20050426 Santa Monica and Castle/Atwater

Livermore down the Big Sur coast to Santa Monica for dinner. Then back up for a touch and go at the old Castle/Atwater Air Force Base (base now closed), near Merced, and back to Livermore. It was a little hazy on the way down.

(Click on the pic for full size image.)
Fueling, prepping, and washing the windshield of the incomparable Beechcraft
Dutchess. You can see Mario and Carlos to the right of the fourth pic, fitting the
plane with a new landing light.
Shots of the south bay and reservoirs
Monterey and Carmel
Big Sur area - The 3rd to last pic is Hearst Castle.
Morrow Bay area
Beaches near Santa Barbara, I think. The dunes/clouds combination is
interesting looking. The 6th pic is of some industrial operation where a lime
green pile caught my eye.
Mountains near Santa Barbara - 4th pic is of a reservoir spillway
Sunset and beaches near Santa Barbara
Nearby reservoir and Channel Islands
Santa Monica at night
Landing at Santa Monica airport
We ate at the Typhoon restaurant at the airport. Good food. The most
interesting part of the menu is in the 1st menu pic, top right corner.
Leaving Santa Monica at night
Castle/Atwater Air Force Base - This base has been closed since 1994
but there's a large aircraft museum there and the landing strip is LONG...almost
12,000 ft and lit up like a xmas tree. Pix show the runway lights during our touch
and go. Another link here.