Yesterday we cycled 38 miles along the coast and inland on the San Luis Rey bike path to visit our 18th mission, San Luis Rey in Oceanside. Due to active restoration we could only stand in the front entry of the church. Pictures are being removed from the walls, pews are stacked up and scaffolding is being put up. The restoration is designed to reinforce the masonry against earthquakes.
One theme we heard as we rode mission to mission, was chapel destruction during the 1812 earthquake. This quake was apparently a series and included the largest "recorded" in California. It damaged missions as far south as San Juan Capistrano and as far north as Carmel. Tsunamis came ashore in Santa Barbara and Ventura causing even more damage. The first quake hit during morning mass. Only the mission in SJC talked about quake related deaths; 20 parishioners died in the collapse of the church. The Padres, coming from Spain, a geologically quiet region, were not prepared for such violent shaking. In Ventura, they fled to nearby hills for over 3 months until the aftershocks finally ceased.
Meanwhile back to 2012, Comicon is in San Diego and hotel rooms are a hot commodity and the only one we could find was 3.7 hilly miles away from the mission. The miles included three tough hills, roads with narrow or no shoulders, and lots of cars moving too fast and too close. However, we powered through and the room is huge, with lots of space for the bikes.
Today is our last cycling day. Unbelievable.
Hi! I met you and your daughter in San Diego riding down the Santa Fe bike path, just before you got to Mission Bay. What a inspiration! It was a real pleasure to meet you both. Thanks again for the inspiration!!!
ReplyDelete