The Rock Coffee Shop & Cafe*, Brawley, CA
The sign to the right says it all -- the San Diego Mission (Mission San Diego de Alcala) was the first, on 16 July 1769, of the 21 Spanish Missions in California; the last was the Sonoma Mission, which was founded on 4 July 1823.
As you can see from the sign, the San Diego Mission is still used for masses. Not shown are the Tow-Away warnings, which are needed because Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Padres is less than a mile to the west on Friars Rd/Mission Gorge Rd.
A plaque to Luis Jayme, who on 5 November 1775 greeted indians bent on mayhem with his usual greeting, "Love God, my children." The first California martyr, his remains are in the sanctuary of the mission.
I'm not sure whether this is the 5th building on this site or the 5th building in San Diego. The grates on the wall to the right contain scuptures of some of the other missions as well as key figures at those missions.
Good thing I didn't park my camper on this level or it would have obscured some to the porch or veranda under the tiled roof, which is clearly visible over these passenger cars.
California State Historical Landmark #242 names the Founding Fathers of the first mission: Junipero Serra, Juan Viscaino, and Fernando Perron; it also notes that the mission was moved from Presidio Hill to the present location in August 1774.
A replica of the bicentennial plaque presented to Father Serra's hometown, Petra De Mallorca, Spain, in 1969.
Bet you didn't know there was an organization of female descendants of those who served in the War of 1812.
The padres who used El Camino Real would be surprised indeed that what was essentially a rural wagon road is now more often than not a 4-lane street or freeway in heavily-urbanized areas of California.
A close-up of the mission's bell tower, where, if memory serves, one bell cast in 1825 is still in use.
Another look at the bell tower. [Note the moon at about 1 o'clock above the mission.]
I don't know how many other missions have schools run by various groups of sisters, but my hometown of Santa Cruz has an elementary school called Holy Cross still operating next to the replica of the mission there.
A recounting of the construction at the mission as well as an explanation of the statues in the niches along the front corridor: they are replicas of the nine missions which Father Serra founded.
A view of the mission's door through what are clearly drought-tolerant plants. [Click 1 or 2 times to zoom in on the insignia above the door.]
Note the gnarled pepper tree on the right, towering above an exhibit of some indian handiwork -- and more drought-tolerant plants. [OK, so they're cacti!]
Somewhat younger pepper trees surrounding a fountain in the inner court-yard.
While I can't immediately recall any of the other 11 missions I've photographed with second stories, there is clearly a second story here at the San Diego Mission.
Unfortunately, this was the last shot I could take without downloading all of the photos to my laptop. If memory serves, it's a sculpture of the Thirteen Station? of the Cross. [See Links below.]
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[* Since the Brawley, CA, Library has no WiFi I talked one of the fellows into letting me use their WiFi even though I did not buy anything. (Incidentally, the word "Rock" in their name does not come from a type of music but rather from a Biblical quotation from Matthew 7:25.)]
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Links:
- Wikipedia article on San Diego Mission
- Mission San Diego's history
- Explanation of the Stations of the Cross
- Whikpedia article on San Diego
- Wikipedia article on Brawley, CA
T 7 Feb Actual Route: Lake Cahuilla Park - Rancho Mirage - Palm Springs - Joshua Tree Natl Pk - Cottonwood CG [CLOSED] - Cottonwood Sprs Rd
W 8 Feb Actual Route: Cottonwood Sprs Rd - Indio - Mecca - Salton Sea Rec Area (Corvina Beach)
Th 9 Feb Actual Route: Corvina Beach (Salton Sea) - Bombay Beach - Red Hill Marina
F 10 Feb Actual Route: Red Hill Marina - Calipatria - Brawley - Wiest Lake County Park
Sa 11 Feb Actual Route: Wiest Lake - Brawley - Wiest Lake
Su 12 Actual Feb Route: Wiest Lake
M 13 Feb Actual Route: Wiest Lake - Calipatria - Red Hill Marina
T 14 Feb Route: Red Hill Marina - Calipatria - Brawley - El Centro
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Finding Campgrounds:
- RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
- Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
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