It is summer and thanks to the RPOA (Riverside Police Officers Association), we were able to get discounted baseball tickets to the Lake Elsinore Storm baseball game. Many reading this post will have never heard about the Lake Elsinore Storm. The reason why is the Lake Elsinore Storm is what is known as a Minor League Baseball team. Many people around the world have heard of our country’s passion for Major League Baseball (think Yankees, Dodgers, etc.), but in order to get to play in the “Majors” as they are known, the future Babe Ruths of the diamond first must make their way through the minor leagues.
There are several leagues in the minor leagues. The way it goes is that just under the Major League is what is know as the AAA division, then there is the AA division, then the A division, and under that two more half league divisions. The Lake Elsinore Storm are under what is known as the A division. The games in this division are not the most exciting out there. Depending on how the players do they will undoubtedly move so it is hard to get excited about any one player or team. The good news is the tickets are substantially less than what you would pay at a major league team and do to the inherit small nature of these games you get more of the old-time baseball feeling than if you had gone to a major league stadium.
At this point you may be thinking to yourself, “This is all great and good John, but what does it have to do with you, a squirrel, and $500 dollars?!” Ok, well to explain I think I need to first introduce you to the squirrel…
Meet Mr. Squirrel.
Yep, that is a very large squirrel. See what happened was when I walked into the stadium I went over to the promotions booth to see if I could snag a freebie. Since the minor league games are not as action packed as major league games are they always run little promotions between the innings. You kind of have to be willing to do some crazy things, but you lose nothing and might get something out it. It was while at the promotions booth the promotional ladies saw my running shoes and asked me if I did any running. I said “as a matter of fact I do run a little bit.” They then said “How would you like to make $500?” I was immediately suspicious but curious so I asked them how. They said all I had to do was run from one foul post to the other, 400 meters. Not too bad, I can run 400 meters…
He is fast but if you can beat him it is $500 bucks.
“Oh, and you have to run against our intern named ‘the squirrel’.” It turns out that “Mr. Squirrel” is a former east coast all state track and field champion. I didn’t stand a chance. As soon as the announcer said go I could see that I was going to lose. There was another younger guy out there with us and he lost to. Mr. Squirrel was fast, he was so fast he almost ran into the wall when he got to the other side. I for my part did my best and ran as fast as I could. Even though I lost many people waived to me after the race and told me I gave it a fighting chance so that was fun.
I lost, the Storm lost (4-1), but we all had fun so it didn’t really matter. It is nice to think that people see me as “a runner” these days, but it also good to sometimes give myself a bit of reality check. Anyhow, if you have the time and a bit of money I would highly recommend visiting your local minor league baseball park for a game. Who knows, maybe you will have better luck than I and actually get the $500 dollars! And if you don’t, I am sure you will also still have a good time.
One of the great things of traveling is finding a bit of the unexpected. It was with that spirit of adventure in mind that we were able to visit Sweet Retreat in San Jose, CA. Located at 6061 Cahalan Ave
San Jose, CA 95123, it is a very unassuming place.
Just another store in a strip mall really. Inside the menu is not very fancy and the décor is sparse. The benefits however are 1) the prices are very reasonable and 2) the portions are huge. We both got small sundaes which came with two scoops of ice cream, whip cream, and a cherry. Can’t really beat that. It was definitely a fun way to celebrate just having visited all 21 missions.
“We found on our journey, as well as in the place where we stopped, that they treated us with as much confidence and good-will as if they had known us all their lives.” – Junipero Sierra
Do you know the way to San Jose? I do.
Driving back up to Fremont, CA I was very tired. Lucky for me I had Denise driving. When it comes to these crazy road trips Denise is ever the trooper as she supports me in my crazy ideas. There was many thoughts as we pulled up to Mission San Jose, I can’t name them all but the most prominent thought was that of the support of my beautiful wife.
The flags tell the tale of the many nations that have claimed California.
Entering the mission of San Jose you are greeted my the flags of those who have claimed California as their own. A testament of the ever changing nature of California, the constant of the unique mission style architecture provides a very tangible visual of California’s rich historical heritage.
The San Jose mission is a very typical California mission in that it was designed in a quadrangle style with the church taking over the main corner. Like most missions it fell into ruin and was even replaced at on point with a gothic Irish church named after St. Joseph (it even had a statue with a green clover).
A Video:
Junipero Sierra
“Siempre hacia adelante(Always Forward)” – Junipero Sierra
After seeing all 21 missions I would like to say I had a profound experience but immediately leaving the mission I was confronted with a crazy man who had a very extensive repertoire of profanity. Completely uninspired by the environment I do remember thinking of the statue of Father Junipero Serra in the rose garden of the mission. I think there is a replica of this statue at every mission, it was certainly not the first time I had seen it.
Being so close to memorial day it did get me thinking of the National Capitol. In the National Capitol each state is allowed to send two statues to represent them. The two statues from California are Ronald Reagan and Junipero Serra. It is interesting to me how long the memory of Junipero Serra has lasted.
The day of the California missions has long faded away. Save a few 4th grade projects I would venture to say few remember or care about the missions. The buildings as interesting as they are did not in and of themselves inspire me to visit all of them. What drew me to the missions was the spirit that created them. The vision and story of a man who wanted to be and became more than what he was. Father Junipero Serra was really just a bureaucrat (something I can relate to). He didn’t know anything about agriculture, he never built a building, and did not come from money. Yet somehow, someway he had a vision and got others to no only see that vision but help him become a reality and that is something I can respect and admire.
Early Morning Run
Got up early ran 5 miles through Fremont. On my run I passed by two local parks and several older Asians walking. Up near the freeway I saw a private road with some really nice houses. It reminded me of the LA heritage Square that we visited, but since the road was private I didn’t explore very far and get a good look. Running through the business parks I saw many software companies. All of them called themselves “campuses” made me laugh. It seemed to me to be a very vain way to guise the real intent of moneymaking going on within. The area we are staying at is very Asian. We see a lot of Chinese on the businesses. One Vietnamese Restaurant caught Denise’s eye on her run it was called “I Pho” and had an apple symbol. After running I met Denise in the motel’s breakfast nook. We are staying at the Days Inn on Warm Springs Road. The free breakfast was not very good. It consisted of cheap generic white bread that you could toast, fake Oreos, apple juice, milk, oatmeal, coffee, corn flakes, and frosted flakes. It was so bar we ended up getting a Breakfast croissant at Burger King later.
The Santa Cruz Chapel is a 1/2 size replica of it’s former self.
Leaving the Carmel Mission we headed north to Santa Cruz. On arriving to Santa Cruz Denise declared that Santa Cruz was not a city she would want to live in. This struck me as odd because Santa Cruz to me seemed like a city that met Denise’s general requirements. Santa Cruz holds many entertainment venues, many markets, and is encompassed by a major university.
It is just as well because Santa Cruz was not cheap, which is a major requirement of any place I can settle in. After visiting what was the mission at Santa Cruz we went to lunch at the downtown River St. The meal at the tiny Campesino Cafe was tasty, wholesome, and organic, but a $40 lunch definitely hit the pocket book. Oh well, we had the money, but I still am not sure I would want to pay that every day.
Before our tasty meal we worked up our appetite by exploring the grounds of the Santa Cruz Mission. The only thing left of the original mission at Santa Cruz is a very solitary wall in the back of the parrish parking lot. It is a very realistic representation of what happened to the missions. Revolt, government interventions, earthquakes, but mostly just time desintigrated the missions.
Luckily the missions have friends and Santa Cruz is no exception. Through generous donations from the Friends of Santa Cruz there is now a half size replica of the Santa Cruz Mission. Around the corner is a California state park that preserves the last remaining adobe structure, a building that once housed the native population that helped build the mission. It was interesting to watch the video and imagine for a moment what it was like to be a neophyte in a mission setting.
Our plan was to hit three missions all in on day. The missions are about 30 miles apart from each other and they all are open usually from 10am-5pm. We decides thar that out of the three remaining missions, San Carmel was the farthest from our current position of Fremont, CA. We left our motel early in the hopes of getting to the mission right when it opened.
The town of San Carmel is very quaint.
Arriving in Carmel Denise stated that she needed to make a potty break. Vesting off our GPS plotted course we began to explore the town of Carmel in search of a public restroom. Driving through the city we noticed several things. First of all Carmel may be a city but it doesn’t seem that big. This is probably due to the fact that the roads are small and we did not see any stop lights. Navigating Carmel was a little confusing because the street names are on concrete posts on the corners that can be sometimes hard to read. We did not see any large scale stores, all the stores and restaurants we saw seemed to be small independent operations. Lots of people were walking around, my guess mostly tourists like ourselves. The only difference was the crowd seemed to be older than ourselves, if I was to give an average age I would have placed most people in their mid 50s. Didn’t seem like our type of scene, but we were there for the mission.
Some missions were established and became the nucleus of their newly founded towns and cities, in other cases as the missions became obsolete they became relegated to the outskirts of town. The Carmel mission fell into the latter and is now a few miles out from the center of Carmel.
The final resting place of Junipero Sierra.
The final resting place of Father Junipero Serra. Fr. Serra used the Carmel Mission as his headquarters while he was alive. Fr. Serra was a Franciscan by order and lived a very simple life which is evident in the simple living conditions of his cell chambers. Although one could argue the political ambitions that led to the missions, it was said of Junipero Serra that he was genuine in his desires to live up to the tenants of hos faith.
The mission grounds are very beautiful. As you explore the rose garden your line of sight is instantly drawn towards the star pattern window and domed roof of the mission. Strolling the main chapel you see many graves of many prominent Californianos. To the left of the altar is the grave of Fr. Serra decorated with a portrait with his image.
I really enjoyed the smaller Sutter Chapel.
As beautiful as the main altar is, I found myself enjoying the smaller side chapel more. Simple in it’s design it had a small organ and small altar. At the foot of the altar was the grave of Ann Sutter. I looked up the name later and found out she was the mother of a major contributor to the mission’s restoration. I was the only person in the little chapel and enjoyed a small moment of contemplation.
Due to the vast greatness of the San Francisco bay the Santa Clara Mission was ordered to be established as soon as feasibly possible. Founded in 1777, the story goes that the natives at the site were friendly but a bit mischievous. The stories of the mission recount the struggles of the Spanish settlers to get the mission started. That is until in the 1830’s when Father Jose Viader came to the mission.
The story goes that one night Fr. Viader was walking the compound when a young Native American named Marcelo walked up to the priest with two of his friends. Dissatisfied for an unknown reason they attacked Fr. Viader. Unlike his humble associates Fr. Viader fought back, so much so that he “soundly trashed” the three boys. Taken over by the display of strength of Fr. Viader the two became really good friends (it’s a guy thing). The friendship encouraged relations with the natives and the mission slowly grew.
The original cross carried by Junipero Sierra is enclosed in this redwood cross.
After secularization the Santa Clara Mission dwindled like all of the missions but was revived much sooner than rest of the missions when in 1851 control was transferred from the Franciscan to the Jesuit order. The Jesuits were more interested in conversion though academics and transformed the mission into what it is today, Santa Clara University.
Although remnants of the original mission exist, the halls of higher learning is what prevails now at Santa Clara. While we were there we felt very welcome by the campus community. At the entrance we were offered a free 2 hour parking pass and enjoyed the free admission to the de Saisset Museum art museum. In the basement of the museum was a permanent exhibit chronicling the mission’s history. On the way out the bells rung and we felt like we were also students having just left a lecture class on our way to our next lesson (which at that point was Find a Place to Sleep 101).
Travelers making their pilgrimage today to the California missions have the great benefit of traveling on highway 101. Occasional glimpses of the varying terrain gives a brief visual clue as to what it was like for early pioneers making their overland trek. In an age where such travels were slow and filled with peril it was important to place the missions in secure places. Coastal locations with safe harbors were the locals of choice for mission planners.
As big as present day San Francisco bay is, it was surprisingly unknown to Spanish settlers in the 1770’s. “If St. Francis desires a mission, let him show us his harbor and he shall have one,” said Inspector-General Gálvez to Junipero Serra. In 1597 a small harbor had been identified as San Francisco bay. Now known as Drakes Bay, it was the best hope for New Spain to secure a safe port for it’s ships heading to the Philippines out west. 170 years of neglect had all but erased the memory of the exact location of the original San Francisco bay. Present day San Francisco bay was known, but due to bad charting, it was thought to be merely an extension of the coastline.
Luis Antonio Argüello, first native Governor of California.
When present day San Francisco bay was finally discovered to be what it truly is the significance of the discovery was immediately felt. Reports back to the Viceroy stated the bay was large enough to “hold all the ships of Spain.” Realizing the strategic advantage of such a port the Viceroy immediately ordered two missions be settled. Leading the group would be none other than the already legendary trailblazer Lt. Col. Juan Baustista de Anza. San Francisco is Born
On June 29, 1776, just 5 days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States, the first mass was celebrated in San Francisco and in the festivities the city of Saint Francis was officially incorporated. Construction of the church went relatively quickly and by October worshipers enjoyed regular services in a simple wooden church.
It said to stop…
Although San Francisco has changed in many ways, the San Francisco Mission has not. Earthquakes, fires, government, and people have all encroached upon the mission and yet it remains. Unlike other missions that have crumbled to almost nothing, visiting the San Francisco Mission you get to see a rare glimpse of an early vision.
Walking the grounds of the mission I noticed a lot of diversity. As the only California natives present with a pulse, I definitely felt like a minority. Walking through the cemetery I noticed a lot of people speaking their natives tongues. The grave markers gave a silent testimony that this the way it has always been in San Francisco. Leaving San Francisco we admired the vastness of the bay and contemplated what a body of water could mean then and now.
The Ironman is one of the mega races out of there. With 2.4 Miles swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles (same as a full marathon) of running it is definitely a trial of endurance of almost unequal proportions. I am up to that race right?!
Umm… Not!!! Thank goodness my stake has me covered. Since I am not quite ready for an Ironman they have invented the Tinman race.
My first bike race.
The Tinman consists of a 150 m swim, a 5 K foot race, and a 10 mile bike race. It isn’t as daunting as an Ironman but it still made me nervous. Not ready for the swim I opted to do just the foot race and the bike race portions. I was very confident in my ability to finish the 5K race. I wasn’t too sure how I would do on the biking portion.
I was kind of nervous registering for my first bike race.
Most people drove their bike in, but I don’t have a bike rack for my car so I rode my bike in from my house. Not the best way to start a race, but being the amateur I am I decided to just go all out and make the best of it. The 5K portion went very well. I finished the 5K race in 23:19, a 7:53 pace. It was the fastest ever 5K for me. Coming out of the 5K however I was a bit winded. My bike is a mountain man bike, I got passed by a lot of other racers on very fancy street bikes. Even so I managed to finish both sections in 1 hr and 3 minutes (I will update later with official times).
Road my bike out to the starting line at RCC.
Overall, I enjoyed the race. Doing something different is always fun and best of all the race was totally free! Actually the shirt cost me $4, but $4 dollars for a t-shirt is really cheap! I enjoyed being part of this local race and I think next year I will try and do all three events.
“Now we are in for a treat!” is what Mr. Howser used to say in his television show. If you are from outside of California you probably have never heard of Huell Howser. No problem, he wasn’t from California either. A Tennessee native, Huell Howser made his way to California with bright hopes documenting what he called “California’s Gold”. Most known for his show named California Gold, Huell Howser actually had a long list of television shows. Most of them were on public access channels, but he did a lot of network news stories as well.
I first learned about Huell Howser from a series he did called California Missions. At first glance his down to earth nature first struck me as kind of hokey, but there was something in his excitement of things we often take for granted somehow struck a chord in me. No matter where he was or what he did, he always go the story. Not only did he get his story, he was always enthusiastic in what he did. I knew that was definitely a quality I wanted to emulate in my life.
I never met Huell Howser and alas, I never will. Huell Howser recently passed away, but his legacy still continues on. California’s Gold lasted for 18 seasons and had 443 episodes. The list of places he saw and the people he spoke to is staggering. It left me wondering. If Huell Howser could come back for just one day what would he do? I know he would come back to California, but I am not exactly sure where he would go first.
Pink’s Hot Dogs
Hoffy makes the hot dogs for Pink’s.
Thinking on this issue I knew the first thing he would probably do is plan. He was television man and television types usually work in Melrose, home to the television networks. Taking the I-10 out to Los Angeles we turned up the 101 and promptly road down Melrose Avenue. Driving in Melrose we passed ABC studios, Paramount Studios, and countless independent sound stages. A perfect place for a television man to plan.
All that work however must of left Huell Howser hungry. Where does a down to earth historical man such as Mr. Howser go to eat? The answer is Pink’s Hot Dogs on La Brea. Pink’s Hot Dogs started in 1939 as nothing more than a push cart on the corner. Almost 75 years later it really hasn’t changed much. There are a few more locations, but the original location still retains it’s charm.
After waiting in a long, but fast paced line I glanced at the many celebrity inspired hot dogs, but I knew there was only one dog for me. The “Huell Dog”. One of the biggest orders on the menu, the Huell inspired dog consists of one bun with two dogs, chili, cheese, onions, and mustard. My mom got a classic chili dog, AJ got a plain hot dog, and Denise got a veggie dog.
I tried a bit of the veggie dog and I (John) did not like it too much. It wasn’t bad bad but I feel I have already written too much about it. The regular hot dogs however were great. Hoffy makes them exclusively for pinks. Looking at them they are really long and you can tell they are not ordinary because they have real casings on them. Which is great because when you bite into them they are plump and have a great snap. The “Huell Dog” was a very hearty meal, but at $26.00 for all for us, not too expensive (and that included valet parking). Warning, if you are going to go, they only accept cash.
Heritage Square
AJ and Denise in front of the train depot.
Filled with a hearty lunch I am sure Mr. Howser would want to go somewhere that had lots of historical value, but might not be so well known (little known places were kind of his speciality). Trying to think of such a place my mind wandered to this little place I had seen one time off the 110 freeway. Nestled in a very unassuming place Heritage Square has not one, but 8 historical buildings you can tour. At first I thought we were going off the Howser trail, but while waiting in the lobby for our tour to begin I did some research on my phone and found out that Huell Howser had indeed been to Heritage Square. In episode 16 of a series called Our Neighborhoods: Heritage Square, Huell Howser talks about the efforts of some local businessmen to preserve some of LA’s historical architecture.
That was a very old episode, the results of those efforts can be seen in the beautiful museum that is Heritage park. As mentioned there are several buildings that incorporate the museum. You enter through a restored train depot that was once used for the filming of Laurell and Hardy movies. Your docent will walk though the 19th century houses one by one and in the end you will end up in a restored version of the Colonial Pharmacy. Admission was $10 per person and AJ who is under 6 was free. It was a pleasant way to spend some hours and we all enjoyed the old fashioned candies at the end of the tour.
Fosselman’s Ice Cream Company
The Salty Caramel lives up to the hype.
After walking though Heritage Square we decided that we needed a bit of a break and AJ promptly declared that he wanted ice cream. Again the question was asked. What would Huell Howser do in this situation? A quick search on Google with the phone and the answer was clear: Fosselman’s Ice Cream Company.
Established in 1919, the decor for Fosselman’s definitely fit the decor of the buildings we had visited in Heritage Square. With a scoop of ice cream starting at $4.00, the price was bit high (again cash only), but considering the ice cream is made on site you would be remiss if you didn’t try a scoop. Thanks to my faithful Howser viewership I knew out of the over 50 flavor choices I need to try the salted caramel (that plus there is a big sign saying try the salted caramel). It is a strange taste, but the salty/sweet/creamy thing is surprisingly good, not to mention the mounts of whip cream placed on top of the sundae is just good. Oh yeah, that no sugar thing for month I was doing, totally ruined, but in my defense I was resisting 94 years of time honored ice cream perfection.
In-N-Out Burgers
Traveling slowly you definitely find a greater appreciation for the things around you. For me that appreciation was found in an old jacket that I found in the back of my mom’s car that I promptly used as a pillow. Traffic back to Rialto was very slow or at least that is what I was told because when I woke up I found we were in Baldwin Park, not Rialto. I asked Denise why we were in Baldwin Park and she told me that in typical California fashion it had taken us over and hour to go just a few miles.
The first plan was to find a Chinese restaurant, but let’s face it, when is the last time you associated Baldwin Park with Chinese food? Baldwin Park is for the most part just another city that blends into that which is known as Southern California, but it does have a claim to fame. That is In-N-Out.
For those not cultured in California cuisine, the ultimate in California food is fast food and no one does it better than In-N-Out. The first In-N-Out is not much to look at, but then In-N-Out is known for being simple. A simple menu, but being the California insiders we are we promptly ordered our double-doubles with animal style fries. To quote the late Mr. Howser “it was amazing”, as it always should be.
It was a fun day for everyone.
Overall it was a great day. A bit of history, a bit of good food, good company, and plenty of things to talk about. In mind that is exactly how Huell Howser would have done it. Unfortunately, there will be no more new Huell Howser episodes, but I can take solace in the fact that he opened my eyes to the many great things California has to offer. On that note, I still have 5 more California missions to visit, so please look for me on that open highway.
