DAY SEVEN, PART ONE (25 September 2015):
Mum had made a request of a place she wanted to visit while
she was in the area, and it happened to coincide with something of
international significance. In order to
get to that destination, it’d require a drive south of Pacific Coast Highway past Laguna Beach
where we’d driven too earlier. There was
a brief stop in Dana Point to look around the area, and we even considered
heading a bit further south to San
Clemente where Nixon’s “West White House” had been
located. Ultimately, the reason why we
were here was the Mission at San Juan Capistrano .
The mission was founded in 1776 by Father Junipero Serra,
and covers a decent amount of ground.
There was a more celebratory atmosphere in this place, as Serra was
being canonized this week to become Saint Serra. The Pope was visiting the US this week
also, so there were was a bit of religious fervor in the area that I normally
didn’t see.
The tour of the Mission
is self-guided, so patrons could go at their own pace. For a few extra dollars, and audio guide was
available too. Since it was one of the
hottest days during the week of our visit, and most of the Mission was outdoors, not-shady, or had no
air conditioning, it was a slow pace we went it.
I was glad to see there were other bits of history presented
here, like the background of the Acjachemen Indian tribe who used to live in
the area before the Spanish conquest.
And the first vineyard in California
was located at the Mission ,
as here was the vat room used to process the grapes.
Not every portion of the Mission was open to the public, as some
serviced as offices for the site and some were still in the process of being
restored. Of the rooms which could be
viewed, many of them were devoid of furnishings or other decoration so the only
way to know what those chambers were used for was to listen to the audio guide
and use your imagination. The rooms which
had artifacts of the time period, like this Spanish barracks, I found more
interesting due to the historical aspects.
One of the rooms which has remained in decent condition, and
pretty continual use, was the Serra Chapel.
This was a very ornate presentation, and I thinking much of this was
updated and added to after Father Serra’s death (considering the balcony above
where I was standing contained a pipe organ).
From a historical perspective, I liked checking out the
ruins of the Great Stone Church
which sat on the Mission grounds. Construction was completed in 1806, and is
was destroyed by an earthquake a few years later in 1812. It was never rebuilt, but the two bells which
survived the disaster are rung only a few times of the year during specific
observances.
One additional item of note which happens here is the
“miracle of the Swallows of Capistrano.”
On St. Joseph ’s Day (19 March) every year
migrating swallows return from Argentina ,
where they nest within the walls of the Mission . The birds stay until the Day of San Juan (23
October), where they head south to enjoy the summer in South
America .
The flock has been tracked so it’s confirmed the same birds
return every year. Was there a specific
water or food source here, do the trade winds naturally bring the birds here,
those were some of the questions I asked the location. Of course, no scientific explanation could be
provided (or as speaking with one of the docents, even considered). I’m sure it’s been verified, but that would
require additional research.
This is a good place to go for some early history of California , and the
surrounding streets contain a number of places where lunch could be obtained.
More Information on Places Visited or Mentioned:
Dana
Point (CA): http://www.danapoint.org/
San
Clemente (CA): http://san-clemente.org/
Mission
San Juan Capistrano:
http://www.missionsjc.com/
Junipero
Serra:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun%C3%ADpero_Serra
Acjachemen Indians: http://www.juaneno.com/
Miracle of the Swallows of Capistrano: http://www.sanjuancapistrano.net/swallows/
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