26801 Ortega Hwy; adult/child
$9/5; h8:30am-5pm; c).
Built around a series of
18th-century arcades, the
mission complex encloses
bubbling fountains and
flowery gardens. The
Serra Chapel, where the
padre celebrated mass
in 1783, is considered
California’s oldest
building, and even the
mighty San Andreas
Fault hasn’t been able to
topple it yet. Every year
on March 19, the Festival
of the Swallows celebrates
the birds’ return from
their Argentine sojourn
to make their nests in the
mission’s walls. One block
west, by the train depot,
the tree-shaded Los Rios
Historic District collects
quaint cottages and
adobes housing cafes and
gift shops.5 p301
The Drive » Get back on
I-5 north for the often traffic-
jammed 50-mile drive to
downtown Los Angeles. Take the
Alameda St/Union Station exit,
turn right onto Main St and look
for metered street parking or
pay-parking lots.3 Los Angeles
Setting out from the
valley’s Mission San
Gabriel Arcángel, just
a few dozen Spanish
colonists founded the
‘City of Angels’ in 1781,
near the site of today’s El
Pueblo de Los Angeles
Historical Monument
(%213-628-1274; http://
elpueblo.lacity.org; 125 Paseode la Plaza; admission free;
hmuseums 11am-3pm
Tue-Sat, restaurants & shops10am-8pm daily; (^) c). Peek
inside 19th-century
historical buildings like
the Avila Adobe and ‘La
Placita’ plaza church
and jostle down crowded
block-long Olvera St, an
open-air marketplace
lined with Mexican food
vendors and folklorico
shops, then unwind in
front of the wrought-
iron bandstand, where
mariachis often play
on sunny weekend
afternoons. Nearby, La
Plaza de Cultura y Artes
(%213-542-6200; http://www.lapca.
org; 501 Main St; admission
free; hnoon-7pm Wed-Mon)
vibrantly chronicles
the Mexican American
experience in LA.
To see more sights on
foot, try our walk (see
p310).
5 p301
The Drive » Follow Hwy 101
north of Downtown LA past
Hollywood and west through the
suburban San Fernando Valley
all the way to the Pacific coast.
North of Ventura, another SoCal
mission town with beautiful
beaches, lies Santa Barbara,
about 100 miles from LA.
4 Santa Barbara
After a magnitude
6.3 earthquake hit
Santa Barbara in 1925,
downtown’s State St
was entirely rebuilt in
Spanish Revival style,
with whitewashed adobe
walls and red-tile roofs.
Head north to hillside
Mission Santa Barbara
(%805-682-4713; http://
santabarbaramission.org;
2201 Laguna St; adult/child
$5/1; h9am-5pm), another
victim of historical
quakes. From the front
of its imposing Doric
facade, itself a homage
to an ancient Roman
chapel, you can look up
at the unique twin bell
towers. Founded in 1786
on the feast day of Saint
Barbara, the mission
has been continuously
occupied by Franciscan
priests, having escaped
Mexico’s enforced
policy of secularization
that destroyed most
of California’s other
missions. Artwork by
Chumash people adorns
the chapel. Look for a
centuries-old cemetery
out back.
For a great walk, see
p194.
54 p301
The Drive » El Camino Real
follows Hwy 101 north. For a
more scenic route, take winding
Hwy 154 up into the mountains
and wine country. Turn left onto
Hwy 246 (Mission Dr) toward
the Danish village of Solvang,
which has a pretty little mission,
then keep driving west across
Hwy 101 almost to Lompoc. It’s a
50-mile trip from Mission Santa
Barbara.
5 La Purísima
Mission
Drive through the
hills outside Lompoc,
past vineyards and
TRIP HIGHLIGHT
SOUTHERN.CALIFORNIA.
28
(^) MISSION TRAIL