San Juan Capistrano Mission

Now you will see that we are just an ordinary family trying to enjoy the holidays like anyone else.  We started out this day along the mission trail at...

...LEGOLAND!

I do not have much to say about this as we really just enjoyed the park like our last visit.  However, with a second day free burning a hole in our pockets, we just could not refuse the opportunity.  So, we enjoyed their winter version of the park...only staying for four hours before moving on to the next mission.

San Juan Capistrano is probably the most well known of the missions due to the annual migration of the swallows.  Unfortunately, it is also the most commercialized of the missions.  However, that did not take away from its beauty.  We did have a little trouble finding a parking place but once we were set in a good spot we were able to enjoy the mission.

This mission was the 7th of the era and established by Fr. Serra in 1776.  It is dedicated to 15th century Franciscan friar known for his preaching and theology.  The town that surrounds shares in its history and beauty.

The natives of the Acjachemen village helped to build the mission.  Most of the original church is left in ruins; however, the outer walls and a side chapel remain from 1782.  It is the only original chapel where Fr. Serra celebrated Mass.  An attempt to rebuild in 1797 was also destroyed by an earthquake in 1812.  The outer walls of the "Great Stone Church" remain as a reminder of the era.  This mission is known as the "Jewel of the Missions" because of its location and community outreach.

We always knew about the cliff swallows that come to the mission in March.  However, we did not know that they remain here until October.  This was a little disappointing as we could have seen them when we took our first trip to LEGOLAND at that time.  I do not think we will see first hand this extraordinary event that has been documented since 1777.

We were surrounded by many other visitors at this mission.  This was very different than any of our other missions...practically having them to ourselves, so we tried to find our way to the most interesting of places before moving on to other areas.

From the outside, the chapel does not appear to be of any interest, so I started to wonder if the tourist hype was worth its grain in salt.  However, I was amazed when we finally entered the chapel to see its beauty.  It was full of the bling you think of when you think of jewels.  Wow!

A surprise side chapel dedicated to St. Peregrine (patron saint of cancer patients) was just as special.  We were sure to stop and pray for all our family and friends who suffer from these various illness, especially my Aunt Mary.

 Just down the street from the old mission is the modern day basilica.  Michael was able to peak inside the doors long enough to take a couple of pictures.  It was so gorgeous!  I think that I would have a brain overload if I ever went to Mass there.