THE Trip, THE Encore' :: San Juan Bautista State Park Museum, San Juan Bautista, California

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

April 11, 2013

We approached the Visitor's Center at the San Juan Bautista State Historic Park at closing time.  The ranger on duty was kind enough to let us rush through before she locked up.  No, we did not get to take our time, but, we did get to see it, rushed tho it may be.  So, I fired up Sony Too and we ran through and ya know, we still enjoyed!

A register for the Plaza Hotel, wouldn't you just love finding your ancestor's names on such a register??  I know I would!

Recreated dining area.  On the menu:  Mutton Chops, 40 cents.  Sirlion Steak With Mushrooms, 70 cents.  Oysters, 1/2 doz 40 cents.  Man will have the steak AND the oysters.

Yes, another cubby hole desk.  Not as dramatic as the one on the last post, but, hey, this would do too!

Another Hotel Register.  You may notice, as I did, that this register has been "re-bound" with modern, plastic self binding combs.  Originally, I thought this was an original document, but, now suspect it is a photocopy done for display, retaining the original in a safe place where no further damage can occur.  I hope.

Where the boys spent their evenings, the bar, billiards table, and in the background a card table. Let the games begin - - 

Several wine or spirits kegs, an old photo, a clock, and a flower in the window standing in the bright sunshine, a glowing memory of times past.

Trunks, bonnets, tapestry satchels, I hear stories screaming to be told.  (And, I LOVE the curved topped trunks, I have one at home in the stick built.)

The museum and the entire complex of the San Juan Mission and State Historical Park were delightful, the collections well displayed and they sure covered many subjects.  What a wonderful day!




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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: San Juan Bautista State Historic Park

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

April 11, 2013

In conjunction with the Old Mission San Juan Bautista there is a State Historical Park.  The state park contains four main historic museums: the Plaza Hotel, the Zanetta House/Plaza Hall, the Plaza Stables, the Castro-Breen Adobe, as well as a blacksmith shop, the historic jail, and an early American settler’s cabin.   We did not visit the Castro-Breen Adobe building, but, managed to see most of the rest.

This is "Vicky's Cottage.  Originally it was the Wells Fargo office, during the 1870's it was a dress shop, next it became a house for employees for the Zanetta Hotel.  In 1933 Victoria Zanetta moved in here after she sold the hotel to the state park system.  She lived here until her death in 1950.

Behind the Plaza Hall building there are a number of displays in the stables, the collection is extensive!  Including, yes, indeed, the beer wagon!

I had no idea there were so many different shapes and sizes of horse and/or oxen shoes.

Buckets all lined up for fighting fires.  Love the colors in this one.

Man and HoboBob inspected all the mechanical stuff, as well as how buildings were put together.  They solved many problems during the day.

In side the Plaza Hotel/Hall there were more very nice displays, love this bedroom and that shawl.  Oh, my!

Children's room, filled with toys, games, dolls, beds, and would you look at that stove?  WANT!

And, then, there is this DESK!  I have never seen one quite like it.  Wouldn't it make a great genie desk? Drawers and crankies everywhere, EVEN, under the desk top.  And, it all folds up for traveling??  Hmmm, Man, would this fit in Tana??  JUST KIDDIN!

High on a far wall in one of the rooms I spied this frame.  Inside, I believe is Victorian hair art.  While researching for this post, I discovered there is a Hair Museum in Independence Missouri, who knew? From the web site I learned that "Families build their hair wreaths in a horseshoe shape so that more could be added as the family grew."  Well, this is in the shape of a horseshoe - -

(Oh, and while you are snooping around Lelia's web site, be sure to click on the Gallery tab!)

And, thanks to Sony Too, a close up.  Top left, sure looks like hair to me!

The settler's cabin.

The Visitors center also has a nice collection of artifacts, some of which I will share with you next time.




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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Old Mission San Juan Bautista, San Juan Bautista California.

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

April 11, 2013

San Juan Bautista, where to begin?  It is a place of religion and much history. You can read about the history of the Mission here at their official web site.

The cornerstone was laid in 1803, the mission was dedicated in 1812 (although interior work continued till 1817).

This is a El Camino Real bell. You can also see it in the photo above.  That is pronounced, reeeee al (in Carol pronunciation).  The story of the El Camino Real is found at this Wikipedia page.  It is an interesting piece of California history.

The museum occupies rooms that were the padre's living quarters and the work areas for the Native Americans.  This area is quite large and extensive, art decorates the wall of one of the rooms.

This beautiful collection of baskets and food storage containers was behind glass, a photography challenge.  They are exquisite, I was delighted with the capture so I could share with you.

The "kitchen", also behind glass, photo shot through a window. The kitchen served 1,200 people three meals a day.  This photo only shows a portion of the kitchen.  That is ONE huge fireplace.  Almost a walk in, many cook pots going all at the same time. 1,200 meals going at once. That is a bunch of food!  Hard to imagine, amazing.

This music room had some beautiful pieces, including the sheet music, open, waiting for a skilled musician to sit down and play - -

But, what is this?  Sony Too and I did a huge zoom and found, a bug, looks a bit like a cricket?

In the beautiful gardens:

The entire complex in graphic mode, including the Mission, museum and the State Park can be seen in this photo, can be found at the web site GeologyCafe.com.  Take a moment and click over to the image, it is very interesting.  Pay attention to the El Camino Real, the San Andreas Fault and the Old Mission building and how they all line up and relate to each other.  You can stand at the edge of the fault and look down on the land next to the mission.  Like standing on a cliff.

The cemetery lies on "the north side of the church  and contains the remains of over 4,000 Christian Native Americans and Europeans." (Quote found here.)  As far as I could tell only one grave was marked, the rest were white crosses, not 4,000 crosses tho.

Inside the church:

This is just a flavor of the mission, if you happen to be in the area, do visit, it is quite amazing.

In the immediate vicinity there is also the San Juan Bautista State Historic Park which contains four main historic museums: the Plaza Hotel, the Zanetta House/Plaza Hall, the Plaza Stables, the Castro-Breen Adobe, as well as a blacksmith shop, the historic jail, and an early American settler’s cabin. .  We visited some of the state park while we were there, I'll share a bit with you soon.




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