Windmills

I made small pinwheel hangings for everyone for Easter one year.  This one I kept.  It is hung on the wall behind the Murphy bed.

Mission - San Miguel Arcángel

Another trip to San Luis Obispo gave me a chance to visit two missions. 

On the way down I stopped at San Miguel Arcángel which was established by Padre Buenaventura Sitjar in 1797, on a bluff overlooking the Rio de Monterey (later renamed the Salinas River). 

The original simple church was destroyed by fire in 1806.  The plan and preparation of a new church took ten years.  Construction started in 1816 and was completed in 1818.  

San Miguel is the only mission church that still has the original frescoes on the walls.  Unlike most frescoes they were painted on dry plaster walls by Monterey artist Don Esteban Munras and completed by members of the Salinan Tribe under his direction in 1821.

I visited on January 6th, the Epiphany, so the Christmas decorations were still up.  It was absolutely lovely.

If you visit don't forget to venture down the Shepherd's Walk, there is a great collection of interesting old tools.  For that matter don't skip anything, from the museum at the beginning to the gardens to the priests quarters, it is all beautifully put together and very informative.

 MORE PICTURES

 Mission San Miguel - History
1775 Mission St, San Miguel CA 93451
info@missionsanmiguel.org

Mission San Miguel - Wikipedia
Mission San Miguel - California Mission Foundation
Mission San Miguel - National Park Service

CSHP - Fort Ross

Liam's bear joined us on this visit
to Fort Ross in 2002
part of our California vacation! 

"Perched on the fog-thick bluffs of the Sonoma Coast with the ocean foaming below, Fort Ross seems the perfect location for a ghost story. At its peak occupation, from 1812 to 1841, Fort Ross was the southernmost extension of Russian colonial efforts in North America." 

Fort Ross was established as a trading post by Russians and Alaskan Aleuts in 1812.  It lies just 125 miles north of San Francisco.  It was abandoned in 1842, deemed too hard to maintain due to Mexican claims and American settlers.

Fort Ross State Historic Park   
Fort Ross - Wikipedia 
Atlas Obscura - Fort Ross

Trail Posts: A Literary Exploration of California's State Parks  - Gertrude Atherton creates a dark Russian ghost story, purportedly based on a true event in Fort Ross.

Vineyards

I joined Maura and Melanie at quilt camp a second year.  This was the result....the camp leader didn't like it I'm afraid!  But Greg did, he had chosen the materials for the most part.  We had visited quilt stores on a trip home from Portland.  It was machine quilted with a grape pattern, thus the name.  It is on the hidden bed in the library.

CSB - Pomponio

Another favorite as we wandered about on the San Mateo County coast.

Pomponio State Beach 

Stars

CSP - China Camp

A State Parks Foundation Insider Tour was my first visit to this park in 2018.  It was created around a Chinese Shrimping Village established in 1868. Run by a non-profit, volunteers and paid staff are well versed in the history of the area. The movie Blood Alley with John Wayne was filmed here.   

Located just three miles north of San Rafael, this is a full fledged park, with a "historic park" included.  There are fifteen miles of hiking trails as well as the shrimping village and the wonderful views of the bay and San Francisco.

 China Camp State Park 
Friends of China Camp

China Camp - Wikipedia

Christmas Quilt Bags

Christmas quilts need a place to go after the holiday!