cruise West up the valley.

7098 Hazy Hills

7098 Hazy Hills

A glance at the haze helped us choose a gliding descent back toward the Santa Barbara Harbor. At about Butterfly Beach or so I snapped the surf lineup waiting for the next set.

7100 Sunset Surfing

7100 Sunset Surfing

I like how the sand has been stirred into dirty puffs by the larger waves they’re waiting to ride. Sometimes clouds over the Salton Sea look like this, as if this were a view of the sky.

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