My window seat on the return flight offered up many gems for my collection of aerial photographs.

 
Despite the beauty and wealth everywhere, my 6am walks to the office took me past many homeless people. It is hard to reconcile the gross inequity between the rich and the poor here. I know there are homeless people in every city, but to see the degree of contrast in this community was very sobering.

 
I really enjoy the colors, textures, and architecture to be found in the city. Everyone here seems to be very health concious and it was nice to be afforded such an array of organic and natural cuisine.

 
Located adjacent to the wharf is Santa Barbara’s museum of natural history, the Ty Warner Sea Center. On a future trip I will have to make time to visit.

 
After work I went down to Stearns Wharf just as the sun was setting. I like the fact that the hotel I am staying at is walking distance from both the office and the ocean. The weather has been delightful and one can see why many have fallen in love with this part of the country. Unlike much of the California coast, the beach here runs East/West rather than North/South providing morning and evening light similar to the Mediteranean coast.

 
Today I woke up at 5am to catch a flight for Santa Barbara where I will spend the remainder of the week meeting my colleagues there. This unusual bit of architecture was located adjacent to the hotel I was staying in. Travel included it was an 18 hour day.

 
I returned from Ferry Beach early to ensure I would make my soccer game against Lexington, currently our main challenger for the top spot in our division. I received a nice pass at the top of the 18, turned and released a very strong low shot that found the right side of the net to give us a 1-0 victory.

 
The talent show featured a man who could stand on one leg, hold his big toe, and then jump through the opening.

 
One of the cornerstones of Ferry Beach weekend is the annual croquet tournament and the intense competition for the coveted Elephant Trophy. This year I am proud to say that my partner Adrian and I were able to claim the trophy after fending off the field of thirty two. The semi-finals had us pitted against Nicolai (a former champion) and his partner. There was quite a bit of trash talking and this only sweetened the victory over the perennial favorite who eliminated me in last year’s competition. Adrian and I will have our names engraved onto the elephant and will keep the trophy until next Memorial Day when it will be the subject of another contest. Serious crouquet actually involves a lot of skill and strategy. Tough matches can go on for hours.

 
Maya spends most of her time on the beach with friends. She has become very independent and if not for refueling breaks we would scarcely see her. Jeanine and I agree that this totally unstructured time is something we need to provide more of for her.

 
Nicolai would play until he was positively starving and then return to the cafeteria for a quick recharge before returning to his friends.

 
One of my favorite portraits from the weekend. It took several attempts to catch the hulla hopp in exactly this position.

 
Maya has become the families most consistent marshmallow roaster. After attending to her own nutritional needs, she offers to roast marshmallows for anyone in need.

 
I love this Glossy Ibis. Last year I was lucky to get a couple of shots of a single bird. This year I was able to locate a large group by searching for their favorite habitat. They like a combination of 4 inch deep water with plenty of adjacent mud banks and short grass.