Mission San Juan Capistrano

My oldest son is going to be entering third grade in the Fall.  As tradition in my California family, it is time to start exploring California culture and history in anticipation of fourth grade California history.  We start in third grade in my family because typically third grade social studies involves learning about American Indians, which are and were an integral part of our history.

To begin our 2 year learning experience, we went to Mission San Juan Capistrano, located in the southern area of Orange County.  I have always appreciated this mission for its beauty and preservation efforts.  As opposed to some of the other missions which have been completely rebuilt, you can see the ruins of parts of this mission that have been destroyed over the years, giving a better conceptualization of just how old and amazing these structures are.  Despite the dark history of the missions and the deaths of many American Indians who were forced to do labor in these institutions, they give us insight into live 300+ years ago before California was anywhere near statehood in the United States of America.  Both the gardens and relics are inspiring to view.