California Trip Continued: An Amazing Mission in San Juan Bautista
I am not a religious person at all, though sometimes events at my job, this country's politics, or the state of the world in general makes me wish I were. Given that, I'm not surprised that I was awed by an old Catholic mission in the rustic village of San Juan Bautista, California, that Laurie introduced me to on our West Coast trip.
According to my good friend Wikipedia (I am such a bad librarian for using this site, but whatever), 15 missions were built by the Spanish in California before it was annexed to the United States, and the largest one is San Juan Bautista, located about an hour northeast from Monterey. The mission served as both a religious center and a barracks for Spanish soldiers. Interestingly, it also served as a backdrop for parts of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo.
The barracks, a regal old church, a long-defunct inn, and a number of other buildings are set around a large grass square. It gives San Juan Bautista mission the atmosphere of an Old West town at the turn of the 20th century, or at least what I'd imagine one to be like.
The shady corridor around the barracks, and an old church pew for relaxation.
A small garden on the grounds, which pre-dates the invention of the letter "U."
The entrance to one of two churches on the mission's grounds (this was the one that happened to be open on the day we went).
As a pretty much non-practicing Jewish person, I haven't set foot in many churches in my life; for the most part, only what I've seen at my friends' weddings. But I've seen the inside of enough churches to recognize this one as spectacular.
Suffice it to say, unless it's God calling, cell phones never are answered here.
Aside from the main sanctuary, which I believe is essentially unchanged from when it was built in 1797, some of the inner rooms of the church were open to view.
I found the old Latin hymn book to be, again, awe-inspiring.
Some other interesting features on the grounds:
Wow. I can easily see why this site was so appealing to the producers of an Alfred Hitchcock film.
A great hall, which also seems like something straight out of the set of a movie.
On a Tuesday morning, San Juan Bautista definitely had the atmosphere of an Old West ghost town. It was eerily, and blissfully, quiet.
The mission borders a vast, open valley that makes for quite a vista point, particularly when you can see the fog over the mountains.
I probably was not the first person to stand in this spot and hear the Little House on the Prairie theme playing full-blast in my head.
"Do or do not; there is no try."
Outside the mission's grounds, the town of San Juan Bautista is every bit as rustic and Old West-ish.
It was definitely strange to drive these streets in my brother's almost-futuristic Toyota Prius. San Juan Bautista seems like the kind of town that should be explored in a yellow, rusted, forty-year-old Ford F-100. In any event, it was nice to enjoy the time warp sensation--and wonderful, wonderful quiet--of an old Spanish mission for an hour or two.
According to my good friend Wikipedia (I am such a bad librarian for using this site, but whatever), 15 missions were built by the Spanish in California before it was annexed to the United States, and the largest one is San Juan Bautista, located about an hour northeast from Monterey. The mission served as both a religious center and a barracks for Spanish soldiers. Interestingly, it also served as a backdrop for parts of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo.
The barracks, a regal old church, a long-defunct inn, and a number of other buildings are set around a large grass square. It gives San Juan Bautista mission the atmosphere of an Old West town at the turn of the 20th century, or at least what I'd imagine one to be like.
The shady corridor around the barracks, and an old church pew for relaxation.
A small garden on the grounds, which pre-dates the invention of the letter "U."
The entrance to one of two churches on the mission's grounds (this was the one that happened to be open on the day we went).
As a pretty much non-practicing Jewish person, I haven't set foot in many churches in my life; for the most part, only what I've seen at my friends' weddings. But I've seen the inside of enough churches to recognize this one as spectacular.
Suffice it to say, unless it's God calling, cell phones never are answered here.
Aside from the main sanctuary, which I believe is essentially unchanged from when it was built in 1797, some of the inner rooms of the church were open to view.
I found the old Latin hymn book to be, again, awe-inspiring.
Some other interesting features on the grounds:
Wow. I can easily see why this site was so appealing to the producers of an Alfred Hitchcock film.
A great hall, which also seems like something straight out of the set of a movie.
On a Tuesday morning, San Juan Bautista definitely had the atmosphere of an Old West ghost town. It was eerily, and blissfully, quiet.
The mission borders a vast, open valley that makes for quite a vista point, particularly when you can see the fog over the mountains.
I probably was not the first person to stand in this spot and hear the Little House on the Prairie theme playing full-blast in my head.
"Do or do not; there is no try."
Outside the mission's grounds, the town of San Juan Bautista is every bit as rustic and Old West-ish.
It was definitely strange to drive these streets in my brother's almost-futuristic Toyota Prius. San Juan Bautista seems like the kind of town that should be explored in a yellow, rusted, forty-year-old Ford F-100. In any event, it was nice to enjoy the time warp sensation--and wonderful, wonderful quiet--of an old Spanish mission for an hour or two.