Old Mission Santa Ines

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Chumash people, Mission Santa Ines, Solvang California

Santa Ines Mission was founded by Fr. Estevan Tapis on September 17, 1804. It is 19th of the 21 missions. The Chumash Indians called this place home before the arrival of Fr. Tapis and his crew. Little did the natives know that their way of living would change forever. The Chumash Indians learned skills in ranching, farming, weaving, and candle making from the Padre’s and Mexicans.

In 1812, Santa Ines suffered damages from a massive earthquake. 12 years later in 1824, it would suffer further damage from a fire started by an Indian revolt. The Mission community responded by helping to rebuild Santa Ines. In 1904, Fr. Alexander Buckler began restoration of the mission with help from homeless people hanging about the church. His niece restored the vestments that we see today.

Our tour took us into the Vestment Room.

This is the Madonna Chapel. Glass enclosed relics.

After the Madonna Room, we entered the church. The walls are beautifully decorated; very busy, I thought.  Mission Santa Ines possess the best artwork I have seen in among the missions. Some missions have replicas or a few original spread about the adobe walls, but Santa Ines’s collection is very impressive both in quality and originality.

Wall strip covered in clear plastic. I did not ask, but I am assuming it is the original mural.Our Lady of Lourdes.cemetary

Mission Santa Ines is in the town of Solvang, California. In 1911, Danish-American arrived in this part of California. They purchased 9,000 acres of land and brought with them their tradition and culture and built a community near Mission Santa Ines. Thatched roofs and windmills can be seen as you drive along the road. It is a beautiful town. Our time in Solvang was very limited. We were not able to explore as I would have liked.

Mission la Purisima Concepcion de Maria Santisima

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La Purisima Mission, Lompoc California, Padre Junipero Serra, wine country

Mission la Purisima Concepcion de Maria Santisima was founded on December 8, 1787. It is also known as Mission Vieja, or La Purisima Mission. Since it is state-owned, La Purisima is a State Historic Park. Located in Lompoc, California in the Santa Ines Valley, one of California’s wine country.

We first toured the museum. Many relics in enclosed glass, such as pottery, spearheads, music books, and other essentials used by Chumash and priests were on display. Afterwards, we walked down to see the Mission. After a hundred years, the mission was rebuilt on the original foundation by young and uneducated men, under Roosevelt’s New Deal (Civilian Conservation Corps CCC). In exchange for $30 each month and an education after work. It took the men 7 years to rebuild, and in 1941, La Purisima became a state park.

The state owns La Purisima; the Jesuits and the Catholic Church owns most missions.

Like most missions, in 1812, La Purisima too succumbed to an earthquake, which destroyed the church, vestry, community kitchen, and shops. To rebuild, La Purisima moved about 4 miles from the original location to a more ideal place rich with resources. And in doing so, it brought the mission closer to El Camino Real, the pathway leading to all the missions.  I was a bit scared entering the church, chapel, and some of the rooms. This mission felt big and isolated. The adobe rooms were cold…and eerie; though, I could not help but admire the colorful and beautiful murals. And once I stepped out, I felt relieved and welcomed the songs of birds and the warm breeze. A town normally grows around the mission; however, La Purisima being a state park, is away from civilization making it unique.

Most relics are from the original mission, while some are replica’s.

Compared to our prisons now, this prison is not a bit intimidating at all. In fact, it looks restful and homely.

The Chumash Indians called what became Lompoc, home. According to the brochure, “The Chumash religion was based on the cosmos – the sun, moon, and stars. A calendar was developed and oral histories passed down. Caves and rock walls were painted with animal and geometric designs…The Chumash were gentle people who loved music and games.” They also created songs for their entertainment. They were excellent in the crafts essential for survival. The men were great canoe builders, which enabled them to travel the Santa Barbara Channel Islands.

La Purisima Mission SHP, 2295 Purisima Rd., Lompoc, California or www.lapurisimamission.org. In case you want to visit. It is a beautiful area. Bring your water bottle, sun block, and sense of adventure. ps. watch out for poison ivy’s.

Monterey Bay

Monterey, California.

Muir Woods National Monument

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John Muir, Muir Woods, Muir Woods National Monument, San Francisco

Muir Woods National Monument is in Mill Valley. If you plan on visiting this wonderful place, google it first for further information.

I think this is exactly what John Muir had in mind: preserving nature in all its beauty for all to enjoy. “This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forest of the world.” – John Muir “Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.” – John Muir

Lady bugs!!

Inside a fallen tree.

Pretty flowers!

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Gérard de Nerval, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Rabindranath Tagore

“A gush of violets along a wood path” – Nathaniel Hawthorne‘”Are you too proud to kiss me?” the morning light asks the buttercup’ – Rabindranath Tagore “Every flower is a soul blossoming in Nature” – Gerard de Nerval“Thou canst not stir a flower

Without troubling a star” – Francis Thompson“Earth laughs in flowers” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The Amen! of Nature is always a flower” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.Take the time today to smell some flowers, whether in your backyard, someone else’s backyard, or at the grocery store. Have an amazing Monday everyone!

BNP Paribas Open 2012: Days 3 & 4

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Agnieszka Radwańska, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Andy Roddick, Brooklyn Decker, Caroline Wozniacki, Denis Istomin, Denis Kudla, Flavia Pennetta, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querry, Sofia Arvidsson, Tomas Berdych, Xavier Malisse

If I wasn’t a nut, I’d say to heck with this tennis thing! Sunday was the craziest tennis day for us where everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I won’t bore you with the details, only that a great deal of inconvenience and frustration took place.

As a tennis fan and from previous tournament experiences, I have come to learn that when there is large crowd around the practice court, a top player is practicing. In this case, it was Novak Djokovic.

In between pressed bodies at the practice court, I luckily found an inch of space where I was able to take this shot. After he was through practicing, Djokovic, along with other players, played soccer. And our craziness made us wait for him for over an hour hoping to get his autograph. The crowd was so thick, it made it impossible for me to get his autograph. Being short, I was not able to reach over the heads of the people in front of me. One thing I must say sans his autograph, I got close enough to him amidst outstretched hands, and he is even more handsome in person.

This is the Roger Federer crowd.

I was smitten. Overjoyed. Finally, at long last, finally, Roger Federer. Even as the #3 tennis player in the world, Roger Federer still commands a crowd. Roger Federer played against 19-year old American, Denis Kudla. He was a wildcard. How thrilling and terrifying it must have been for him to play the world’s greatest player.

After the Federer vs. Kudla match was followed by Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Flavia Pennetta.Day 4On our 4th day, I lost our tickets! Major frustration! Replacements tickets were $10 per ticket. Had I not lost our tickets, we would have caught up with Djokovic who was signing autographs again. Oh well! At least we got to see Rafa practice for a bit.

And we got his autograph! I felt like Gollum when he bit off Frodo’s finger to get the ring back. It was definitely a Gollum-moment: joy and elation!

I wanted to get Alexandr Dolgopolov’s autograph (left picture above), only Xavier Malisse approached us again. By then, Dolgopolov had already gone. Darn! Sam Querry’s autograph we got, though (right picture above).Picture above are of Ekaterina Makarova and former #1, Caroline Wozniacki. Pictures below: Denis Istomin and Ryan Harrison.Then we saw Andy Roddick’s wife, Brooklyn Decker. She’s very beautiful. She was very friendly to the crowd and responded to those wanting autographs and pictures. M wanted a picture taken with her but by then, she was already some distance from us. Two men approached M and I, and asked if we wanted their day tickets. I said yes and thanked them. Box seats, Row J, at $200 a ticket. Sweet! Andy Roddick was playing Tomas Berdych.Roddick fought back winning the second set. After that, he went downhill very fast. Seating this close, we heard and saw the madness that is Andy Roddick. We saw his signature trademark of grabbing himself, (akin to Rafa’s picking his butt), heard him chastising himself, and yes, even heard him say the F-word. Berdych won the match. M got his autograph. Thanks to those two guys, soooo much!The evening session match was Caroline Wozniacki vs. Sofia Arvidsson. Wozniacki lost the first set to Arvidsson. Excepting Grand Slams, players can call for their coach on the court between game points. Wozniacki called her dad on the court, who is also her coach, well, to coach her.

Wozniacki’s dad’s pleading coaching worked. After almost 3 hours of battling for every point and long rally’s, she won the match. It was past 11pm by the time Wozniacki and Arvidsson shook hands, and Wozniacki gloating in her badassness! We skipped Ryan Harrison’s match.

Roger Federer

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BNP Paribas Open, Roger Federer

Congrats to Roger Federer for winning his fourth BNP Paribas Open title.

BNP Paribas Open 2012: Day 2

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Andy Murray, BNP Paribas Open, Carla Suarez Navarro, Dominika Cibulková, Donald Young, Francesca Schiavone, Gisela Dulko, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova

On day 2 of our tennis journey, once again we hit the practice courts. The only one we recognized was Dominika Cibulkova so we headed to the players area. The buzz was Novak Djokovic who just won his match. The crowd thought he would come out of the locker room. He never did.

I’m not sure who the player is on the left picture above. Next to him is Xavier Malisse. Although he never spoke to the fans or smiled, he always stopped to sign tennis balls. Picture below is Carla Suarez Navarro.

The evening session match was Maria Sharapova vs. Gisela Dulko, which Sharapova easily won.

Next up was Andy Murray vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. What an explosive match as Murray tried to stay alive. He lost miserably! I guess he hasn’t gotten over his defeat to Roger Federer just weeks ago in Dubai.

In my last post, BNP Paribas Open 2012: Day 1, I forgot to mention that we also saw young American, Donald Young and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. But most notably, one out of my thousand wishes came true on our first day at the tennis garden. In a brief moment, I met Svetlana Kuznetsova. She snuck out of the crowd but we caught her just in time. We got her autograph, and ridiculous to say, my camera failed me. I love her strength and tenacity; I believe she will win another big match before she even considers retiring.

BNP Paribas Open 2012: Day 1

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Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Barbara Zahlovova-Strycova, BNP Paribas, Bob Bryan, Indian Wells California, Mardy Fish, Marin Cilic, Nicolas Mahut, Petra Kvitova, Radek Stepanek, Richard Gasquet, Sam Stosur, Stanislas Wawrinka, Vanya King

At 9:00 o’clock Friday morning, M and I excitedly drove to Indian Wells Tennis Garden with high hopes of watching some of the best players in the world practice; after all, we drove 7 hours just for this tournament. Our anticipation diminished however when told only day ticket holders may enter the grounds. We have evening tickets, which our time of entry is 4:30pm. Duh! It said that on the ticket.

Past 4:30…at last, we have arrived! We immediately hit the practice courts. Many gorgeous and tanned men were practicing, none I recognize. M and I found an area where a swarm of fans was waiting around. This is the place where players enter the grounds to either play soccer or go to the practice courts, which connects to the dining area for players and their families, and the locker rooms. In other words, it is the IT place to be if you want to just get a glimpse of them or to get an autograph.

The first player we saw was Marin Cilic. He did not look too happy when we approached him. I think he lost, but he still stopped for us. (L-R Nicolas Mahut, Cilic, ? don’t know his name, and Richard Gasquet)Pictures above are of Radek Stepanek and Bob Bryan in the white cap and blue jacket. Stepanek said to the crowd who were chanting his name for an autograph, “I go everywhere”. He did. I fought hard to get Bob Bryan’s autograph. I know…M with Vanya King. She just won her match.

Then, we spotted Sam Stosur.Andy Murray signing autographs. Stanislas Wawrinka on the right. The doubles match between Fish/Roddick vs. Nieminem/Mayer went over the 7pm time slot, so we were let in to watch Roddick and Fish lose. Ah, Rafa! At last! The crowd went wild at his introduction. He played a doubles match with fellow Spaniard, Lopez and won.

Just before the next match, we were lucky to take part in honoring the armed forces. A local band played the hymns of each service whereupon those who served our nation past and present, stood up proudly. We clapped our hands in recognition of their service, proud to have brave women and men who sacrificed so much for their country. The flag is a 9/11 flag which was lent for this event. The last match was between Petra Kvitova and Barbara Zahlavova Strycova. Kvitova won but would lose to Christina McHale the next day.

I can’t wait to share with you Day 2 of our journey. This trip was two years in the making. Believe me, I savored every moment. Despite of the 30 minute drive to the tennis garden, the backaches from carrying a loaded backup (camera, food, jacket, and water), traffic and parking headaches, 80 degrees of sunshine, long bathroom lines, unhealthy eating habits, and sleeping past 12am, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

After the storm

Our winter storm lasted for two days. This is how our after the storm looks like in California. I used my smartphone to capture this spectacular view, and thought I’d share it with you.

ps. Thank you God for this beautiful sight. Thank you for taking the wheel so I can take this amazing picture. And God, thank you for being my eyes when I took my eyes off the road to admire your creation.