San Diego, CA (1/27/2018) & Alpine, CA (1/26/2018)

California has 21 original Spanish missions spread up and down the coast, approximately thirty miles apart.  I've visited a few of them over the years, but this was my first time touring the very first one, Mission Basilica San Diego De Alcala.  Founded in 1769 in a chapel built of sticks, the mission set out to educate and convert the Indians of the area.  Things went well for a while, but the Indians became unhappy about something and attacked the church, killing the priest and burning the building to the ground.

The mission was subsequently re-built of much stronger materials and the rest is history.  It is in a lovely location and displays beautiful gardens.  A recent archeological excavation has uncovered some very early buildings that were used to house visitors.

Original office/bedroom for the priests.

Father Jayme being martyred.

Heavy wall construction.

Main chapel

One of 14 Stations of The Cross.

I also did a quick visit to the Presidio Mission, not one of the original 21, located on Presidio Hill above Old Town.  The grounds are actually part of a park, so very nicely maintained.  I did not take time to go inside this one.

One of the remarkable things about this area is the size of some plants.  In Presidio Park, a cluster of yucca plants has grown incredibly large.

Since it was nearby, I took a ride over to San Diego County Credit Union Stadium, formerly QualComm Stadium.  This was also known as Jack Murphy Stadium at one time.  It was home to the Padres baseball team until they moved to PetCo Field.  The NFL Chargers played here until the team moved to Los Angeles after the 2016 season.  Now its is home only to the San Diego State University Aztecs, but is also used for special events.

Going downtown again, I stopped at Tuna Harbor Park, home berth of the decommissioned USS Midway, a large aircraft carrier.  Having been on several such ships, it was enough to stay on shore and take a few photos.

The park also has some interesting statues, such as one called "Embracing Peace", a larger-than-life sculpture depicting the iconic 1945 image of a sailor planting a kiss on a nurse in Times Square, NYC, when it was announced that WWII was over.  For scale, notice the plaque next to it that is about four feet high.

I also enjoyed a series of bronzes showing Bob Hope delivering his monologue to a group of servicemen.  The memorial includes audio of a few of Bob's monologues that play continuously.

I've taken a break from touring for a few days, so there may be a short lull in the action.  I've had a good stay here in Alpine, despite some surprisingly bad weather.  The latest event was two days of extremely high winds, much like a hurricane without rain.  The people here have been very nice and there are lots of birds around.  Being close to the mountains has made it easy to get up high for scenic vistas.  I'm hoping my next stop will be as good.

Red-tailed hawk

Ladder-back woodpecker

Chipping sparrow

Eurasian starling

Acorn woodpecker

White-crowned sparrow

Mt. Laguna view into Anza-Borrego desert.

Remains of burned out cabin.

La Jolla (1/22/2018) & San Diego (1/24/2018)

Another visit to La Jolla took me to Windansea Beach, famous here as the filming location for the surfing movie, "Endless Summer".  The grass-thatched hut featured in the movie is still here, maintained by the local surfing community.

 I thought the LRJ looked right at home parked in front of those lovely shore-front homes.

 One of many Spanish architecture churches in La Jolla caught my eye.

 It took several tries, but I finally found the Geisel Library on the campus of University of California-San Diego.  I had heard about its distinctive architecture from a local photographer, but I didn't know the story behind it.  Like me, you may not recognize the name "Theodore Geisel", but if you hear the full name, "Theodore Seuss Geisel", you might guess he was the famous Dr. Seuss of children's literature.  Under various pen-names, he authored more than 60 books that have sold more than 600,000,000 copies worldwide.

After serving in WWII, Geisel and his first wife moved to La Jolla.  After she passed away, his second wife (Audrey) made various contributions to UCSD, in particular to the library.  She continued this after his death and the library was re-named to honor both of them.  However, his statue is the one one the library grounds, along with his most famous whimsical character, "The Cat In The Hat".

 Having also heard of a church in La Jolla named "Mary, Star of The Sea", I took time to locate it during my visit.  Outside the building, I found an inscription in the sidewalk dated 1915, presumably when the sidewalk was poured.  Possibly an ancestor who did this kind of work?

On another trip into Old Town San Diego, I took the tour offered by the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.  While photos during the tour were not really practical, I'll show what I have and tell the story I heard.  Somehow, this chapter of American history seems to be omitted from our classes.  Here is the building exterior, made in Spanish Colonial style.

 This "wall" of photographs below is deceiving.  Each photo is actually a video screen and the characters each "come alive" to tell various parts of the story.  The tour progresses through a series of rooms, each designed to emulate a stage of the journey.  All of it is extremely well done.

To sum up the story, Brigham Young had asked President Polk to build a series of way-stops for their journey west.  Polk's response was to invite the Mormons to join the military and help in the Mexican-American War.  Mormon men were reluctant to leave their families, but Young encouraged them to join up, knowing those men who did would be that much closer to their Utah destination, and their pay could help support the journey of others.  So, nearly 500 Mormons signed up, along with some wives and children who were willing and able to performs such chores as laundry, cooking, sewing, etc.  The Army had no uniforms for the men, but gave them a clothing allowance of $42 (around $1300 today).  The Army did not require them to wear uniforms, so the money was used to help the overall group.

Along the 2000 mile march from Iowa to San Diego, the Mormons used their skills to build a road that eased travel for subsequent settlers moving to California.  They never fought a battle, but spent six months helping build the young city of San Diego.  When their enlistment was up, they walked to Salt Lake City, some stopping to work at Sutter's Mill and were there when gold was discovered, starting the 1849 Gold Rush.

 Once again, I went to Sunset Cliffs Beach for a sunset that proved to be less than spectacular.  Still, I thought it was worth my time.

 Afterward, I went back to Coronado and little Bay View Park to get night photos of downtown San Diego.

San Diego, CA (1/22/2018)

Barrio Logan is a neighborhood in south San Diego that has been largely Hispanic since 1910, when refugees from the Mexican Revolution arrived here.  More recently, it is the location of choice for many who have come to the U.S. illegally.  A neighborhood park, Chicano Park, has become the place where art has been used extensively to communicate the thoughts, feelings, protests and memories of the residents.  Since the park is largely underneath the Coronado Bridge, the concrete support piers have been used as the "canvas" for more than 60 murals depicting a variety of messages.  Without speaking Spanish, and with no knowledge of local issues past and present, I am unable to interpret most of them.  However, some are pretty clearly revolutionary in character, while others are simple memorials to loved ones or heroes.  I took lots of photos here, because the artwork is very impressive, but won't overwhelm you with too many of them.

That same day, I visited another type of memorial, the Mount Soledad War Veterans Memorial in La Jolla.  This unique memorial is the only one that honors all veterans of all wars in which the U.S. has been involved with a photo of the veteran on a tile.  Numerous walls are there for tile placement.  I am guessing that the veterans must be/have been local residents, otherwise the number would be more than the memorial could handle.  However, this is not stated in the memorial's description.  Mount Soledad is one of the highest points around, so it provides great views of La Jolla and most of San Diego.

Some readers may remember several travelogues over the years featuring Mormon Temples, particularly those in Utah.  However, the church has more than 160 temples all over the world, including one in San Diego.  Once I learned of it, I was determined to visit and photograph it.  Each temple has unique and spectacular design, and this one certainly lives up to that standard.  Whether you consider it beautiful or garish, you have to agree it is unique and spectacular.  As usual, I made two visits, one in daylight, then again around sunset until dark.,

While there, I met two church elders, Leroy and Janice Dennis.  These lovely people are serving a one-year mission in San Diego, slitting time between the temple's information kiosk and the Mormon Battalion Historic Site in Old Town.  I was so impressed by this couple, I decided to give them one of the photos of the temple.  So, the next day I went to Old Town to show them the photos and let them choose one for their gift.