San Juan Bautista, CA

We reluctantly left Pismo Beach, CA, after a two-month stay.  We planned a short three-hour trip to Betabel RV Park outside the small town of San Juan Bautista.  Betabel is located along Highway 101, just south of Gilroy, and just north of Salinas.  We liked this park and recommend it, even though the internet is slow there.  It's a quiet, peaceful park and we enjoyed our two nights there.

Betabel RV Park, San Juan Bautista, CA

The town of San Juan Bautista (population around 1700) is located a couple of miles to the east of Hwy 101.  Not only is there a California Mission here, there's also a State Historic Park.  I highly recommend visiting both of these places, which are conveniently located next to each other, but charge separate entrance fees.  Our off-season California State Park senior pass got us into the state park for free, and I paid a donation of $3 to visit the Mission.

Old Mission San Juan  Bautista

Father Serra, the original founder of the California Missions.

Below is a picture of the interior of the church at the mission.  With three naves or aisles, it became the widest of all the mission churches.  It was dedicated in 1812, and is still being used.

Part of the ceiling inside the church.

One of the original El Camino Real bells

On Friday, Dave and I stopped at San Juan Bautista on our way back from Hollister.  We walked along part of the original El Camino Real road. 

The San Andreas Earthquake Fault runs along this same area.  In 1906, an earthquake shook much of central California and the sidewalls of the Church collapsed and were restored in 1976. 

Alfred Hitchcock's classic movie, "Vertigo" was filmed on the Mission grounds in 1957. 

In 1997, the site of the original chapel was restored and dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It is here that daily Mass is held.

Guadalupe Chapel

The state historical park was interesting, too, although a bit newer than the mission, which was founded in 1797 by Father Serra's successor, Fr. Fermin de Lasuen.  

The Castro-Breen Adobe was used as a Mexican government building from 1838-1846, and purchased and used by the Breen family from 1848-1933.  Patrick and Margaret Breen and their seven children were survivors of the infamous Donner Party, who arrived penniless after their 111-day ordeal in the Serra Nevada mountains.  Their sixteen-year-old son, John, made a fortune in the California gold fields in 1848 and the family was able to purchase the adobe from the Castros, as well as 400 acres of prime farmland. 

Castro-Breen Adobe

Low doorway entrance to the Adobe.

The stables now house a buggy collection.  San Juan Bautista was once a transportation hub on El Camino Real between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Plaza Hall--Period furnishings are on display.

Plaza Hotel, now a museum and park entrance point, was a one-story adobe built in 1814 in the Spanish colonial style.  The building first served as barracks for the Spanish soldiers who protected the mission.  The hotel opened in 1859.

Among the flowers, trees, and bushes on the grounds of the historical park and mission, were these Chinese Lanterns.

 

Is this a prickly pear cactus?

I highly recommend a visit to San Juan Bautista.  The small downtown area is only a block from the mission and historical park and has lots of antique shops and galleries, as well as an excellent quilt shop.  And if you like courtyard dining at a Mexican restaurant, I highly recommend eating at Jardine's!

Part of the gardens at Jardine's