San Juan Bautista is steeped in history and feels like your stepping back in time. It was a nice change of pace and refreshing to see that small towns like this still exist in the area. Mission San Juan Bautista was founded in 1797 and was the 15th largest Spanish mission in California. The buildings of the community can still be seen in their original form and the main street is filled with structures that take you back in time.
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We wandered the street and peaked in the windows of the various antique stores. Our first stop was the local bakery. Brad went in to survey the options and came out with a generous bag full of goodies all fresh baked onsite - Walnut Date Bread, haystack, apricot turnover, date bar and a cowboy cookie were among the sweet cash.
With baked goods in hand we headed towards the mission. We took in the sights and admired the Mission and the various bronze statues, plaques and bells.
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| Bronze of Franciscan priest Fr. Fermin de Lasuen & the bells of the Mission |
The cashier at the bakery pointed us to a short trail behind the Mission were we could walk the dogs. We found the trail; although it was shorter than we anticipated, the dogs enjoyed exploring it nonetheless. It offered a view of some of the harvest fields of San Juan. With Fall around the corner we could see pumpkins curing in the fields getting ready for the festivities to come. The walls below the mission were rustic and had a mysterious aura to them with plants growing from the brick crevasses.
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| Behind the Mission |
On our way out of the mission we came across the old jail that consisted of one cell. It was a tiny white structure and made us wonder what would happen if they had more than one criminal in town. The lady at the bakery had also mentioned that the town has less chickens than they used to which we found charming. Although we didn't see any chickens we did hear a rooster crowing and both got a chuckle.
We decided to grab a bite to eat then headed to the local taproom - Bears Hideaway. We were greeted at the door by the venues namesake, an Australian Shepard named Bear and his lil' sister Teddy. We each chose a beer and relaxed out on the patio before calling it a day and heading home.
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| Brad and Bear |
It was a nice trip but both felt like there was more to explore sans dogs so we plan on revisiting someday soon.
