Mission San Luis Obispo, CA

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa is in the heart of old town SLO. It's the fifth mission and was founded in 1772 by Father Junipero Serra. The church itself is unusual as it is the only "L" shaped church of all the California missions. It has a beautiful plaza with a charming fountain depicting several bears playing in the water. Apparently bears used to be quite abundant in this area many years ago. The grounds around the mission are meticulously maintained and enjoyable to stroll around in. There's also a self-guided tour of the interior rooms in the mission where you can learn more about the local native Indian tribes and their connection to this particular site.

Next stop: Mission San Miguel.

Mission Soledad, CA

Mission Soledad was founded in 1791 by the Franciscan order and is located near the city of Soledad in the Salinas Valley. Surrounded by lush farmland and more recently upscale wineries, Mission Soledad is definitely worth a visit; it's the 13th mission in California's 21 mission chain. One of the chief purposes of this mission was to facilitate travel between Mission San Carlos de Borromeo de Carmelo and Mission San Antonio de Padua, but during its peak years it was a center for livestock - mostly cattle and sheep herds. Unfortunately, it became the victim of numerous floods and was pretty much destroyed and left in a state of disrepair until renovations began in 1954. 

Since this particular mission is a bit off the beaten path, it's not exactly swarming with tourists like some of the other missions are. As we strolled around the immaculate grounds, we really felt a sense of solitude and remoteness.

Next stop: Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.

Mission San Juan Bautista, CA

Charming Mission San Juan Bautista was founded in 1797 by the Franciscan Order. It is the 15th mission and one of the largest in California. It's a popular destination for elementary school children from the neighboring farming communities and is the dominant attraction in the little town of San Juan Bautista. We made a stopover to visit it on our drive down to Morro Bay. There's plenty to see around the lovely grounds as well as inside the church and museum...

Here are a few shots from the downtown area. It was quite sleepy when we were there, but there are several nice looking eateries and quite a few gift shops...

Next stop: Mission Soledad.

Sacramento, CA

After spending a few hours drooling over all the beautifully restored vintage VWs at Bugoram '12, we headed over to Old Town Sacramento and then walked several blocks to the State Capitol. It was hot and sunny and there happened to be a huge musical festival going on the entire weekend, so music was in the air and hoards of people were milling about, but that made it all the more enjoyable. 

Old Town is a National Historic Landmark District and very compact and easy to stroll around. There are tons of gift shops, bars, and restaurants if you're antsy to open your wallet. There is plenty of parking, too, and you can easily walk to the Capitol building from there. The Tower Bridge, a vertical lift bridge, is also adjacent to Old Town, so you can walk across it and peer over the edge down to the lulling waters of the Sacramento River below. The aqua police happened to be in full force that day and were chasing after boaters who were speeding through a reduced speed zone. Naughty, naughty!

So, why don't you put on your cowboy hat and boots and pretend you're back in the gold rush days...

Have you been here lately? You'd better come now and enjoy it while you can. The State is flat broke and who knows, if things don't get better soon, they may decide to close down the Capitol!