John & Anne Wiley

2013/09/16

Upward Mobility

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 01:24

I got to pondering old poems on the larger subject of this post while reviewing the last pix from our recent SF trip, starting with this little boat.

2763 Apex Icon

2763 Apex Icon

Anchored off Sausalito carrying several “dinghies” more valuable than our car, and probably costing more to operate for a day than our plane does for a year, this boat represents one archetype of upward mobility. But the view opens out to the quirky little city itself, where art mingles with wealth.

2764 Sausalito

2764 Sausalito

But more alive for me is the upward mobility brought by Tripp, as we rise above all this and beyond time itself in a way.

2777 Clear Lake

2777 Clear Lake

We were taking a quick afternoon trip to visit loved ones in Clear Lake before going home to Santa Barbara. Something impossible without an affordable trusty steed like Tripp. On the way home after our visit, the Bay shone in the hazy evening light illuminating another mobility. Upward from the past, when I wandered this area on the ground and savored the rare commercial flights that gave me a hasty glimpse of this scene through a milky plastic portal.

2798 SF Bay Evening

2798 SF Bay Evening

Looking back at an old barn among the golden hills of my youth brought a keen awareness of this upward arc.

2837 Sunset Farm

2837 Sunset Farm

Suddenly a few light squalls appeared alongside our route, and our steed easily climbed to find a way among them while treating us to a circular rainbow that we could only capture this slice of with the camera.

2841 Angel Eye

2841 Angel Eye

This view of heaven and earth is reserved for those who have chosen to devote at least the modest sum we’ve saved, to buy upward mobility of this kind. In a few minutes we were back in clear air and passing the familiar gently rolling hills of my California youth.

Golden light
Nectar, pouring through,
These hills.

2854 These Hills

2854 These Hills

My soul
Dipping
The warm burgundy
Wash of evening clouds
Mingling with
These hills.

2847 Clouds Mingling

2847 Clouds Mingling

       Mile 37
Let me notice
What quickens the heart.
Caress of a hand,
Shape of a hillock,
Sound of a breeze.

What catches the eye.
Lone tree on a ridge,
Flicker of a fleeting movement,
Impulse of a photograph in time.

2859 Nightfall to Dream

2859 Nightfall to Dream

2013/09/08

Bay Watch

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,People,Random — John @ 08:13

After our night in San Francisco the next few days we flew back to San Jose, then Oakland, San Jose, and Clear Lake before flying home. Here are a few of my fav pix from those flights.

2498 Salt Colors

2498 Salt Colors

The area around San Carlos has some spectacular salt flats. I guess the red may be marine life of some sort. I remember the Dumbarton Bridge from my years in the Bay Area, and though it never did get much respect I like the graceful arc it makes across the flats.

2495 Dumbarton

2495 Dumbarton

The day we visited a family war hero in San Leandro, the view past Oakland Airport to San Francisco looked even more striking than this pic conveys. I wish the camera could see what the eye does, and evoke what our hearts felt.

2533 Oakland To SF

2533 Oakland To SF

The day we flew to Clear Lake for a too short visit, passing over SF we got a great view of Washington Square where we’d enjoyed beer and conversation across the street.

2652 Washington Square

2652 Washington Square

I don’t think we’ve ever flown anywhere near this bridge without taking at least a few pix. I like how the towers flirt with the fog in this one.

2687 Golden Gate

2687 Golden Gate

I’ve always been fascinated by the Fine Arts Center, but have never visited it nor do I recall having noticed it from the air before. Now it’s added to the landmarks I’ll enjoy from the air, and is on our ToDo list for a future visit.

2693 Fine Arts

2693 Fine Arts

2013/09/05

Life Flight

Filed under: Random — John @ 02:30

The name of this post reminds me of the last flight my Dad took, from a SoCal hospital to one in the Bay Area. We think of him and other departed loved ones on many of our flights to that region, and this flight was no exception.

2114 Breath of Life

2114 Breath of Life

Our wonder weekend began with this breath of life as we departed SBA. This is another reason for today’s title, because every flight brings us a deep breath of sweet Life as this magnificent world unfolds beneath our wings.

2157 Forgotten Airships

2157 Forgotten Airships

After a string of such miracles we landed briefly at San Jose to sign for a rental car we’d use the next day and then flew past these old airship hangars at Moffatt Field. I visited them during my brief career in Silicon Valley servicing electrostatic copiers, and gained access to the NASA wind tunnel on that base. Now the base is home to some Google planes and a wide spectrum of cutting edge techie toys. But flying over them was in part a flight back over my past lives in the Valley.

2257 Heart of SF

2257 Heart of SF

A few breaths later this slice of our panorama over San Francisco included a squiggle of boat wake beyond the buildings, and the eerily empty Bay Bridge ramp. Then we caught a glimpse of the ground we’d soon be haunting with young friends.

2271 Coit Climb

2271 Coit Climb

Bottom-right is the church at Washington Square where these friends share an apartment and kindly gave us a place to sleep in the heart of SF. That night we again climbed the streets to Coit Tower where we once went with our precious daughter. Then we passed the Presidio cemetery where we once visited Anne’s great grandfather together.

2299 Forgotten Hero

2299 Forgotten Hero

This forgotten hero came up with the idea that extinguished the great SF fire that followed the horrific earthquake there at the turn of the last century. Now he rests quietly, remembered by the dwindling circle that includes us.

2313 Left My Heart

2313 Left My Heart

We “stepped back” by flying out beyond the bridge for a look past it to The City as it shone in the distance like a treasured memory. A part of our hearts still dwells in this city by the sea, where we wandered in our youth and savored the Summer Of Love.

58_740 Dreamers

58_740 Dreamers

Now new dreamers dwell there, and we had the great good fortune to be hosted by a few. Related to our precious Molly by soul selection, this troupe of angels introduced us to their enchanted experience of all that now is San Francisco. So began the first day of our Life Flight.

2013/08/29

Paradise

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 01:31

It was another magnificent day here in paradise (aka Santa Barbara), so we went flying with our visitor who’s here from Grants Pass. So beautiful!

2069 Goleta Beach

2069 Goleta Beach

From this moment after takeoff, and every moment until we landed again, the views were simply spectacular. Another visitor from out of town recently asked what’s the worst thing about living here. The honest answer was easy, “Leaving.”

2078 Butterfly Beach

2078 Butterfly Beach

2013/08/27

Round the Bend

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Islander Adventure,Nature,People,Random,Relationships — John @ 08:28

I’m still pondering what it is about flying Manhattan and Monument Valley that makes those two places such precious memories among all the joys of our flying adventures. Another notion has to do with the delight of a child hugging the leg of an adult. I’m wondering if there are primal associations from childhood that resonate with our enjoyment of flying among skyscrapers and desert spires. Whatever the sources may be, I was ecstatic at the chance to finally fly around the tip of the city and up the East River.

3193 Looking Back

3193 Looking Back

After flying down the Hudson yet again, ATC cleared me to fly around the bend past Battery Park. In a couple of minutes we were looking back at the now familiar Hudson across “our” increasingly familiar city. There was the Brooklyn Bridge we’d ridden bikes out onto, some tall ships at the left evoking the early days here, and so many new places we now want to visit. Ahead we could see the Empire State and her children gathering to welcome us to this new perspective.

3197 Stately Gathering

3197 Stately Gathering

The always beckoning Park with the GW in the distance beyond seemed to reassure us that this new route would someday become another familiar path for our aerial visits.

3217 Approaching Return

3217 Approaching Return

I’d already been advised that we could soon turn to cross the Park and rejoin the Hudson for our return to White Plains, so I was both a little nervous at this First and very excited to see the Park so close.

3239 Park Bliss

3239 Park Bliss

Central Park has always been a particularly magical place for both of us, and has stood out among the sights on our aerial tours. So I was literally breathless at this new view. We even hoped to fly this route again some day, and it turns out we soon did!

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