Second discovery: Big diesel trucks do not maneuver easily around San Clemente.
Third discovery: You may have the address of the San Clemente Pier in the GPS, but because you cannot drive out onto the pier, it is an "unreachable location".
Other than my getting out the door about 45 minutes later than our intended time of departure, the day went well.
First stop: Mission San Luis Rey.
From the brochure:
"The name of this, the 18th of the California Missions, is Spanish: "San Luis Rey de Francia" this is St. Luis the King of France, who ruled in the 13th century.
The purpose of the 21 California Missions was to claim the land for Spain and to bring Christianity to the Native Americans. Of all the missions, San Luis Rey was, and is, the largest.......It is one of only two mission churches built in the shape of a cross."
This is the main altar. The top center sculpture depicts San Luis Rey. To the left is Archangel Michael and to the right is Archangel Raphael. These statues date from the mid 18th century. The central crucifix is from Nicaragua and also dates to the 18t century. It was brought to the mission in the late 1890s by the Franciscans from Zacatecas, Mexico. The statutes on the lower right and left are of Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This is one of the side altars which are unique to San Luis Rey as devotional areas. The statues from left to right are Mater Dolorosa (the Sorrowful Mother), Saint Francis of Assisi (founder of the Franciscan order) and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
This is other other side altar. On the left is Saint Francis Xavier and on the right is Saint Anthony. The middle sculpture is referred to as "Ecce Homo". The statute is currently being restored and depicts the suffering Christ just before his crucifixion. You can see a picture of it here: Ecce Homo San Luis Rey
The Madonna Chapel
There was some beautiful art work here but no flashes were allowed and the photos I took did not turn out.
Here are some pictures from the museum.
Some of the original bells of the mission.
A traditional Franciscan habit.
This is a physician's kit. A little spooky, if you ask me.
The kitchen
Vestments - such intricate work!
A huge hymnal!
Various doll depictions of Mother Mary.
Brandy! Sorry Kim, it's empty.
Entrance to the Cemetery. I don't think I have ever seen a skull and crossbones except on a pirate ship or a teeshirt.
Very cool connecting fountains.
There are currently about 50 people who live full time at the Mission, including priests, brothers/friars, and teachers at the mission school next door. This is me in front of the residence area.
The oldest pepper tree in California is here at Mission San Luis Rey. Seeds were given to Fr. Peyri in 1830 from a sailor from Peru.
A pretty plant in bloom in what was once the private courtyard of the friars. Medicinal herbs and plants were grown here.
Next stop: San Clemente.....or not. The intention was to go walk the pier and spend some time on the beach. My not being ready on time put a hamper on this excursion. And as noted above, the narrow streets of San Clemente and limited parking, would have made it difficult even if we had time to stop. Kim let me know, as a long time commercial fisherman, he had walked plenty of piers in his lifetime so we could just move on. I guess that settles it. I'd been on the pier before, so I didn't argue.
Next stop: Dana Point. We decided to take the scenic route up Hwy 1. I don't think they start calling it PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) until you get to Dana Point, but it did take us along the water, so I was happy. We were happy to see our good friend and one time employer of mine, Dr Steven Farmer. We had such a good time catching up that I totally spaced and forgot to get any pictures. Steven is a world renown author, Soul Healer, shamanic practitioner and spiritual teacher. Check him out at Earth Magic with Dr. Steven Farmer
Although we could have stayed to visit for at least 2 more hours, it was time to head back down to Escondido and beat the traffic. We saw an easily accessible WalMart in Oceanside on Hwy 76 where we wanted to stop to restock on bottled water and to get a hose nozzle. We were going to get fuel, but diesel was priced at $4.49 a gallon - YIKES! We still have a little over a quarter of a tank, so I think we will keep looking.
Tomorrow - Kim gets a day off. Betsy gets to go to the San Diego Museum of Art at Balboa Park with her friend Leila.
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