Mission San Juan Capistrano

6/30/10 Front entrance.

6/30/10 Front entrance.

6/30/10 Front entrance.

6/30/10 Front entrance.

6/30/10 Front entrance.

6/30/10 Front Garden. Clockwise, left to right: Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae), Roses, Geranium (potted), and Statice (Limonium perezii).

6/30/10 Birds of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) along walkway to South Wing. Front Garden.

6/30/10 Fountain/raised pond in the front garden. Ruins of the Great Stone Church in the background.

6/30/10 A curious Koi, raised pond, Front Garden.

6/30/10 Koi in raised pond, Front garden.

6/30/10 Koi in raised pond, Front garden.

6/30/10 Fountain/raised pond in the front garden.

6/30/10 Wandflower (Gaura lindheimeri) and Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha). Front Garden.

6/30/10 Gil looking giddy at the fountain/raised pond in the front garden.

6/30/10 Wandflower (Gaura lindheimeri) and Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha). Front Garden. South Wing in backdrop.

6/30/10 Founding Document. From the brochure: "Mission San Juan Capistrano, the seventh mission in a chain of twenty-one, was founded November 1, 1776 by Father Junipero Serra. The bronze replica shows the items needed for the founding of the mission. Please note Father Serra's ornate and unique signature."

6/30/10 Front Garden at South Wing.

6/30/10 Front Garden. Solder's Barracks in backdrop, South Wing to the right.

6/30/10 "Resurgum," entry to Central Courtyard. South Wing.

6/30/10 Gil perusing the bronze replica of the Founding Document.

6/30/10 Fountain/raised pond in the front garden.

6/30/10 Ruins of the Great Stone Church. From the brochure: "Begun in 1797, the Church took nine years to build. On the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1812, an earthquake struck during morning Mass. The walls crumbled and the domes caved in, killing 42 Indian worshippers. The church was never rebuilt. A stabilization project was completed in 2004."

6/30/10 Front Garden, at South Wing.

6/30/10 Bell Wall. From the brochure: "The bells originally hung in the bell tower of the Great Stone Church until the earthquake of 1812. The two large bells are recast of the original that date back to 1796. The small bells date back to 1804. Bells were important to early Mission life, and called the community to meals, religious services, work, funerals, the sighting of a supply ship or a returning padre and for recreation purposes."

6/30/10 In commemoration of their visit to the Mission when President and Mrs. Nixon rang the bells here on March 22, 1969.