California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

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