John & Anne Wiley

2011/01/29

Other Window

Filed under: by Anne,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 10:19

Sometimes we’re so absorbed in looking at what’s on our side of the plane, we don’t notice what each other are looking at. Of course, I’m also flying the plane so it’s more often that Anne’s enjoying something and I don’t find out about it until looking at her pix back on the ground. On a recent flight she was captivated by bare trees and their shadows, and since I couldn’t coax her to post one of her snaps here’s my fav of the set.

1259 Herd of Trees

1259 Herd of Trees

I like how she caught sunlight in the creek, how the road winds across it, and a powerful illusion that the trees are grazing along the grassy terrain in a slow moving herd.

2011/01/28

Over Time

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 03:06

Flying over the courthouse clock tower yesterday, I imagined there might be people up there enjoying the view as we used to often do before we started flying so much (the views are better from Tripp). Looking at this pic back on the ground, I was pleased to see that there were indeed people present and liked how much the contemplative couple adds to the mood.

5031 Courthouse Tower

5031 Courthouse Tower

Somehow it evokes the passage of time. Seasons, relationships, and life itself all yield to the mysterious force that makes those pointers go around between viewings.

2011/01/27

O Say

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 04:29

So we’re walking out to go for a short late afternoon flight, and Anne notices the “O” on the tail of this jet parked outside the hangar where Tripp gets pampered by Glenn and his guys. Is it Oprah? We looked up the plane’s number, and it’s just been to Ireland and back with stops in Goose Bay and Fargo. Fun trip regardless of who was on board, eh?

4955 O Tail Tale

4955 O Tail Tale

We mostly went to the airport to fiddle with some interior trim on Tripp, but couldn’t bear the thought of making her sit there while other planes were flying. Especially if this jet she’s been looking at had just been to the Emerald Isl and back. 🙂

4957 Stowe's Lake

4957 Stowe's Lake

Whether or not the jet is Oprah’s, the Stow House and Lake Los Carneros are leftovers from the pre-jet era when private lakes and railroads were the thing. Lovely place for a walk, and easy on the eye just after takeoff too.

2011/01/26

Traffic Cam

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 21:16

I have a smug streak. For years, sitting in heavy traffic I’d look longingly at the opposite direction and see them blissfully zooming along at the speed limit. Sometimes a helicopter or small plane would pass effortlessly at will, and for a moment I’d be transported up and away from the smoggy snarl to breathe freely.

Well now, when we’re flying and I see the “free”way stopped it’s tempting to feel smug about being at the opposite end of that experience. Never mind that few if any of the drivers down there ever look up as I once did. There’s still some pathetic satisfaction for me in a scene like this as we approached to land after watching the 1/20 rocket launch. Am I bad?

4934 UnFairview

4934 UnFairview

Santa Barbarians know that this Fairview offramp is often thick with traffic, but this time it was 101 northbound that backed up due to a lane closure right at the point where it narrows from three lanes to two. Flying has so many sweet moments. 🙂

2011/01/24

Lucky

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 03:41

I’m brimming with warm memories right now, and contemplating how lucky we are. Healthy, retired, able to volunteer here & there, happily married, living in bucolic Santa Barbara, and this evening flying with a wonderful friend in our own small plane. Sure a lot of it’s about choices, like living cheaply compared with many people (free entertainments other than flying, old car & clothes, etc.). A lot of it’s about hard work, earning our retirement and learning how to get along with ourselves, each other and everyone else. But even factoring in some hard knocks along the way, I’m overwhelmed with cherishing our good luck right now. Probably because we took a dear friend for a short flight in the glow of a glorious late afternoon. We marveled yet again at the intricate organic garden she’s made of her yard that shines as an example of sustainability among her neighbors’ manicured lawns.

4936 Organic Yard

4936 Organic Yard

Flying toward Carp past the harbor I noticed a small gaggle of surfers enjoying the break at the entrance to Santa Barbara Harbor.

4941 Jetty Surfers

4941 Jetty Surfers

If you click to see the largest version (or look at the larger one on my Photo Page), you can make out people watching from the rocks and someone climbing over the wall. I like looking at pix like this both to remember the glance that stimulated me to snap, and to discover details not visible with the naked eye. Looking at the full-size version on my computer it’s fun to see what each person was doing at that moment, and enjoy their choreographed chorus in still life mingling with the musical movement of surf and harbor – and the unnoticed small plane passing a quarter mile away.

Meandering over Carp we circled to look at the Lou Grant Parent-Child Workshop. Back here on the ground I noticed the detail of an “airplane” parked in the playground, and imagined some future pilot who climbs on it dreaming of flying with the birds as we were when I snapped this.

4952 Pilot Playground

4952 Pilot Playground

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