California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

(Dana P.) #1
Mission San Juan Bautista Main altar

NIK WHEELER / CORBIS ©


commercial flower fields,
to La Purísima Mission
State Historic Park
(%805-733-3713; http://www.parks.
ca.gov, http://www.lapurisimamission.
org; 2295 Purisima Rd, Lompoc;
entry per car $6; h9am-
5pm). Resurrected by the
Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC) during the
Depression era, almost
a dozen buildings here
have been restored to
their original 1820s
appearance. Amble past
Spanish soldiers’ living
quarters, a weaving room
and a blacksmith’s shop,
all beside grassy fields
where cows, horses and
goats graze.

The Drive » Follow scenic
rural Hwy 1 north to Pismo
Beach, then rejoin Hwy 101
north to San Luis Obispo, a
peaceful mission town that’s a
convenient place to break your
journey (p180). The next day,
follow Hwy 101 north for 140
more miles past Salinas to Hwy
156, connecting east to San
Juan Bautista.

6 San Juan Bautista
Unknowingly built
atop the San Andreas
Fault, Mission San Juan
Bautista (%831-623-4528;
http://www.oldmissionsjb.org; 406
2nd St; adult/child $4/2;
h9:30am-4:30pm) has the
largest church among

California’s historical
missions. The original
chapel was toppled by
the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake. Scenes
from Alfred Hitchcock’s
1960s film Vertigo were
shot here, although the
climactic bell tower was
just a special-effects prop.
The old Spanish plaza
opposite the mission
anchors San Juan
Bautista State Historic
Park (%831-623-4881;
http://www.parks.ca.gov; museum
entry adult/child $3/free;
h10am-4:30pm Tue-Sun). A
short walk away, dusty
downtown is crowded
with Mexican restaurants
and antiques shops.

TRIP HIGHLIGHT
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