Malibu Trip

Friday Sept 29 ~ 2 Flights Did a lot of flying today First alone, without Chris up to Santa Ynez & Santa Maria .. shooting approaches This weekend I'll actually land at these places and do  a little touring Blu now getting in all by himself .. jumps up on the wing then into the plane .. very cool .. then he sleeps ... can't ask for better copilot What makes flying here so cool are the density of moutains all along the coast with the beach towns along the coast and others tucked into small valleys and lakes You can barely see the lake here Bad angle & camera Really need telephoto lens to do these pics justice ... Anyway should finish with Chris next week and get my IFR ticket punched.    Not really going to change anything except I'll be legal to file IFR flight plans which will actually be more useful in Texas with low ceiling weather

Sept 28th Thurs ~ Duma trip ~ Audible "Guns of August" Blu & I headed over to the Duma strip for lunch Great burger place ... and Coffee / ice cream shop .. with WiFi People just sit around outside & surf Neat place to  people watch Some dogs .. big plus for Blu Drove by Pepperdine .. lots of flags on the lawn .. not sure why ..  but they do have a beautiful campus ... Weather continues to be wonderful ... cold mornings .. but clear skies by early afternoon ... Had to stay at Condo all afternoon to wait on plumber to show ...  he came to fix one of the toilets .. owner, Richard,  was anxious to get this done He was hanging around for 4 hours in front ... finally gave up & left .. plumber came as soon as he headed out Studied local approaches to prep for flight tomorrow with Chris ... Been using Audible a lot .. currently streaming  "Guns Of August" .. about World War I .. Got interested in this book after ...

Weds Sept 27 Solo'd north   /   Blu jumps into plane by himself! This is what Blu does when we go to fly Hides in a shadow like I can't see him .. LOL I let him hide until I've finished prep'n plane Yesterday, after I finished I walked over to lift him up to put him in ( damn he is heavy ) And .. he jumps up on the wing .. then into the plane ... all by himself .. I was shocked .. think he's finally accepted his Co Pilot status Better shot of the oil production platform off Santa Barbara ... .still amazed they allow this .... lots single well tripods in the water as well Mountains on the right - Pacific on the left all the neat little towns like Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez,  Santa Maria tucked in between Add to this heavy commercial and private traffic .. amazing how  many small airports for General Aviation And many restricted airspaces for Nesting Eagles and Military Makes for challenging flying Today I wanted to see s...

Sept 27  Tuesday groceries / YMCA Visited Camarillo YMCA ... trying to work that into my weekly routine ..  big issue is I have to leave Blu @ Condo They've got most of the machines I need Heated Pool .. nice Big Issue is leaving Blu @ Condo for a couple hours After YMCA ..  stopped to get some groceries & headed back to Condo Most afternoon planning a Solo run north hitting a few of my target airports

Sept 25th Monday - drive Santa Barbara Santa Barbara ... from the air .. took this a few days ago on one of my flights Today decided to drive there instead .. took about an hour each way ... yuk Anyway I didn't plan very well .. ended up in the middle of town Blu was dying from thirst .. walked around for about 20 minutes looking for any outside restaurant to get him some water & any grass for him to do his business Finally bailed & drove back .. poor planning .. next time study city map to identify target ... Blu doesn't have the patience to just 'explore' ...   also decided much better to fly in ... Continue to be surprised how Dog Unfriendly most places are here ... maybe because they're so committed to maintaining Pristine Parks ... no dog bombs allowed Gas Stations - there must be some crazy Cali law which restricts the # gas stations .. also in Calif they don't have frontage roads .. and most only take Cash Cards .. no CC's .....

Sunday Sept 24 - Santa Monica trip Santa Monica pier Hadn't been to SM since my arrival Drove down - took about 40 mins .. still early light traffic .. parked in  lot on beach / downtown We started down the beach .. originally thought I'd get to Venice beach .. Saw plenty of strange people on SM  .. will save Venice for another day Stopped at this beach cafe .. mainly to get Blu some water Blu gets a LOT of attention Two girls wanted to pet him so I let him go .. he bolted into a Volley Ball game ... went nuts People yelling .. ."Who's dog is this ..?" Took me a while to run him down Started walk down pier ... some kind of War Vet demo with flags .. red  & black .. all the stores on the Pier .. same walked down to downtown Mall ... Yoga group session .... guy came over and told me to stop filming .. ? Blu jumped into this fountain in the middle of the mall ....

Sunday Sept 24 ~  2cd Flight with Chris ~ found Y Chris & I flew a few approaches at Santa Maria & Santa Barbara Beautiful terrain .. mountains & ocean ..  but Chris kept me busy going up / down / around so I really couldn't enjoy it .... yet. Lots of planes in the air - weekend - had flight following most of the time The platform in the water if a production platform for oil production. I was surprised to see these ( thought California killed off everything offshore).   You do see small pumping rigs all over Oxnard & Ventura - producing shallow oil so ocean to the left .. mountains to the right between mountain chains you see these little valleys full of agriculture .. pretty cool Blu getting used to the flying Thing He resists getting in but once he is he usually goes to sleep or pretends to .. I like Chris ok but anxious to finish with him & get my IFR ticket punched .. once I do p...

Friday Sept 22  Wallmart Went to airport to pay the guy that fixed my plane - tires ..  too early for him So took Blu to Hanger Restaurant next door .. got breakfast .. Think I mentioned this restaurant is right on the field so you can watch planes land & takeoff And .. the food is amazing Went to Walmart, left Blu in car, got some basics like Yoga Mat, shampoo etc Walmart People same everywhere I guess .. couldn't wait to get out of there .. worried about Blu so sprinted around to get just a few items. Paradise Cove Restaurant - famous for Movie stars that have been there ..  met my realtor to look at houses next door Very windy / huge waves last night.  Felt them bouncing off Condo.    In the morning my nice sandy beach was gone ... rocks instead.   Apparently the sand leaves in the winter .. returns for the summer .. hmmm !

Thurs Sept 21 ~  First flight with Chris Haga First flight with Chris Last atttempt ended with flat tire .. never got off the ground Started late about 4 PM w/ gusts at 21 knts Spent most time offshore Swifty with new 'shoes' I've had to keep him outside while I'm here Flying is so popular here that there are NO hangers Flew with winds gusting to 20+ knots Most flying was to determine power points to shoot approaches Also he made me wear a hood so I couldn't see outside ( simulates weather) Was able to shoot one pic south .. Oxnard to the beach We finished a bit before sunset .. late start Blu was great .. went to sleep almost immediately Pin shows where my Condo is relative to Malibu & Camarillo ... perfect On beach 20 min to Santa Monica 20 min to Camarillo .. found a YMCA there BTW Also traded in my Hertz rent car for one from Enterprise - Hertz sucks .. long story Blu's Birthday today .. an...

Sept 20 Wed Condo  ~ Duma run Walked to the surfing beach next to ours ... about 10 surfer dudes out around 8 AM.   Must be hardcore ... looked like they should be in school .. isn't school in session? Blu ran out  & tried to play with them when they came to the shallows No dogs there ... The condo has white linen couches and chairs .. of course and Blu loves them Confined Blu to one chair which I've covered .. so far so good Every time we go to the beach, usually twice a day,  I have to wash him down to get the sand off since he loves to roll in it He fights me against the hose, but loves the towel .. anyway its quite a process to clean him up before he goes into the Coondo Drove to Duma beach about 10 miles south .. the nearest place with any type of food for civiliation Got a piece of pizza .. Blu seems to think I got it for him ... he's never been Not Hungry Still drinking salt water .. so he has the runs constantly .....

Tues Sept 19 - First Full Day Condo ... Two jetties isolate the beach for my set of condos .. its about a 1/4 mile long .. its got a name .. don't recall what it is. So its very private.   With a few exceptions I'm the only one here ... off season I guess .. so Blu & I have the 'run' of the area There's a long surfing beach just south .. may check it out tomorrow ... its always busy with locals. Camarillo airport where my plane is 'staying' has a long history.   Its very busy, with many planes based here. Its amazing how many General Aviation (GA) airports are in this area north of LA ..  private aviation is alive & well here despite various cities trying to shut them down / shorten runways ..  Santa Monica has already lost half its runway, so GA jets can't land there. This plaque is the airport restaurant which is always packed by non pilots families who come to watch planes take off and land ... and the food is outstanding...

Monday Sept 18 Wyndam ( Ckout) /  Condo move / Flt Training w/ Chris - Flat Tire! Nothing there? Had one of my leather flight bags ... full of all my training manuals ... Gone !? Weird thing is my computer /  IPad not touched ... what in hell they gonna do with flight manuals ? Too dark to take Blu on his beach walk ... He's learned to be patient ..... NOT Moved to Condo around Noon .. met owners and maid ... This place is WONDERFUL ... especially after being coped up in a one room hotel room for a week Sitting on the porch watching the surf roll in makes me think I should be a writer ... getting inspiration here Has a late lesson with my IFR instructor .. taxi'd out to the run up area .... and Had FLAT tire ... Sat there with Blu in place for about an hour until they could get airport opts out to rig up the place for towing back to the hanger Bought two new tires .. should be ready tomorrow Blu did great ...