Dino Saga 080629 _ SB Foothill AG

Dino Saga 080629 _ SB Foothill AG

Guys down South found a crack in the right rear wheel, outer rim this time. Won’t be ready until Tuesday so took a little ride in the foothills instead of running down to Newberry Park. They are building very high end houses among the orchards. Or among the orchards to be. Santa Barbara and Goleta used to be famous for oranges and lemons. All grown on the flatlands. In the 50s-70s the orchards were pulled out, houses were planted. Sunkist packing plants died. Santa Barbara had suburbs, then swallowed the suburbs. Then ran out of water in the 70s. The environmentalists stopped all construction. The drought of 1981-91 forced folks to re-think water and do something abut it. New everything and a record rainfall in 1991 (after the elections) got water back to SB in good quantities.

The farmers still were around and plied their trade out by Goleta. Pickings were slim until the Israelis figured out drip irrigation and some US manufacturers got licenses and started production. Local growers discovered the drip system and those who knew of the climate and the good old days started growing citrus and avocados on the hillsides. SB is now back in the Ag business in a big way. Everything is different except the money. Real Estate folks figured why not put big houses on big Ag lots? Lots with a view, and income! Good idea! Then put Ag on smaller residential lots too. Was/is possible, sometimes. Associations formed to market the fruit. All kinds of wonderful financial inventions are now working. Some even legal.

The lower foothills used to turn brown in the summer. Now they are green all year. Dotted with a beautifully designed mansion here and there. Lemons and Avocados mostly. Some exotic fruits too, like Kiwi. Cuts down on the fire hazard which helps everyone down on the flatland. Not up to the tonnage of old time Ag yet but using lots less water per ton which makes some folks happy. Other folks can not be made happy no matter what Ag does but that makes local politics interesting.

Got a very nice e-mail from an employee in a local import parts dept. He remembers seeing my car on a local used car lot back in the 80s. Sat there with it’s Gotti wheels for a long time. Then seeing me around town over the years, in both white and blue livery. He is now a member of FChat even though he does not own a Ferrari. Beemer does yeoman duty as a back country runner instead. Said he enjoyed my posts and all the little bits on the city. We are going to get together one of these weekends and I will give him a ride in the Dino. Should be fun. Rob’s format and style of operation pulls them in from all over the place. Even here at home.

Enjoy the pics. Taken up behind Goleta. Hope to have the final wheel next week.

John
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