Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1776, sort of. Actually it was founded in 1775, but 2 weeks after the padres and soldiers arrived they got word of a revolt in San Diego and returned there. Fr. Serra showed up in 1776 and re-founded the Mission on November 1. Along the way a large stone church was constructed - it was destroyed by an earthquake in December of 1812. Here's a model of the Great Stone Church in front of the ruins. This model is sitting well inside the original perimeter walls.
I've always thought that this Mission has one of the best courtyard areas of any that I've seen. There is a large fountain in the center, full of flowers and koi. The courtyard is surrounded by a portico, and there are lots of benches where you can sit, relax, and enjoy the view.
If you look closely in the next image you can see a charcoal koi cruising by under the flowers.
Even though the main church is in ruins, there is still a small church in the Mission itself.
After we left the Mission we walked around the town of San Juan Capistrano for a bit. On the other side of the railroad tracks Heather spotted a sign for a petting zoo that I had never noticed before. None of us were in any big hurry to try petting this guy.
Click here to see more images from our Sunday drive north to San Juan Capistrano.
You can also click here to see another gallery of images, this one from a Nov 1, 2009 visit to the Mission.
We had a great day with you guys! But your shots turned out way better than mine.
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