What a day! What looked on the map like a drive that would take less than three hours turned into a daylong odyssey. In the best possible way!
My sweet husband is supporting my desire to visit several of the California Missions. Today we visited three of them before arriving in Santa Barbara. And we encountered a few other delightful surprises along the way as well.
Our morning began with Mass at San Gabriel Mission. The biggest delightful surprise of the day was that the entire Mass was in Vietnamese! I was the only white face in the church. (John had decided to wander and do some photography while I was in Mass.) The cadence of the language I found utterly beautiful. I was warmly received in this dear community with smiles and bows. I could not hold back the tears of joy as I knelt to pray. I could not understand a word of the closing hymn. I had never heard the tune, which had rhythms and tones different from any in my experience. But I understood that it was a song of praise and thanksgiving. How incredible is it to be able to follow an entire liturgy in a totally foreign language with people not of my culture and feel right at home? Is this a foretaste of heaven where people of all tribes and nations and languages will worship together before the throne of God?
We moved on to Mission San Fernando Rey where we spent a couple of hours on a self guided tour of the entire grounds. Did you know that Bob Hope and his family are buried there in a lovely memorial garden? The garden was peaceful indeed, and a wonderful place for contemplation. Yet it really was just an aside. The history of the mission is rich and the entire compound has been beautifully preserved. We learned more here than at any other place about life in California during the 18th and 19th centuries.
One of the most amazing things to me about all of the missions we have visited so far is that, despite their location in the middle of busy urban areas with heavy traffic on every side, the chapels and gardens are places of intense peace. The noise of the city seems to be a world away. I am moved to wonder how I can better carve out such places of peace in my own life.
A quick stop at a farm market yielded three pounds of the sweetest strawberries I’ve ever had. They were intended for our dinner, but a few never made it that far! Then we were off to San Buenaventura Mission. But…
We had to stop for gas and stumbled upon another delightful surprise, the Camarillo Ranch House. We didn’t go into the house. But we wandered through the gardens, cameras in hand, enjoying the palms and the flowers, the hummingbirds and the lizards, the herbs and the roses. Who could have imagined this gem was hiding right off the freeway?
We didn’t have much time to be at Mission San Buenaventura. We arrived shortly before closing. Nevertheless, the beautiful chapel and gardens were soothing to the soul. How I would love to spend more time just sitting and meditating in these special places.
We had thought to visit the Ventura Botanical Gardens, but instead found Grant’s Park, high in the hills overlooking Ventura. The view was spectacular! The hills (small mountains?) are covered in blankets of yellow flowers. We looked down on orchards and vineyards growing right next to the ocean, tucked into heavily populated areas. Stunning!
Finally we arrived in Santa Barbara, a place dear to John. He was born here and lived here until he was five. It was such a treat to watch his face light up as we visited places he remembered from his childhood. His elementary school is perched high on the side of a hill. Getting to it by car involved a steep climb over winding neighborhood roads. (I never imagined terrain this rugged could be this densely populated!) The view from his classroom looked out over Santa Barbara to the ocean and the Channel Islands. Incredible!
We closed the day wandering through the farmers’ market for which Santa Barbara had closed off two city blocks. We came away with organic olives, almonds, dates, and honey and some flatbread to enjoy for our dinner. Delicious!
So…What a day!!! We survived Los Angeles traffic thanks to John’s excellent driving and especially the good Lord’s protection. We ate delicious fresh produce thanks to God’s bounty. And we saw incredibly beautiful and peaceful places in the heart of the city thanks to God’s grace. Truly, it was a GOOD day!