Mission of San Juan Capistrano

An unexpectedly excellent day. While Southern California has many fascinating aspects it has some way to go to cherish, promote and champion its cultural heritage.

We’ve made a special effort to seek out trails and history but it’s not easy to find. Signposting is limited and promotion almost self effacing. Yet the history is here, the culture is here and the natural environment is here it’s just that seeking the sites is challenging even in a digital age. This is a modern society that buries physically and subconsciously it’s past.

Today exemplifies how a site of national significance was hidden to all except those who diligently seek out these things.

We went to the Mission of San Juan Capistrano, https://www.missionsjc.com about 40 miles north of Carlsbad. And what a place it is. Founded in 1774, the Mission is Number 7 in a chain of 21 Missions built between 1683 and 1834 by the Spanish in order to protect their territory from advancing Russians from the north.

The Spanish didn’t conquer the native people but they did “Spanishise” them bringing them out of the Stone Age into modern times. The pace of change was phenomenal and yet the cultural heritage of the native people was largely preserved and celebrated. A child born as a native in the early 1770s would by the time they were 74 would have gone from Native to Spanish to Mexican to to Californios to American.

Superb exhibitions, great guide and an interesting old town made for a very fascinating day.

On the home front, Landon sported his first tooth today as well as his last day of freedom - he starts daycare tomorrow as De’Shaun returns to work on Monday.