Yesterday, northbound to Arroyo Grande, we drove up through the mountains on Rt.154 through San Marcos pass, through mist and rain and low clouds. Today, on the trip back, we stayed on the 101 which ran along the coast for a while. The clouds were higher today, and the visibility over the ocean was much better. The tiny shape in the distance, in the center of the photograph is one of the many oil platforms in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Barbara. They appear, on days like this, ghostly, indistinct shapes in the far distance. The first offshore drilling began in 1896, and the first platforms were established in 1953. Because of a terrible spill that soiled the Santa Barbara beaches in 1969, there has been a moratorium on drilling in any new leases since then.
If you had not explained the photo, I would have thought the shape in the distance was a sailing ship. bsk
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