West Coast Journey: California
First stop- San Juan Bautista.
My first time here was a few years ago and I remembered it as being the creepiest, most obviously haunted place I’ve ever visited. So of course we had to go back. The first time we visited, I remember getting off the highway and driving into the town, between two smallish hills and the very first thing to greet us was an unfenced and very, very old cemetery on a looming hill. The tiny town, though full of cutish boutiques and antique shops in old western buildings, seemed completely uninhabited, including the mission and the main strip. It was the time of year when California’s country sides are mostly golden and hot looking. I swear I remember vultures circling our car. We left without stopping.
This time around, however, was completely different. The drive up was rather misty, and the hills were all green and everything was very awake. There are loads and loads of wild flowers everywhere. The mission itself was full of tourists and there were wild roosters and chickens roaming around, crowing. It was really very romantic actually.
One of my favorite things about the California Mission architecture is the graceful sturdiness of the arches. They’re fluid and very, very solid all at once. Creamy. Ancient. Definitely holy.
And then of course there is that incredible shade of aqua that you see in Mexican colonial architecture. YUM.
The town itself was bustling, cherry blossoms were in full bloom, the little league game was in full swing. Unfortunately we were on a time constraint. We had to get to San Francisco in time for delicious dinner- Okonomiyaki at Izumiya in Japantown!
Next stop: San Francisco!
Most of this part of the trip revolved around food. Literally. We planned out our meals and then figured out what we might be able to do in between eating. Holy smokes we found more aqua!
The color combination was actually the inspiration for our kitchen when we lived at California and Laguna in SF, which I can’t find photos of. But here’s a cute picture to contemplate:
Craft that!
