Myself, wearing a black cowboy hat, black Mexican Tourist jacket with green design, white peasant top, blue jeans, standing in front of the mission.

Retracing Zorro’s Escapades at Mission San Luis Rey

January 25, 2023, 2 Comments

Before we get going, I want to say that it is important to remember that the California missions have complicated histories. For some, they were and remain a place of peace, with memories of weddings and other life events, however, they also have a history of violence, slavery, and forced religious conversion, which aided in the…

Mission San Gabriel

April 30, 2018, 2 Comments

UPDATE: It is important to remember that while California Missions have been hailed as places of peace, they also have deep and complicated histories, including slavery, violence, and forced religious conversion. I recommend reading this article that further describes the problematic history of Mission San Gabriel. I love me a twofer – and that is…

Mission Santa Barbara

May 17, 2016, 10 Comments

UPDATE: It is important to remember that while California Missions have been hailed as places of peace, they also have deep and complicated histories, including slavery, violence, and forced religious conversion. Over the weekend Patrick and I drove up the coast and crossed another one of California’s Missions off of the list, Mission Santa Barbara,…

Mission San Juan Capistrano

June 18, 2015, 8 Comments

UPDATE: It is important to remember that while California Missions have been hailed as places of peace, they also have deep and complicated histories, including slavery, violence, and forced religious conversion. One of my favorite things about California history is that of the Spanish missions. It is a goal of mine to visit each of…

Mission San Juan Bautista

August 24, 2014, 12 Comments

UPDATE: It is important to remember that while California Missions have been hailed as places of peace, they also have deep and complicated histories, including slavery, violence, and forced religious conversion. After securing our apartment and spending time in Disneyland, we headed back north, stopping at Mission San Juan Bautista. I had visited this mission back…

California’s First Mission – Mission San Diego de Alicalá

July 20, 2014, 2 Comments

UPDATE: It is important to remember that while California Missions have been hailed as places of peace, they also have deep and complicated histories, including slavery, violence, and forced religious conversion. Having visited 99% of the shops I wanted to go to, my fourth full day in San Diego was spent exploring the city on…

Mission Dolores

May 9, 2012, 3 Comments

UPDATE: It is important to remember that while California Missions have been hailed as places of peace, they also have deep and complicated histories, including slavery, violence, and forced religious conversion. My last stop on this trip to San Francisco was Mission Dolores. It was on our way back to the airport, and so Patrick…