We wanted to to get a running start today. Michelle was worried that Bryn would burn out before the end of the day, but everyone held up well. Because of the holiday we had a day off of work and Ty was out of school. It worked perfect! It turned out to be a warm day in the sun.
Mission #1 -- San Diego de Alcala Mission -- The Mother of the Missions
Alisa, Ty, and Lori at the sign for the first mission built in California. Ty thought is was cool that it was on Alisa's birthday.
Ty at the front of the mission. There was a room were it was believe that Father Serra lived. It smelt old enough. :) Ty shared with us several things he had learned about Father Serra, one of them being the fact that he started nine of the 21 California Missions.
Ty was counting the bells as we drove up. It was a big deal that there were five. This mission was quite a bit larger than the San Buenaventura Mission. It had about the same sized courtyard but the church was larger and brighter and there were additional buildings. I have about 100 good pictures from this day. It was hard to pick only a few pictures of each mission.
Father Serra was only about five feet tall - the same height as Ty. I thought it was great that his statue was made to be his height. I had Ty stand on the base so we could compare heights. He said to make sure we all noticed there was an additional base making him seem taller. Mission #2 -- San Luis Rey Mission (in Oceanside) -- The King of the Missions
As you can tell from this picture, this mission is HUGE! It was not just the buildings that were large though. The land/grounds surrounding it were also. In addition there are areas they have excavated (soldiers quarters & bath/laundry area) that are a good walk from the mission.
This area really fascinated me. It is called the "Lavanderia". This picture only shows a portion of it. Lori liked this part because it shows where the women would step down into the water and where the water came out into the pool area. If you zoom in you can see it is an Aztec looking face with the mouth as the water spout. The irrigation system for this area is awesome. I was so impressed with the ingenuity without modern tools.
This is my attempt to capture the vastness of the grounds and buildings. I was standing at the entrance of the Lavanderia.
This mission is know for being the home of the oldest "Pepper Tree" in California.
Mission #3 -- San Juan Capistrano -- The Jewel of the Missions
This mission and its grounds are surround by a wall and in the middle of busy intersections of the city. When you walk inside the walls you feel like you are in another world. This was my favorite mission because of all the history you learn there. This is a picture of the ruins of the walls of the large stone church that came down in the 1812 earthquake. The grounds here are immaculate there are gardens all over the place.
The main reason we learned so much was because of the walking tour they had for the visitors to listen to. Look close and you will see Alisa and Ty with a black devices that look like a large flat phone. They were like having your own tour guide walking by your side. Lori was hooked once we had her listen to them once. They came with the adult $9 admission. This was the most expensive mission to visit. The others were $2 or $3 "suggested" donations. By the way, they are standing at the front of the church. You are looking down the hall to the part where the alter would have been.
Ty and I are standing next to one of the inner walls. We were amazed at how large the walls were. We all enjoyed looking and listening to the history of this building.
As you can tell from this picture, this mission is HUGE! It was not just the buildings that were large though. The land/grounds surrounding it were also. In addition there are areas they have excavated (soldiers quarters & bath/laundry area) that are a good walk from the mission.
This area really fascinated me. It is called the "Lavanderia". This picture only shows a portion of it. Lori liked this part because it shows where the women would step down into the water and where the water came out into the pool area. If you zoom in you can see it is an Aztec looking face with the mouth as the water spout. The irrigation system for this area is awesome. I was so impressed with the ingenuity without modern tools.
This is my attempt to capture the vastness of the grounds and buildings. I was standing at the entrance of the Lavanderia.This mission is know for being the home of the oldest "Pepper Tree" in California. Mission #3 -- San Juan Capistrano -- The Jewel of the Missions
This mission and its grounds are surround by a wall and in the middle of busy intersections of the city. When you walk inside the walls you feel like you are in another world. This was my favorite mission because of all the history you learn there. This is a picture of the ruins of the walls of the large stone church that came down in the 1812 earthquake. The grounds here are immaculate there are gardens all over the place.
The main reason we learned so much was because of the walking tour they had for the visitors to listen to. Look close and you will see Alisa and Ty with a black devices that look like a large flat phone. They were like having your own tour guide walking by your side. Lori was hooked once we had her listen to them once. They came with the adult $9 admission. This was the most expensive mission to visit. The others were $2 or $3 "suggested" donations. By the way, they are standing at the front of the church. You are looking down the hall to the part where the alter would have been.
Ty and I are standing next to one of the inner walls. We were amazed at how large the walls were. We all enjoyed looking and listening to the history of this building.
3 comments:
Looks like fun. Did Michelle come with you?
You two are great. Ty will never forget visiting the missions with you. We moved back to CA when I was in 4th grade. They were just finishing the CA state project so I never got to learn about all of the missions. It was neat to learn about them through your trip.
Yes Kate.
Corrine you and Alisa are awesome!
Thanks so much!!!!!
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