San Juan Capistrano

In 1776, the mission San Juan Capistrano was founded by Spanish missionaries. It was the 7th mission in a chain of 21 in California. This is a scale model of the finished church in 1806. This mission was by far the largest of all the missions built. 

On Dec 8th, 1812, during mass, an earthquake struck the church. This caused the walls to crumble and the domes caved in, killing 40 people. Only the dome over the altar remained. That is the far left dome on the model. Boys were in the bell tower (the tall thing on the back right of the model) and were crushed by the bells. 

We were here at Xmas time so the altar was decorated with the nativity scene. The whole church was built by native indian labour and wasn't rebuilt. Other areas of the mission carried on and is still being used. 

These are the bells that fell with the tower and were placed here as a memorial. They are still rung for special occasions.

The grounds are beautiful and all the buildings are the original. All sorts of people lived here including soldiers, millers, wine makers, priests etc. The rooms that they lived and worked in are now set up as displays featuring artifacts from each of their lives and occupations.

Grammie has found some plants and, knowing her, she spent more time here than is normal. 

This is the meditation area with the domes of the attached school in the background. Although the original mission is an historic landmark, the surrounding area is vibrant with activity. 

Grammie takes a rest among the quiet gardens where you can see grape fields in the background. 

Even the rest rooms were tranquil and serene. I stood beside the burbling fountain until I was forced to enjoy the quiet respite of the historic latrine. Beats a gas station anytime!

When the original church was destroyed, a chapel was built so services could still be carried on. Not nearly as elaborate but cozy. This is the entrance to the chapel. Isn't it beautiful.

Grammie, being the plant lady that she is, found the original gardens used by the mission to provide fresh produce. The current garden has the same types of plants, but I noticed irrigation pipes and fertilizer bins. Probably they grow more now than they did then. 

The original priest, Father Serra, was the first person in California to grow grapes and make wine. The area was found to be ideal for grapes. That hole in the ground behind me is the first wine vat in the west. The grapes were stomped behind the wall, there's another vat there, and ran into this vat by clay pipes. Here it was allowed to ferment before kegging it. This mission had the first winery, the first millstone to crush olives, the first tallow vats to make tallow for candles and soap, the first metal furnaces in the state and the first tannery for making leather. They even had the first dying vats to colour their wool.

I'm sure you are trying to figure out where you had heard of the mission at San Juan Capistrano before. Well, let me tell you. Its the swallows. Ring a bell? The priest during the 1920's, Father John O'Sullivan, was describing to a visitor how, every St. Joseph's Day, March 19th, thousands of swallows would return to the mission to nest and raise their brood. This visitor wrote a song about the swallows returning to Capistrano which became a huge hit and since then thousands of people come each year to welcome the swallows back. They always return on the same day. Unfortunately not the day we were there, but oh well, thems the breaks. 

After leaving the mission, we enjoyed the walk back to our car. The surrounding walls of the mission are beautifully cared for. 

If you're wondering what the terrain around our area looks like, this is it. Big desolate hills with valleys full of houses and towns. I expect someday the hills will be settled as well. There are a lot of people in California. Our visit took us about 80 miles from Hemet and about 10 miles from Laguna beach. Maybe we'll  head closer to L.A. next time.