The Obligatory
"Play safe. Ski only in clockwise direction. Let's all have fun together."
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Mission of San Juan Capistrano
I had stopped in the town of San Juan Capistrano for gas and coffee on the way back from San Diego back in April. I'd read a little bit about the California Mission System, but never seen any actual Mission buildings yet.
The town of San Juan Capistrano is pretty small - the population's only a bit larger than my hometown in Connecticut - and like any good tourist town, everything had to do with the Mission. The Mission grounds were surrounded by walls, but all I had to see was the top of the ruined stone church and the sign saying, "founded November 1st, 1776" to know I wanted to come back.
So after a great weekend celebrating with some of my friends from work and helping out Aimee and Laurel with their MayDay film, I woke up early on my birthday and drove south under a cloudy sky for my first Mission experience, with the plan to hike in the Cleveland National Forest later on in the day.
Unfortunately, the clouds didn't burn off, but the Mission grounds were still beautiful. The entrance was surrounded by flowering native plants of all kinds, most of which were in full bloom. Unfortunately, they weren't running any docent tours that day, but the self-guided tour and plaques were very informative.
As I literally knew almost nothing about the California Missions, I was able to learn a lot on this trip - which is always a plus for me. For instance, the Mission of San Juan Capistrano was the site of the first iron works in California, as well as the first winery. Both the brick foundations of the furnaces and the grape-stomping and fermentation tanks are still visible and very well-preserved ... although it was pretty apparent that other parts of the Mission were falling into disrepair, either from lack of funding or parents not being able to ask their children to kindly NOT scramble over the 18th century adobe.
That said, despite the crowds, the Mission was one of the most peaceful places I've been to out here. The sense of history was phenomenal, especially considering that a large portion of the original archetecture and artifacts have been preserved. It's also a great way to see first-hand some of the interactions between the early Spanish settlers and the Native Americans already there. You know, the less gruesome parts. Like comparing icon designs!
This is an image of an icon carved by a Spanish soldier (on the right), and a native-carved statue of Saint Ann - both some of the oldest religious statues in California. The native icon on the left is a very simple design that's echoed in Native American dolls and clothing pretty much throughout the Americas ... and here it is being used in a religion that's entirely foreign to them. Was it an example of the Natives adopting symbols of the West, or the friars of the Mission using symbols of the New World to introduce Old World ideas?
Interesting, either way.
If that's not enough for ya, they also imported a gorgeous 400 year-old altar from Barcelona for the Serra Church.
And yes, if you don't know me by now, this is indeed what I spend my free time thinking about.
Unfortunately, the clouds got thicker as the day went on, and rain started to fall as I made my way up into the mountains. So I took a literal rain check on the birthday hiking, and instead came back to L.A. for some fancy gourmet cupcakes with the roommates.
In case I didn't mention it to you already, thank you to all my friends who called, emailed, text messaged, MySpaced, or any of the other billions of ways we Modern People keep in touch. It means a lot to me, and I really appreciate it.
As always, more pictures are up at Flickr. Imagine them with a brilliant blue sky, and they'll be a lot nicer.
The town of San Juan Capistrano is pretty small - the population's only a bit larger than my hometown in Connecticut - and like any good tourist town, everything had to do with the Mission. The Mission grounds were surrounded by walls, but all I had to see was the top of the ruined stone church and the sign saying, "founded November 1st, 1776" to know I wanted to come back.
So after a great weekend celebrating with some of my friends from work and helping out Aimee and Laurel with their MayDay film, I woke up early on my birthday and drove south under a cloudy sky for my first Mission experience, with the plan to hike in the Cleveland National Forest later on in the day.
Unfortunately, the clouds didn't burn off, but the Mission grounds were still beautiful. The entrance was surrounded by flowering native plants of all kinds, most of which were in full bloom. Unfortunately, they weren't running any docent tours that day, but the self-guided tour and plaques were very informative.
As I literally knew almost nothing about the California Missions, I was able to learn a lot on this trip - which is always a plus for me. For instance, the Mission of San Juan Capistrano was the site of the first iron works in California, as well as the first winery. Both the brick foundations of the furnaces and the grape-stomping and fermentation tanks are still visible and very well-preserved ... although it was pretty apparent that other parts of the Mission were falling into disrepair, either from lack of funding or parents not being able to ask their children to kindly NOT scramble over the 18th century adobe.
That said, despite the crowds, the Mission was one of the most peaceful places I've been to out here. The sense of history was phenomenal, especially considering that a large portion of the original archetecture and artifacts have been preserved. It's also a great way to see first-hand some of the interactions between the early Spanish settlers and the Native Americans already there. You know, the less gruesome parts. Like comparing icon designs!
This is an image of an icon carved by a Spanish soldier (on the right), and a native-carved statue of Saint Ann - both some of the oldest religious statues in California. The native icon on the left is a very simple design that's echoed in Native American dolls and clothing pretty much throughout the Americas ... and here it is being used in a religion that's entirely foreign to them. Was it an example of the Natives adopting symbols of the West, or the friars of the Mission using symbols of the New World to introduce Old World ideas?
Interesting, either way.
If that's not enough for ya, they also imported a gorgeous 400 year-old altar from Barcelona for the Serra Church.
And yes, if you don't know me by now, this is indeed what I spend my free time thinking about.
Unfortunately, the clouds got thicker as the day went on, and rain started to fall as I made my way up into the mountains. So I took a literal rain check on the birthday hiking, and instead came back to L.A. for some fancy gourmet cupcakes with the roommates.
In case I didn't mention it to you already, thank you to all my friends who called, emailed, text messaged, MySpaced, or any of the other billions of ways we Modern People keep in touch. It means a lot to me, and I really appreciate it.
As always, more pictures are up at Flickr. Imagine them with a brilliant blue sky, and they'll be a lot nicer.
Labels: travel
that one guy you know, 5:44 PM
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1 Comments:
I wanted to wish you a happy birthday but I figured it would be more of a bother having a stranger say it than something to be appreciated. Not sure why I thought that but too late now I guess.
Regardless, happy belated birthday to you. Your pictures are beautiful. Your flickr makes me envious of west coast living.
Also, your mention of cupcakes has made me hungry. -_-
Regardless, happy belated birthday to you. Your pictures are beautiful. Your flickr makes me envious of west coast living.
Also, your mention of cupcakes has made me hungry. -_-
