Greeting Friends from Laguna Hills, California! Dad is doing soooo much better, it's hard to believe he was teetering on death 5 short weeks ago. We had a lovely outing yesterday to San Juan Capistrano where we enjoyed the sunshine, lunch in the courtyard of Sarducci's & a little stroll in the Old Town district of Los Rios Street on the other side of the train tracks. Isn't this photograph fabulous of the Capistrano Depot in 1895...I ADORE the dress!
This is the same building 115 years later, can you see the courtyard? That's where Dad & I sat & had our lunch next to the center fountain, while a couple of little, hot sparrows braved the crowd & took a leisurely bath. Watching these little birds that have been visiting the Mission every summer for centuries is such a joy, they always make me smile.
The Cliff Swallow is a migratory bird that spends its winters in Goya, Argentina, but makes the 6,000 mile trek north to our warmer climate in springtime. According to legend, the birds first took refuge at the Mission after an irate innkeeper began destroying their mud nests. The Mission's location near two rivers made it an ideal location for the swallows to nest, as there was a constant supply of the insects on which they feed, and the young birds were well-protected inside the ruins of the old stone church.
As one walks along the Los Rios Historic District of San Juan, you get a glimpse of Capistrano's past and the oldest residential street in California. The adobe houses were built here in 1794 by the builders & the ranch hands of the Mission. To walk this street is to recapture the tranquillity of the slower pace of life that existed before the turn of the century and before. It was not long ago that the streets were still dirt. Willow trees grow among eucalyptus and palm. Cactus and wildflowers grow beneath sprays of bougainvillea.
So friends, if you ever get a chance to visit beautiful Mission San Juan Capistrano, don't forget to go to the depot & wander over to the other side of the tracks. History & serenity await you there, along with the soft mellow sound of Mission bells. A day to remember for us both I think!
