Valentines18

Valentines 18 are the 18 miles I ran today. I thought of taking pictures today, and having a blog that is not as wordy as most of my blogs tend to be. Enjoy.

The Santa Barbara Mission
A landmark - at 6 am before the sun came up

Sign for the Natural History Museum
I lit it up with the bike light I carried.

Foothill/Cathedral Oaks (192)

Here is where I find my main road for most of the morning run

Santa Barbara from the bridge by La Cumbre
Nice morning- temp went from 49-65 degrees in the 18 miles

Southwestern style home
caught my attention.

35 mph? not to worry-it's been noted. 5 mph, that's more like it!

Shut down gas station right by the 154-
It still makes sense there. Does anybody know why it shut down?

The bright sun
and my shadow join me at 7 am.

Cathedral Oaks
and its safest residential zone- looks a little East Cost style to me

Goodbye Gatorade- 20 oz of it
Saddest part of my run at almost 10 miles I took a sip of Gatorade from the bottles I carry.
Somehow I manage to not wash out all the soap, so both bottles were soap filled and mixed with the Gatorade- well it's better than bleach, which I've done before too. Was starting to get thirsty though, darn!

Fairview Rd
Here is where I get 2 miles going out and back, it's a great road. Lots of agriculture

The End
This is how I know I've come to the end of a rd...

H20
At mile 11.5 I get to Stowe Grove Park- one of the highlights of my run for one reason only.
Cold Water!

Gu
or also known as Gel, after finding the water, I can wash it down.
Mmm breakfast of champions. (it tastes pretty gross)

The Goodland- (Goleta)

Hey another Museum Sign!

Bishop Ranch.
When Goleta is mentioned, it's hard not to also remember Bishop Ranch..

Lemon Groves
After all, this is the land of the Lemon Festival.

Snail
He's so tiny...on such a long and hot and lonely road.

Dos Pueblos High School
That's my High School, although that huge building wasn't there when I attended.
(Saying things like that make me feel old)

The very very dangerous Winchester Canyon overpass
I'm surprised nobody has been killed on it. But I hear plans are in place to create an appropriate overpass.

Seasons
While we don't get too much in the way of season around here, the field below is one ever changing landscape, throughout the year. I found today there is a whole neighborhood behind it. (That's where I picked up another extra mile)

Eucalyptus Stumps
As soon as I crossed the freeway, where I am usually greeted by Eucalyptus and other large trees, today I found these stumps and the culprit...This is why the battles in Goleta are over development.

The Bacara Golf Course
(part of the luxury hotel)

The Bluffs
A project of luxury homes which makes me sick every time I run by it. It could've been worse, it could have been right ON the Ellwood bluffs. Which, I am told is enough reason to be ok with this...

The Old Gas Station, A County Landmark
Barnsdall- Rio Grande Gasoline Station. Love it.

Entrance Road
Home sweet, home, or close enough to it, this is the last turn I take before visiting my parents'

So it was, 18 very enjoyable miles.