Mission San Juan Capistrano – no Zorro here. (Travel Theme: Meeting Places)
Referenced in movies, and heard via the legend of the swallows returning to Mission San Juan Capistrano, I knew it was going to be on our list of ‘must sees’ when in the area. Although I visualized barren rolling hills filled with sage and mustard, and the cries of Zorro thundering through the town on his trusty steed, reality was a somewhat tame, but stunning setting in the town of San Juan Capistrano, Orange County (formerly Las Californias).
Great place to meet some of California’s history. I honestly tried to limit the images I was going to use in the blog – and failed miserably. I was testing out the brand new ‘mega lens’ (Tamron 150-600mm) which happened to come in the day before I left on vacation, having been miserably back-ordered for months all around the world. (Kismet!) So there are a few more ‘details’ than usual. (The kids disappeared off to the Starbucks across the road tiring of ‘one more shot’ here and there – ok, and everywhere.)
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- The beautifully manicured grounds in the plaza.
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- The former Great Stone Church (collapsed in 1812)
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- Father Serra’s Church
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- The altar in Father Serra’s Church
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- Light a candle
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- Restoration work, but still picturesque!
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- Rudimentary Living
A few of the more intricate details.
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- 4 bells salvaged after the earthquake of 1812.
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- “Praised be Jesus, San Vicente. In honor of the Re. Fathers, Ministers (of the Mission) Fray Vicente Fuster, and Fray Juan Santiago, 1796.”
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- Bells were a theme.
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- Roof tiles showing their age.
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- Brick walls.
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- Ancient artifacts – short swords & axes.
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- A Mexican saddle – many are still made of wood today.
And the gardens were amazing.
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- Prickly Pears
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- Water Lilies of every colour imaginable.
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- Colourful fish.
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- Roses of every colour.
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- A Monarch Butterfly makes a great test subject!
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- The peeling bark on a Rainbow Eucalyptus???
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- Gorgeous props to show off the flowers.
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- Along with Beautiful Backdrops
Walking around the town later was a pleasure. It’s been beautifully maintained and restored. The Depot area near the train station has a petting farm, even the law office had picturesque gardens behind the picket fence. And if you want delicious Tapas for lunch, alongside a wonderful white Sangria, Guapas Tapas can help you out!
The old train depot.
Yet another picturesque train station.
Picturesque gardens behind every gate.
Smiling Alpacas at the petting zoo
Even the traffic lights had been upgraded.
Thanks for stopping by – and for those who want to Like, but can’t, please feel free to leave a comment – even if it just says ‘Like’. 😉 (We are still investigating that issue!)
I had thought about buying that lens but then realized that I had an even better solution. I put a 2x converter on my Tamron 28-300 lens to give me a 56-600 lens that even has a better F stop on it!
Beautiful, Suzan 🙂 The missions are really lovely, aren’t they!
This was the first one I’d every visited. I loved it. I can see them being on my list of places to visit if there is one in town! (My kids will be hoping for a nearby Starbucks lol – although I won’t always be testing out a new lens!) 😀