Photography . . . Travel . . .

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Sunday Drive - Mission San Juan Capistrano

Heather and I went for a Sunday drive up to the Mission San Juan Capistrano with our friends Rae and Robert. It was a perfect day to wander around the Mission taking pictures.


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.
  

1 comment:

  1. We had a great day with you guys! But your shots turned out way better than mine.

    ReplyDelete

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San Diego, California, United States
About me . . . When I'm not working I like to be out exploring and photographing. I do this blog just for fun, and to be able to share these images with friends. I hope you enjoy viewing these images as much as I enjoyed creating them.

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All of the content and images on this site (c) Frank B. Baiamonte. If you would like to use any of these images please contact me via email at frank@frankbaiamonte.com to discuss terms of usage. Note that images from the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park are not available for commercial usage. You can also see more on my Instagram page @frankbaiamonte.

Header image: Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Cibola, Arizona. End image: Downtown San Diego, California skyline from Coronado Island. Profile picture: Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, by Heather Baiamonte.