Collisions with Reality

Before I moved to California, I was one of those people who swore I couldn’t live someplace without four distinct seasons. Once here, though, I realized that California does have seasons. They’re subtle, but there. The poppies and lupines bloom in March and April. June is jackaronda season. Our lemon tree goes crazy in January and February. There’s even a fenugreek season, according to our favorite herb guy (. . . not that kind) at the farmers’ market. Eventually I realized that I didn’t miss the four seasons as much as I specifically missed a “proper” midwestern autumn, and everything associated with it — the changing leaves, apple-picking, hot cider, cool weather, football game days on campus, and even Halloween decorations. But mostly-warm weather year round? I’ll take it!

What I haven’t gotten used to yet is the way that coastal California is out of sync with the rest of the country. When everyone else is freezing in the winter, we’re enjoying sunshine and warm weather. In May and June, when it’s starting to get hot elsewhere, we’re stuck under cold marine layers. In October and November, when it’s starting to get cool elsewhere, we still get temperatures in the 90′s F (30′s C). But perhaps nothing is as bizarre as this week — there is a brutal, brutal heatwave in the Northeast, and here it is . . . 60 degrees F and rainy. RAINY. In California. In July. WTF. Do I blame El Niño? Or is this just what I get for gloating about the weather here?

Guess I should get used to it if we’re off to the Bay Area this fall. Throw in the extremely high local variability in weather, and I’m about to get very good at layering.

I was visiting family in Western Pennsylvania last weekend, and the visits are always too short. Not only are there dozens of cousins to see (who have now met my son for the first time!), I’ve never managed to do any proper photography there. Pittsburgh is a gorgeous city, and it’s quite the scenic drive along the Ohio River. There’s lots of industry along the river, but in many places the hills remain undeveloped (shhh! don’t tell the developers). This results in a surprisingly picturesque view, as it feels like a glimpse of what the river looked like 50 or 100 years ago. (On some stretches of the road, there are buildings that look like they’ve been abandoned for that long, but that’s another story.) I’d love to spend a day just wandering up and down the river with my camera. Maybe next summer . . .

Back at home with only two months left in Santa Barbara, it’s time to make sure that I’ve hit all the hotspots in town with my camera. The three biggest attractions are probably the harbor, the Mission, and the courthouse. I’m actually indifferent to the courthouse — it’s beautiful, but I find it a bit sterile. (Full disclosure: I’ve never actually been inside it.) The harbor is my favorite spot for photography in Santa Barbara, and I’m fairly happy with the pictures I’ve taken there. As for the Mission, I really must share one of my favorite photographs from 2010:

In addition to that, I actually finished the alphabet poster made of letters from signs in town. That’s actually a pretty good dose of Santa Barbara, and I think it makes up for not really wandering around UCSB with my camera.

There is still one project in town that has been on my to-do list for a long time, though: the Orthodox Churches. Near downtown Santa Barbara there are two small Russian Orthodox churches, a mere block and a half from each other. I’ve only ever seen people (and a priest) at Holy Resurrection, but both appear to be well-kept from the outside. With the white walls and blue roofs, they really stand out in a neighborhood of cottages, and I’ve wanted to do a series on them for quite some time.

I have some great pictures from my other travels, but I don’t know why two small churches and the entire state of Pennsylvania keep eluding me. (Certainly, I marvel at my SIL Amanda‘s ability to take tons of great pictures of her home — check out her July 4th fireworks pictures, for example.) What are the photo destinations, either at home or on the road, that you keep meaning to hit and just never do? And what’s keeping you from it?