Started off this morning with a visit to Mission San
Gabriel. Though it is part of an active
parish, they hold most church services and functions in the newer section next
door to the original complex. There are
some church services still held in the old chapel, but we were able to tour that
in between masses. The rest of the old
mission is preserved, not used.
The gardens in this mission were more “realistic” to the old days, because they had various fruit trees, olive trees, and other food plants instead of the decorative meditation gardens that are in most missions we’ve seen. The best of the gardens was the grape arbor, which was home to several impressive specimens of Claret grapes planted in 1774. These were the mother-vines to many of the grapes planted at the other missions, and they are still growing! They looked more like grape trees, with trunks bigger than many actual trees in the garden.
Also of interest in the gardens were some orange trees,
Valencia type, that were clones of the original mission oranges - the very oldest oranges in California. The University of California discovered some
orange trees not far from the mission that, when they were tested, had the same
DNA as the mission oranges would have.
However, the orange trees at the mission had died, so the “rediscovered”
oranges were propagated and planted at the mission.
The very best part of the mission was talking with “Santa
John.” Santa John is a volunteer, but
not just any volunteer. He more or less
single handedly revamped the mission’s museum, discovering in the process all
sorts of wonderful artifacts and artwork that had been placed in their storage
for decades or centuries, and putting those pieces on display for everyone to
enjoy. He shared with us a great wealth
of information, and was fun to talk to, as well. In case you’re wondering, he’s called Santa
John because he is a registered member of the national bearded Santas
association.
Several hours of wandering the grounds and museum later, we
began biking. Today was supposed to be
our flattest (and therefore easiest) day… but it wasn’t. We biked all day into a headwind: when we
changed courses mid-ride from due south to due south-east, the wind shifted
with us (or rather, against us).
We stopped for a late lunch in Seal Beach. All my old favorites have shut down, so we
tried the Old City Café on Main Street.
I had a huge stack of blueberry pancakes, which were absolutely loaded
with fresh blueberries, plus a side of eggs and cottage cheese (all for a great
price, too!). Not only were the portions generous and the price good, it was
delicious.
After lunch we biked along the beach (still into the wind)
to the campground in Newport Beach. It
is called the Newport Dunes Resort, and it is quite a large and classy facility
for a campground. However, as tent
camping goes, its one of the worst I’ve seen so far. It is designed as an RV campground, but they
said they had tent spots too, which is what I reserved. But their “tent sites” are actually just
standard RV sites, and unlike other RV sites we’ve used, it’s very short and
narrow and only hard packed dirt (no grass), so there wasn’t really room for
the truck, trailer and either (much less both) of the tents. We managed to (barely) squeeze into the site,
and I am sure glad that we all have quality air mats for beds.
For dinner, I went out with old friends, and my parents went
out to Gina’s Pizza in Newport Beach which they highly recommend for their
fresh and quality ingredients.
Today’s route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3190235
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