Mission San Juan Capistrano

Once we finally got on California time and had washed the city stress off us, we decided to head inland for the afternoon. Our host told us about an old Spanish Mission that was in the middle of the town, San Juan Capistrano, only about 20 minutes from Laguna. Since I have spent virtually no time in the southwest, we thought it would be neat to see a different part of our country's history. It's $9 to get in per person, which I think is a reasonable price, since the grounds are gorgeous and the museum displays are well maintained. The admission also included a recorder that had a self guided audio tour. We learned a lot about the history of the indigenous people who lived there and the Spanish Missionaries who established the Mission. It was a great way to spend the afternoon, the weather was perfect for a visit (but seriously, when is the weather not perfect here?).

The Legend of the Swallow. 

For centuries, the Swallow has migrated north, to San Juan Capistrano for the summers. In the early 1900s, An inn keeper in the town was so irate at their muddy nests, he began knocking them off his building. Father O'Sullivan felt sorry for the Swallows and invited them to come live at the mission where there would be room for all and they would be safe. The next morning, he found the Swallows busy building their nests in the ruins of the old stone church. 

The city takes the safety of the Swallows so seriously, that there is an ordinance that prohibits the destruction of any nests.

Every year, on March 19th (St. Joseph's Day) they have a Swallows Day Parade. Scott and I missed it by a week, we were bummed.

I love this guy! I can't express to you how excited he is to be a dad.
 I can't wait to see him father our son!

Completed in 1806, the Great Stone Church took 9 years to build. In 1812 (only 6 years later), tragedy struck. a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck during a festival, pinning the doors shut. Everyone was trapped inside. The ceiling collapsed and the bell tower fell. 40 native worshipers and two young bell ringers died. 

In recent years, they have put a lot of money into keeping it stable against other earthquakes. 

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