Roadtrip: San Juan Capistrano (9/26/2009)
We planned to have lunch with Laura and AJ Saam , friends from cruises. We picked a great place to go... Near the water (cool), near the San Juan Capistrano Mission (cool) and sort of half way in between us (also cool!). Please join us for a day of fun! See the buildings of the mission and the mission bells and great stone church .
Gone is the old railroad station
We toured the grounds from 10:15 to 12:15 and enjoyed everything!
Catching up is now underway
Listen To Pat Boone...
When The Swallows Return To Capistrano
A Little History...
Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded on All Saints Day November 1, 1776 by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order. Named for Giovanni da Capistrano, a 15th century theologian and "warrior priest" who resided in the Abruzzo region of Italy, San Juan Capistrano has the distinction of being home to the oldest building in California still in use, a chapel built in 1782; known alternately as "Serra's Chapel" and "Father Serra's Church," it is the only extant structure where it has been documented that the padre Junipero Serra celebrated mass. One of the best known of the Alta California missions (and one of the few missions to have actually been founded twice — others being Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and Mission La Purísima Concepción) — the site was originally consecrated on October 30, 1775 by Father Fermín Lasuén, but was quickly abandoned due to unrest among the indigenous population in San Diego.
Pre Restoration