John & Anne Wiley

2010/10/27

Once Over

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 02:40

We flew again today, though it was just once “around the pattern” (staying close to the airport). We left home just an hour too late due to tracking new lows in the SBCC incumbents’ dirty campaign (glad the four challengers have kept to the high road, and we’re looking forward to their improvements in SBCC community relations once elected). Anyway, by the time we got to the airport, the wind had shifted and picked up. As we drove in I saw the wind sock standing straight out and wondered how Anne would do with flying. We already knew winds had changed (though not how much!), but had decided to at least check on Tripp’s new tire (the old one had developed a small de-lamination of the tread in our last landing and we’d already been thinking about replacing it).

3027 Hope Ranch Shore

3027 Hope Ranch Shore

We did talk about it, and she decided to come along even though I offered to go around once first and see if it was turbulent. After standing by Tripp to watch another small plane take off, I found that Anne had been watching closely too. Since I was comfortable to fly in the gusty wind and it was it was to be short, she decided to join me. Offshore it was pretty smooth, but closer to the mountains we hit a few lumps. Before our landing a few minutes later I did one low pass over the big runway (parallel to the mountains) to practice crosswind technique, and it was fun to feel confident I could’ve easily landed if needed. Gusty winds like that are less enjoyable on a long trip, so we were glad to just be flying for a few minutes. Since I wanted to get this photo though, I continued on and turned offshore for this before turning again for a gentle landing toward the mountains and thus into the wind.

Now we feel all mellow from just that brief flight, and we’re about to enjoy another slice of the delicious bread Anne made with Nancy’s help (maybe she’ll post something about that).

Tasty Homemade Sourdough

Tasty Homemade Sourdough

2010/10/17

New Shores

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 09:31

Just after passing Pt. Mugu NAS we enjoyed the colors and textures of the mud flats at Calleguas Creek where it empties into Mugu Lagoon and the blue Pacific.

 

2044 Calleguas Creek

2044 Calleguas Creek

 

Soon along Highway 1 (aka Pacific Coast Hwy) we started seeing first modest beach homes, and then mingling among them some more dramatic structures.

 

2067 Mingling Dwellings

2067 Mingling Dwellings

 

Click for the larger version  and check out the angular on the left next to mundane twin structures. A variety of expensive looking places, then at the right things get more plain again. Must make for an interesting diversity in the neighborhood.

Nicholas County Beach (aka Zeros), just past Leo Carrillo Campground, has an interesting set of structures recreating a Native American village of the Chumash People.

 

2082 Earlier Times?

2082 Earlier Times?

 

Just a few steps down the beach is a new castle going up, surrounded by more variety. It’s fascinating to see how differently people dream.

 

2085 Sand Castle

2085 Sand Castle

 

Tomorrow let’s try to reach Malibu, unless there are lots more intriguing buildings so good I have to share.

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.

2010/09/22

Sunset Stroll

Filed under: Aviation,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Random,Relationships,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 09:17

We took a power walk up a nearby hill just before sunset, and the hills were alive with orange-pink hues as wispy clouds caressed the slopes and slow danced for us.

1165 Pink Dancing Fluffs

1165 Pink Dancing Fluffs

Felt good to get a bit of burn going in our legs and some vitality in our breath. Then we strolled back in the softening light as color drained from everything but our conversation.

We discovered some lingering emotions about our delayed MerriTimes trip, and mourned anew our release of that adventure for this Fall. We talked more back at home, with time between for Doing and Being focus. That included dinner, an amazingly delicious pudding invention of Anne’s, Newshour and the discussion that stimulated, and of course some side-by-side laptop time.

Some of our deeper dialog delved into the Answering Machine questions: “Who are you, and what do you want?” We didn’t realize the other had realized some things, like how good we feel despite some residual sadness like the stuff about MerriTimes Delayed. We talked about new strategies for flying, as we wait out the tax year with only a trip to TX as a major expense.

One thing we can do is futz with Tripp, with projects like our Acme Wind Deflector invention. That’s a plexiglass strip we’ll clip on the back edge of each window to reduce wind noise and buffeting in the back seat when we open the windows wide for viewing and photos. It will cost almost nothing, and add a lot to our comfort in flying (and even more to the comfort of passengers!).

Another low-cost item is working on our Tweaky Tandem bike to make it stronger, more comfortable, and hopefully fold-able. Maybe even add an electric hub, to boost us up hills and add regenerative braking. We can buy a light folding luggage cart with big wheels that we can use as a trailer on the bike to carry tent and gear. We’ll fix the tent so it doesn’t slowly collapse like it did at Terrace on our NxNW Adventure. We can refine our packing to minimize what we take for various side-trips from airports to tenting, staying with friends/family, or hotels.

I also have a list of minor fixes and spiffing up items for Tripp, and want to calibrate her performance against the factory numbers. For example, carefully calculate takeoff roll using actual load and conditions, then compare that against actual takeoffs to see how she does. This fits into another theme of flying more to feed our excitement about taking Adventures. Even short hops like the one yesterday contribute a lot to that. We can also talk more about the flying and radio calls so Anne has more to understand and enjoy on the Adventures.

We talked about how doing all this will help us rekindle our excitement about Big Adventures while we conserve our meager savings and increase our preparedness.

2010/09/21

Special Day

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 06:24

Today was especially special for us. We did a variety of things, with emphasis on those Anne loves best and at a pace fast enough to be exciting but slow enough to savor each activity. After an afternoon swim we hung around home for a while and then went for a sunset spin in Tripp. Anne learned how to do radio calls, and I explained some of the things that go into flying. We’ve talked many times about doing that, but somehow either I’ve been too busy flying or she’s been too busy enjoying the view or doing something else. Today she seemed to begin getting a grasp on the simplified steps that help her grasp the process of transitioning Tripp from flying to landing. If I review the steps again for her next time we fly, maybe she’ll remember them and have a better sense of what had seemed to her a confusing blur of hand movements that goes into every landing.

Since the moon will be full in three nights it was up early and I got this shot of it over the Mesa. I just snapped it without taking a moment to check settings, so it’s not a technically good photo but I like the effect and maybe it’s worth what you’re paying. 🙂

1157 Waxing Mesa Moon

1157 Waxing Mesa Moon

Off to our left a moment later we passed Hendry’s Beach (tourists know it as Arroyo Burro), where we’d thought about going for a beach walk and maybe stopping at the restaurant afterward. Instead we enjoyed the golden glow of sunset washing over other couples strolling the beach as Tripp thrummed her quiet sound slipping along offshore at low speed. So beautiful!

1160 Hendry's Sunset

1160 Hendry's Sunset

Back on the ground, we drove into town shopping for a quiet meal. Cruising our Altered State Street we settled at Pascucci’s. We used to go there often, but tend to spend all our money on flying lately. By splitting a meal it ended up pretty inexpensive, and we enjoyed the new menu. Sitting at a quiet table by the fireplace we celebrated the approaching end of a special day.

There seem to be ever more days lately, that find us many times feeling a serene joyfulness permeating our awareness. Often we’re noticing it simultaneously and other times one of us tunes into it, looks at the other who notices, then in timeless eye contact we journey to a blissful state together. We spoke with a friend with some mobility challenges about happiness recently, and another friend from Sri Lanka today about his joyful anticipation of returning to that country to care for his aging parents. If the days grow colder and we face new medical, financial or other challenges I hope we can embrace those times with some measure of the deep joy we feel now.  May your days bring ever more consciousness of the beautiful and fleeting life we all share.

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