Birds Eye View
We’ve all watched these guys cruise by and fantasized about being able to see
through their eyes.
Recently Goleta Surfing got to make that fantasy a reality with the help of these guys,
Above All Aviation.
Experienced pilot Joel Sullivan took us up one beautiful Saturday morning for a
casual sightseeing cruise in the skies of Goleta.
We climbed into the single engine Cessna, just like you’d pile into the family car for a
Sunday joyride, only we were going up into the wild blue yonder.
We decided to let this little guy go ahead of us…
While Joel showed me which radio stations had the best tunes.
And then we were up, and looking down, at all the spots and places we’d known for years.
But they look so different from this angle, like Lake Los Carneros..
And Stow House.
The old Alma Mater, DPHS.
It’s amazing how much land behind the foothills we never get to see.
Good to see that behind the scenes, Goleta still is a thriving agriculture town.
Ssshhh…..don’t tell the Goleta Chamber of Commerce….
The gorgeous Tecolote Canyon, aka Rancho Embarcadero.
The rural beauty of Goleta’s west side. Eagle Canyon, still a real ranch.
Looking the other way, there’s Farren Road and Haskells’s pier.
The historic big house at DP Ranch.
The most expensive campsite in town, El Cap Canyon.
Refugio Canyon.
Local favorite, Circle Bar B Ranch.
<p”>Arroyo Hondo
As you can see we chose an amazingly clear and flat day,
so we knew we weren’t missing anything.
It would be fun to do this when there’s a big swell running,
but I reckon we’d be at the beach that day….
Also tucked away in some of these coastal canyons are some ugly little secrets.
The Las Flores Canyon Facility produces oil, propane, butane, and sulfur products.
And the lovely Tajiguas Landfill.
The Western White House, Ronnie Reagan’s ranch.
As the most powerful man in the world, he could have lived in a huge palace anywhere he
wanted, but he chose a little ranch house where he could ride his horse and chop fire wood.
It was crazy how loud it was in this little plane.
We had to wear a headset and use microphones to talk to each other.
The good thing was all the noise drowned out the screams from our passenger….
Screams of joy, seriously…
Meanwhile, in Gotham City….
Oh wait, is that UCSB?
Looks more like UC Irvine. But I guess that’s what the students are used to so…
Home Sweet Home.
But let’s get back on the coast.
Everybody’s favorite, Campus Point.
Learning spot for countless surfers through the years.
When it’s good, it’s very, very good.
A little place called Depressions.
The lagoon actually looks clean in this shot.
Nope, that’s not Bangladesh, that’s Isla Vista.
When school’s in session, there are 20,000 people in one square mile.
Isla Vista is said to have the highest alcohol consumption per square mile in the nation.
The California Alcohol & Drug Council estimates over 9000 kegs are consumed in I.V. annually,
and that’s not including liquor, or beer cans.
And just offshore, some very pretty kelp.
90% of the 20,000 surf here…..
Often all at the same time.
Ellwood Bluffs and the butterfly forest.
One of Goleta’s gems.
Some of the few remnants of the Ellwood oil piers,
with Sandpiper Golf Course overlooking them.
Ancestors of Kate’s Cactus cling to the bluffs below Sandpiper.
To learn more about that Click Here.
In the upper right is Venoco’s natural gas plant,
and on the left is the sacred hill above Haskell’s Beach.
Home Sweet Home to generations of Goleta locals, Haskulls.
On the left is Tecolote Creek, on the right is the road the developers built
and then decided we couldn’t use, and in the center is the most expensive
and poorly constructed outhouse in America.
My Grandma told me when you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all…….
Haskell’s pier.
It used to be twice as long, but it’s still in use as the take off spot for oil derrick workers.
This was an amazing day. Warm weather, no wind, clear water
and the kelp looked like artwork.
Some places that had a lot of seals, the water got pretty murky.
All the better for Whitey to hide in…..
The Gaviota Coast.
Dos Pueblos Ranch. One of the most beautiful places in the world.
Refugio Campground with the canyon in the background.
And the point that never breaks. Trust us, it never does….
One of the Gaviota Coast’s hidden neighborhoods.
Arroyo Hondo, where you can hike up the canyon.
“Mariposa Reina from the ocean side.
A lot of people ask about this beach. All we can say is go check it out. This is one beach we are
encouraging folks to go check out. It’s a beautiful spot that doesn’t get enough attention.
This place gets more attention than they want, so they built a guard station.
Hollister Ranch.
A little slice of heaven with more rules and regulations than you could shake your stick at.
It’s flat and we’re not naming spots guys, relax….
We got as far as Government Point when we had to turn back,
or Vandenberg would shoot us out of the sky.
We hope to do this again someday soon. So much to see, it’s hard to take it all in.
Thanks to Above All Aviation for setting it up and we recommend them highly
if you ever want to take a cruise in the sky or learn to fly.
Cool local folks that have been in Goleta for years.
Thanks!
