SANTA MONICA AIRPORT (KSMO) | SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA

California offers some of the best flying weather in the country!  Oftentimes, you just have to stay clear of the marine layer.  This was the case this past Memorial Day as we decided to take a flight in search of some food - the proverbial $100 Hamburger.  If you don't already know, we fly out of Santa Monica (KSMO) airport.  With the marine layer moving in, we had the option to go east towards Palm Springs (but not enough time) or to go north towards Santa Barbara.  We decided to head north along the coast.  The Santa Monica airport sits just a few miles from the coast and most of the time Runway 21 is in use.  After taking off, you head towards the coast and then take a right or left at the beach.  We took a right to head north and that means that one of the first things that we got to see is the Santa Monica Pier.  I love seeing the pier from the air - a perspective that most people don't get to see.

CAMARILLO AIRPORT (KCMA) | CAMARILLO, CALIFORNIA

Unless we are sightseeing or if the clouds have moved in (as they had yesterday), we typically head inland over the valley and then over Camarillo to head north.  As we crossed over Camarillo Airport, we could see the marine layer covering the Santa Barbara area.  Even though Foreflight said that the airport was VFR, it did talk about a fog bank just off the coast.  We decided to head to Camarillo instead.

After taking an Uber to dinner (Outback Steakhouse) and back, the clouds had moved into Camarillo as well.  We could see that they only extended inland as far as the eastern end of the airport so we decided to get a special VFR, fly a left downwind departure and stay under the clouds (900' ceiling) until we were clear of them.  Once clear, we were able to climb above them and get that beautiful sunset light as we followed the 101 back towards the valley.  The combination of haze and clouds made for a great view.  The clouds in Santa Monica had even started to roll in as we approached the LA basin.  The Getty Museum was just visible beneath the cloud layer.  We were able to once again, request a special VFR and sneak in just under the cloud shelf.  Hope you enjoy the photos (some of which were taken with the iPhone and some with the Canon 6D) and stay tuned for more flying adventures soon.  Let me know on Instagram where you would like to see us fly.