Santa Barbara Island

I was flying north for some reason, I don't remember why or even when. It was a while ago.

Taking off from the OC airport the aircraft usually heads out quite a ways over the ocean, turning right (north) when it approaches Catalina. It then flies over or just east of Catalina and heads up the coast.

This day the flight was close to sunset and the sun was reflecting off the water. It was positively golden. It isn't often I see colors as pervasive as this; is was just a marvelous feeling. The water seemed smooth as glass, though it really wasn't, but from that altitude you couldn't see the waves.

A collection of rocks appeared. A long chuck of rock casting a shadow from the sunset. I recognized it as Santa Barbara island, one of the smallest of the California Channel Islands. It isn't inhabited and mainly produces... uh... guano.

Whatever camera I took this with I grabbed quickly and was crummy. It's a terrible picture. But the beauty of what I was seeing was so overwhelming it didn't matter. If I could even capture a hint of what I saw, it would be worth it.