I rode down to Ventura for lunch today with the goal of finding the contractor imprints in the section of the old highway that is still preserved through Emma Wood State Beach. Sure enough I found 6 or 7 of them and took a shot of one of the better preserved ones. It was an amazing day with temperatures in the mid 70’s and high surf drawing out scads of surfers as well as other folks to enjoy it. Click on the montage to start an eight image slideshow of my outing.
Friend Christy included me in her annual Winter Solstice hike this morning. Seven of us met at the end of Tunnel Road shortly after six for a hike to a secret spot of Christy’s near Inspiration Point. It was wonderful walking along as the day commenced and the light unfolded. We arrived at our destination in time to see the sun crest the mountain and thereafter share some wishes for the new year while drinking the warm Oregon Chai Christy had packed up the hill.
Click on the image above for some larger shots of our outing. Thanks Christy and friends for a lovely start to the return of the light.
The last few years Eric has flown out on the weekend of the Santa Barbara Marathon for a visit and to run the marathon. This year it was the wonderful visit only as he has an acute heel problem that prevented his running. So we were free to play more and eat without restriction.
He arrived on Thursday afternoon. We dropped by for a visit with Phyllis before grabbing some supplies at Whole Foods, some intended as part of a nice long visit into the night at Ralph’s. Friday we had lunch with Tom at Stacky’s and ran around looking at a few housing options for me. Saturday Eric, Tom, and I went on a 30 mile bike ride that included many stops and starts that consumed two or three times as much time as either of them take to reach that distance. Tom finally had to bid our tortoise selves goodbye and speed off to get home, cleaned, and ready for a 12:30 show at the OUTrageous film festival.
Eric and I slugged on to Cody’s for lunch then a great visit with the owner of a beautiful 1964 Bianchi bicycle in fantastic condition that we spied outside. Saturday evening we took in Denzel’s new movie “Flight”. We both liked it but noted the interesting choice with Eric flying home on Sunday. Some of this is documented in the available slideshow that starts with a simple click above.
Eric, Phyllis, and I had a nice Skype video chat with Carol P in England on Sunday and another Skype video chat on Saturday with Jill in Mysore, India during which Jill asked that we water her Meyer lemons, took us on a virtual tour of her digs in India, and introduced us to a curious new Russian acquaintance of hers, Vladimir. This is somewhat documented in the video below (which we are pretending to be a Skype chat with Jill) but what is most documented is the wonderful, fun time we have when we get together.
I was bicycling down to Summerland for lunch today and happened upon the unloading of this interesting looking submersible as I passed through the harbor area. So I stopped and took a few little videos and still images. Click on this first image for the videos.
The Waitt Institute was founded in 2005 by Ted Waitt. For those of us old enough in computer history this is the man who founded Gateway Computers, you might remember their boxes as the ones that looked like cows.
From their website: The Waitt Institute Dual DeepWorker is a one-atmosphere, two-person manned submersible with a maximum operating depth of 2,000 feet and life-support capable of sustaining two persons for a total of 92 hours while underwater. It weighs 6,000 pounds, is 8.5 feet long and 5.75 feet wide.
The sub was delivered from its manufacture in Vancouver, Canada in 2006 after which it went to the large salt water tank in Rosarito, Mexico that was used to film Titanic and Master and Commander. Since the training in Mexico, the sub has participated in two surveys off the coast of Ventura, California working for NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service and University of California, Santa Barbara. Last year the sub took a long trip to the shores of Ireland where it participated in an expedition to map the famous shipwreck Lusitania. Click here to be taken to the Waitt Institute web site for much more information. Quite the serendipitous prelunch break.
Cynthia sent an email yesterday announcing that the UCSB Free Noon Concerts Start this Wednesday. That turned out to be today and the band for the first concert plays one of my favorite styles so I rode out to the U on the Express bus and had lunch with Cynthia accompanied by some wonderful music. Click on the image to see and hear a little of what we enjoyed. Very nice that the band is all family. Next week it’s the UCSBMiddle East Ensemble, another favorite of mine and others so get your bus tickets early!
Latigazos del Norte is a norteño or conjunto band that plays regional Mexican music, including rancheras, corridos, huapango, polka, redova and shotis (northern whips). Consisting of four family members, the band plays the four most characteristic instruments in norteño music: Ernesto Beltrán plays the accordion, Agustín Lara the bajo sexto, Víctor Beltranthe electric and acoustic bass, and Víctor Beltran Jr. the drums.
As we did last year Cynthia and I drove up early for the San Luis Obispo Bike Club’s annual Lighthouse Bicycle ride. This year there was a new starting point in Morro Bay at the high school. We arrived in the midst of lots of others getting set and riding off so we felt right in the mix. It was a brisk morning with some clouds and fog, a nice start to the day.
SLOBC had lots of food/rest stops and the new route allowed us to get far enough north to pass and see the ride’s namesake lighthouse as well as Cambria, Hearst Castle & Beach, the elephant seal rookery, and the magnificent north coast of SLO County. The weather, scenery and visits with other bikers and support staff made for a great day of riding. It was a capital outing. I thought we’d be riding around 60 miles today but I ended up with 74, which felt fine.
Click on any of the images of us to see us enlarge.
Carol came over this morning at 11:15 and we jumped in the Volvo for another trip to Ventura to visit Nancy before she resumes her normal work life next week.
After a chat and guided tour of her tomato and eggplant crop we all decided that a trip to Brent’s would be next on the agenda. We had a fun visit on the way down, a continued chatting during lunch (including CSI Miami’s David Caruso in the booth right near us and right behind Carol’s head in the shot above), and a stop on the way back through Camarillo at an organic fruit and vegetable stand that was selling wonderful looking tomatoes for fifty cents a pound.
Another day in the life. Click on the image above to see what we each ordered.
I rode my bike out to Carol’s then we rode over to the UCEN for a wonderful visit and lunch with Cynthia. Right outside Cynthia’s office is a row of six old auditorium chairs which prompted me to coerce my companions into a few iPhone shots (shoulda cleaned the dirt off the lens first). Click on our happy selves to see a bigger version of us.
I rode down to Ventura for lunch today with the goal of finding the contractor imprints in the section of the old highway that is still preserved through Emma Wood State Beach. Sure enough I found 6 or 7 of them and took a shot of one of the better preserved ones. It was an amazing day with temperatures in the mid 70’s and high surf drawing out scads of surfers as well as other folks to enjoy it. Click on the montage to start an eight image slideshow of my outing.
