John & Anne Wiley

2014/01/07

Missing Persons

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 07:36

We were at the harbor heading back to SBA after a flight along part of the dry Santa Ynez River this evening when we heard a solemn call. A formation flight told ATC they were heading offshore to form up for a “Missing Man” flight over Montecito. They looked so beautiful in a sunset glow with Anacapa in the background.

0727 Honor Flight

0727 Honor Flight

Flights like this to honor a fallen comrade have been an aviation tradition for a century or more, and it was sweet to hear how ATC helped and protected them. It brought to mind the growing number of beloved Missing Persons in our life. Friends and family who have touched us, and at times seem to fly beside us on our adventures. I wish everyone could have an honor like this, in quiet remembrance of the people who shared their most treasured passion.

As we landed, we heard four of them call ATC again to say they were inbound to land at SBA behind us so I paused to snap this. They got special clearance to fly low over the field and then peel off in a “break” to turn back and land in sequence. Beautiful to watch.

0748 Formation Landing

0748 Formation Landing

We learned later that they’re the Bonanzas To Oshkosh formation flying group. Having flown to the massive Airventure (aka Oshkosh) gathering of aviators (see our “North By Northwest” Adventure), we understand that bond. We share the love of clear blue skies over green earth.

2014/01/05

Rock Art

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 09:16

The mountains are overflowing with rock formations sculpted by time and elements. I like how the shapes on this low ridge stand out against the shaded canyon beyond.

0588 Ridge Art

0588 Ridge Art

Some rocks have ancient art on them, put there by people thousands of years ago. Other rocks bear the mark of more recent human activity.

0595 Art, Politics, or...?

0595 Art, Politics, or…?

I wonder who marked this stone high in the mountains, and when. I wonder how many people have seen it, and what their reactions have been. I wonder if the person(s) who put it there have ever gone back, and where they are now.
Followup: I submitted a version of the peace symbol pic and it led to an interesting discussion in Comments there.

2014/01/02

New

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 05:24

To launch a new year, we took a brief flight with our new friend Monica. As we lifted off UCSB looked much like it has on so many flights. In a word, magical.

0537 UCSB Uplifting

0537 UCSB Uplifting

The nearly dry slough. The eclectic mix of architectures. The blue beyond. The centers of learning and exuberant celebration of students liberated from high school and discovering their first tastes of freedom (and concomitant responsibility). Then on to a pleasant surprise.

0538 Surprise Sunset

0538 Surprise Sunset

It’s rare to snap toward the sun and produce anything other than a hazy and unpleasant image that captures none of the magic we see aloft. This one was a rare surprise, showing some of what we enjoyed. Then up to the mountains, for a glimpse of one in the innumerable rock formations that provide endless fascination for flyers here.

0540 New Year Rocking

0540 New Year Rocking

This rock fan spreads a palette of stone shapes with the power to intrigue. Well, me at least. 🙂

Happy ’14!

2013/12/31

Happiness Is

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 22:42

We took Molly to the fascinating SB Historical Museum during her visit here Saturday, and I sat a moment with a quiet 90-something man named Carl. At one point I asked what he’s learned in his years and he replied, “I choose Happiness.”

0535 Happiness Is

0535 Happiness Is

He said that by consciously choosing happiness, his life has been greatly enriched. Especially in aging as his contemporaries increasingly chose to focus on decreasing capacity and grumble about encroaching aches and pains.

As we glided down into SBA from one of our flights north this week for fun with family and friends, I thought about happiness noticing the people gathering to watch the sunset atop the peak. Here at the popular Lizard’s Mouth we’d discovered recently (see below), there’s a certain celebration of passages. The end of each day, the start of the next, engagements, solstices and equinoxes, birthdays and memorials, probably even some weddings are celebrated here. Coming here is one of the countless ways some people choose, create and celebrate their Happiness.

May we help each other remember
to choose Happiness,
and may we celebrate together
the joys we have shared,
and anticipate with delight
the coming surprises we welcome.

Happy 2014!

🙂 🙂

2013/12/22

Home Lights

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 04:17

Old stories of flying sometimes touched on the heartwarming sight of lights burning to guide pilots home at night. With considerable skill and a good helping of luck, they’d navigate rickety and unreliable biplanes across empty darkness for hours. Literally kept alive as night descended by brief glimpses at compass and chart by a tiny red light kept dim to preserve night vision, and self-checking constantly without allowing fear of being lost as night crept in.

0037 Creeping Night

0037 Creeping Night

So very different for us winging home in Trusty Tripp from San Diego across the LA basin tonight, with familiar lights and myriad crowded freeways to guide us safely on past enchanted cloudscapes. Not to mention radio naviation aids those early pilots could only dream of. But even those are now far obsolete as we enjoy the latest GPS devices that turn night to day, in terms of knowing exactly where we are. So we have plenty of relaxed time to enjoy the sights, as Hwy.1 to Malibu slips twinkling past.

0039 You Are Here

0039 You Are Here

After the last light fades, we’re treated to the lights of home as we look across downtown Santa Barbara with the colors of business accented here and there by especially bright seasonal home lights.

0070 Santa Barbara Sparkle

0070 Santa Barbara Sparkle

But even without mentally traveling back a century to an open cockpit over a lonely black expanse, lining up to land at SBA brings a warm rush of comfort with her home lights burning brightly.

0073 Home Lights

0073 Home Lights

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Blog at WordPress.com.