Flight Report: SBA-SEA

After my interview, it was time to pack up and head out. I was pressed for time, but at least getting through security at the airport is trivial at SBA. The main challenge at this airport seems to be somewhat frequent cancellations. I wasn't hit by that time time, but the small connections to LAX, SFO, and BUR do run into mechanical issues and delays on these small flights can add up to missed connections if you get unlucky.

Alaska Airlines offers some attractive connections to and from SBA. They offer direct flights to PDX and SEA on slightly larger regional aircraft than you get when you are headed to a destination inside California.

The Santa Ynez valley from the air. This is where Santa Barbara county is expanding housing significantly. It's less expensive to built up here, but the jobs in the county are still centered around Santa Barbara by the coastline. It's an interesting dynamic. Santa Barbara has limited options for growth physically. The options are all slightly less than ideal. Expanding outward means changing the ecosystem of the coastline, removing agriculture, and changing the way of life for many in the community, all of which will cause people to come out and oppose it. Growing upward changes the look and feel of the city and blocks views, which means that another powerful group will also come out and oppose that. Building in the valley means inducing travel demand between the two areas of the county, which creates pollution and strains the transportation network. That prompts calls for wider roads that will never really keep up with demand, since the new easy access granted by new roads spurs yet more development further out. It's a heck of a problem.

 Crater Lake in Oregon and Mt. Rainier below.

This building above is the Weyerhaeuser Corporate Headquarters. It is designed to blend into the natural environment. From the distance, it looks like a hill.