San Diego Trip - Missions - Day 4

Monday, November 9, 2009

We had to skip Mission Santa Cruz on our drive south, since it was only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday because of state budget cutbacks.  Santa Cruz is only about 3½ hours from where we live, so we should be able to see it fairly easily some other time.

We stopped next at Mission San Juan Bautista, which was in the town by the same name, near  Hwy 101 on the way to Monterey.  Of all the missions that we toured, San Juan Bautista is in a setting that most nearly approximates what it must have looked like in the 1800’s.  It sits on the edge of the small town, with no tall buildings in sight, facing one side of a grassy plaza.  The plaza is lined on two other sides by restored buildings of the period - houses, hotels and shops.  The 4^th side of the plaza overlooks an original portion of El Camino Real, the royal road that went from one mission to the other, San Diego to Sonoma.  There is a reproduction of one of the original bell markers on the Camino Real by the side of the road, which is set about 20’ below the level of the mission and the plaza.  The road is unpaved, and is bounded on the other side by farm fields with the mountains in the distance.  On the day we visited there, the fields were filled with workers, and it was easy to imagine how similar it must have looked in the 1800’s.  The inside of the mission has been beautifully restored and is a working Catholic church.  One of the largest mission church interiors, it has 3 aisles.  The gardens and courtyards were beautiful.  This was Judy’s favorite mission because of the location.


Day 4 Pictures - San Juan Bautista Mission

 After a wonderful visit to this very peaceful place, we drove on to Monterey, CA, the Monterey Pines RV Park and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo in Carmel-By-The-Sea.  We unhitched the green machine at the park and drove to the mission, about ½  hour away.  We had been there two or three times before, but the place is worth many return visits.  It is near the heart of downtown Carmel in a lovely residential neighborhood.  The mission, which has been designated a Basilica, adjoins a working school and convent, has a large entrance courtyard, a larger interior courtyard, and a museum with many artifacts and many outbuildings.  Pope John Paul visited here is 1987, and the site where he said Mass is marked by a plaque.  Fr. Junipero Serra, the founder of most of the missions, is buried here.  Everything is beautifully restored, inside and out.


Day 4 Pictures - Carmel Mission (San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo)

We went to dinner at the Mission Ranch Restaurant nearby, owned by Clint Eastwood.  We had eaten there several times before and the food was excellent.  We have never seen Clint there, but we are told he drops in now and then.  There is a lively piano bar and a nice patio/ outside eating area overlooking the wetlands with spectacular sunsets over the Pacific.  It is one of our favorite restaurants.