The Old Mission Santa Barbara

Here are a few of the pictures that I took at the Mission of Santa Barbara. The Mission was established in 1786 and is the 10th mission to be built in California - there are 21 missions in all. It is called "The Queen of the Missions" because of its beauty although I tend to think that Mission San Juan Capistrano is lovelier - a matter of opinion. I don't know how I managed to capture the shot of the exterior of the church as there were lots of people hovering about but I got lucky or they were invisible! Anyway, it is a large and imposing structure and, from the top of the steps, one can see the ocean - a beautiful view.

The Mission was largely destroyed in an earthquake in 1927 and much of it is rebuilt. Of the three skull and crossbones signs above this door, only the one in the center is original. I think that the door is the entrance to a crypt - all rather gruesome if you ask me!

All of the missions that we have visited have a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi. This one is in a lovely walled spot under the shade of the trees. A large part of the mission grounds are out of bounds and I was not able to get too many photos.

This is one of the most amazing trees I have ever seen - it's a Moreton Bay Fig - a native of Australia and planted around 1890. Its trunk is a mass of twists and turns. It sits in the middle of the old part of the Mission cemetery and provides beautiful shade. You can see several sarcophagi (I hope that's the right word) along the back wall of the cemetery. We were the only visitors in the cemetery last Sunday and it was wonderfully peaceful.

Mr. Indi took this picture of an old lady sitting on the steps of the church - HEY! I have the same blouse and pants as those that she is wearing - what a cheek!