I was in Santa Barbara, California and walking the harbor at sunrise. I was taken aback upon seeing the Ruby Princess cruise ship “parked” not too far away from the docks. Such a huge, almost decadent, boat next to a harbor filled with (mostly) normal sized boats. I wondered how big the thing really was and so went to my phone for information…over 1500 guest rooms, 19 decks, 1200 (!!) crew, four swimming pools….well, you get my drift, it was large and truly out of place in the harbor. Then I wondered where it would be in place. I thought of all those Caribbean islands with ships like this pulling into their harbors. And that got me to thinking about all of the people that were on the Ruby Princess…where were they?? My mood was very film noire after standing looking for a few minutes…so I changed the shot a bit to echo that feeling. This was our first stop last week in the “Beach State” and there will be more pictures!Here’s a shot from just a hundred yards from the one above but looking toward the beach instead of the harbor. The sunrise colors (and my mood) are a little brighter. I’m not a real fan of the beach but I do love the smell, the sounds, and the views…not the sand, not the sharks that I know have been waiting for years for my re-entry into the ocean. Not going to happen. Not now…not never!

I was in Santa Barbara, California and walking the harbor at sunrise. I was taken aback upon seeing the Ruby Princess cruise ship “parked” not too far away from the docks. Such a huge, almost decadent, boat next to a harbor filled with (mostly) normal sized boats. I wondered how big the thing really was and so went to my phone for information…over 1500 guest rooms, 19 decks, 1200 (!!) crew, four swimming pools….well, you get my drift, it was large and truly out of place in the harbor. Then I wondered where it would be in place. I thought of all those Caribbean islands with ships like this pulling into their harbors. And that got me to thinking about all of the people that were on the Ruby Princess…where were they?? My mood was very film noire after standing looking for a few minutes…so I changed the shot a bit to echo that feeling. This was our first stop last week in the “Beach State” and there will be more pictures!Here’s a shot from just a hundred yards from the one above but looking toward the beach instead of the harbor. The sunrise colors (and my mood) are a little brighter. I’m not a real fan of the beach but I do love the smell, the sounds, and the views…not the sand, not the sharks that I know have been waiting for years for my re-entry into the ocean. Not going to happen. Not now…not never!