Mission Travelogue: Mission San Juan Bautista

I was out for a drive on a sunny weekend morning with a break between these ferocious storms California has been seeing when I decided to take a hopefully slight detour to visit Mission San Juan Batista.

My original destination was the amazing Monarch Sanctuary in Pacific Grove, California and, of course, the Pacific Ocean.  Can't be that close to the ocean and not spend some time there!

Anyhoo, as I was driving down Highway 101 I saw the sign for the mission pointing down Highway 156 East, so I decided to take it.  It has been awhile since I had a mission trip!

To see my other Mission adventure travelogues, click on the links below:

San Jose Mission (Plus San Jose Sharks hockey & cemeteries!)

San Gabriel Mission in SoCal (and Sights of SoCal!)

Mission San Rafael Arcangel (And toilets on highways!)

The AMAZING Santa Barbara Mission

It's SO AMAZING it needs two posts! Santa Barbara Mission and Rose Garden

And now, to the current mission travelogue, the equally amazing and possibly even more historic than any of the others:  Mission San Juan Bautista!

In the next three photos, you will see a pretty unique statue.  In researching, I found that many sites report this statue as being of a Native American, which is reasonable because it is mostly naked and also because this mission once housed a large population of Native Americans of the Ohlone and Yokuts tribes. 

There are some sites which report this as being a statue of John the Baptist, for whom the mission and town surrounding it were named - En español, Juan el Bautista.

Although I haven't found any definitive statements on the statue, I think the bible verses that are engraved into the base of the statue do indicate that it is John the Baptist as three of the four refer directly to him. 

Luke 1: 78-79
Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which Sunrise from on high will visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.

Matthew 3: 1-3

Now in those days, John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." 

For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."

John 1: 6-9

There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.  He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.  He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.  There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

Mark 1: 4-5

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 

This next photo is really cool.  

I was standing on the actual El Camino Real AND the San Andreas Fault when I took it!  

Turns out, the old "King's Highway" is still in it's natural form right beside the mission.  The mission actually sits on a low plateau, created by the San Andreas Fault, and the road is still used (mostly by joggers and walkers).  I walked a short way along it, but I want to go back and walk further.   

The next photo shows the obligatory statue of Father Junipero Serra along with the outside entrance and sign to the cemetery.  This gate is now locked and the only way to view the cemetery is to go through the church.

The ghost of Father Junipero Serra was watching me...

This is the view of the cemetery from the front gate.  I assume by the chain that this gate is opened sometimes.

I asked if it was okay to go inside and someone said "Sure!" so I did.  But, as I was walking around looking at the alters, suddenly a priest stood up and began speaking. He then called a couple to the front and began a wedding service!  

Yes, I am a wedding crasher!  But I didn't crash the reception.  Haha!

As I previously mentioned, the only way into the cemetery when I visited was through a door inside the church.  But it, too, was chained so that you could only walk out about 5 feet.  The cemetery looks out over the Camino Real and the San Benito River flood plain.

There are at least 30 ancient olive trees shading the cemetery. 

Among the 4,000 Native Americans buried here is Ascension Solorsano, the last full-blood Mutsun Indian.  She was a historian and worked to preserve the language and stories of her people.  This is a really fascinating story of an opera made about her.

The entire church is very brightly colored in keeping with the Native communities who lived and worked there.

Like most missions, there is beauty outside as well.  Mission San Juan Bautista has a very large, beautiful garden filled with cacti and statuary.

This bust is of the founding Friar Fermin Lasuen.

San Juan Bautista has a history of feral chickens. I found this one in the mission garden. 

The museum was very comprehensive and had a lot of old artifacts, many used at the mission in the 1800s.  These are some vestments from around the world that were used there are one time. 

The mission became known as the "Mission of Music" after Padre Esteban Tapis, who was the president of the Spanish missions in California, retired to San Juan Bautista.

The Spaniards and Native Americans shared a love of music and Father Esteban formed a boys choir that was renowned.  Some of his original music books are in the museum.

Such a beautiful and fascinating mission!  I really need to go back to see some of the things I missed.  

The mission has an original Spanish-era plaza, surrounded by more original 1800s buildings, some of which now comprise the San Juan Bautista Plaza Historic District.  

I snapped some quick photos of the buildings...

...but will definitely include time in my future visit for some serious exploration.  

Maybe I'll see you there!

xoxo

Nikon D3300

Taphophile Tour - Sacramento Old City Cemetery Part II

Part II - More Flowers, Birds, and General Cemetery Beauty

This photo is just a different crop of the uncropped photo the above was taken from.  As we know, I love  bokeh and the bokeh in the background were just simply perfect.  So I wanted to include it.

Sometimes colorful leaves are as beautiful as flowers.  And serve as a distraction from the inherent sadness for the child's tombstone in the background.

Classical tombs and monuments lend a magnificence to the landscape.

Gorgeous pink.  I love the vines and the blue and black pattern in the center is just lovely.  I wish I was able to get a clearer shot.

 Tiny...delicate...but oh so detailed blue flowers.

And speaking of blue...who in their right mind named this gorgeous boy a "scrub" jay? Definitely not a scrub.

Staying with birds for a moment.  This woodpecker was tormenting me.  I spent probably 40 minutes following it around and trying to get a clear shot.  It always moved at the very last second.  And then I'd try to follow it and the whole shot would get blurred.

Woodpecker: 1  Jeanette: 0

Woodpecker: 2  Jeanette: 0

Woodpecker: 3  Jeanette: 0

Game, set, match.

Another (or maybe the same) dazzling scrub jay.

Such a stunning be-columned chapel-like tomb.

This is one of my favorites.   Such a glorious shade of purple complimented by the intricate scrolling of the grave fence.

 Such pleasing bokeh!

Another cool bee shot!  #SaveTheBees This shot has almost everything I love about flower photography.  Vibrant colors, sharp contrast, bokeh, and an awesome surprise subject.

Whilst meandering, I spied this cool tree root framing a plant. Nature is amazing.

This is probably my favorite statue in the cemetery.  The headless woman is a very close second.

One bonus to being a photographer...I seem to look at things in a different light when my camera is around.  Tiny flowers in the grass, while pleasing as a passing thought, are now noticed for their true beauty and intricacy. While even the grass is viewed in a new light.

Eschscholzia Californica - California Poppy, out State flower.

These glorious roses have interesting symbolism.  Death (left) and rebirth.

The back and front of a while daffodil.

One one side of the cemetery, where I almost never see anyone, there are some Japanese graves.  Unfortunately, in the past, this cemetery has fallen victim to disrespectful assholes who have vandalized some of the gravestones.

Some gravestones have simply succumbed to time and the elements.

More broken headstones...  The handshake on this stone likely means "welcome to the afterlife" or it could be a sign of matrimony.

This is the aforementioned lady without a head statue.  I just love this entire plot.  It's remarkably memorable.  And it holds some special memories for me.  ;-)

Purple flowers against purple bokeh.

I love tulips.

One reason I love cemeteries is that they inspire me to learn.  Seeing this pristine gravestone of a military man made me want to learn more about the ship he served on.  She was one of three with that name. Fascinating.

See more below...

USS Genesee (AT-55), formerly Monocacy, was a fleet tug in the U.S. Navy in World War I and World War II built in 1905. She was scuttled on 5 May 1942 at Corregidor to avoid capture. Nevertheless, she was raised by the Japanese and designated as Patrol Boat No. 107. She was sunk by American planes on 5 November 1944.

Plum blossoms.

Here's that horse again...but from the other side, it is nicely framed by other stones.  I learned during the course of this post that horse statues/imagery on graves can be indicative of how the person died.

If the horse is rearing with two feet in the air, it means it's rider died in battle. If the horse has one hoof raised, it means that the rider died from injuries sustained in battle.  All four hooves on the ground means natural causes.

A touching tribute to a beloved wife and mother.

For some reason, I really like this one.

After traversing the entire two cemeteries (as my previous post mentioned, there are really two cemeteries but they seem as one), the sun was going down.  After I took this photo, I noticed a sign that stated the gates closed at 4:30 p.m.  It was freaking 5:40!

I couldn't believe it. And the damn sign was not on the main road, but rather in one of the plots with just a small trail.  You would think they would have posted that information on the actual road!

I raced to my car.  Got in.  Drove to the gate.

Closed and locked.

I found it hard to believe that it was the only gate because there are several roads that look like they connect.  Nope.  This one road was just a loop. It ran parallel to one of the roads in the main cemetery, but did not connect.  What. The. Hell.

I parked and raced across the hilly half mile to where the main gate is located.  I figured that was my best chance to get out even if I couldn't get my car out.

When I was almost there, I spotted a car driving slowly towards me.  I had seen this same car several times throughout the day.  It was a security guard.  He pulled up and asked me if that was my car locked in the "other" cemetery.  He said the guard had come over and asked him if he knew whose care it was before she locked the gate, but he said there were too many  people there to guess.

Sucks to be me.

Basically I had to leave my car there overnight and my bestie came and picked me up.  LOL  Only me, I swear.

Good times!

xoxo