The first mission
Here’s one for the history nerds. The first European settlement in California was a Spanish Mission, founded by Father (Padre) Junipero Serra, a Spanish priest. The modern day location of this mission is a neighborhood called Old Town San Diego. It is considered the birthplace of California. Of course, at this point we all know people lived in the area for thousands of years prior. Still, it’s fair to say this San Diego mission was the birthplace of the political state we know as California.
The San Diego Padres baseball team are named after these early Spanish priests. I wonder if we will ever get another sports team named for religious leaders, like the Rabbis or the Monks. All the original buildings constructed by the Padres are gone, but there is a museum with Spanish Mission style architecture atop the hill. That’s where I started my walk through Old Town San Diego.
There is a turret that I climbed within the museum. Views of the surrounding Mission Valley greet the intrepid tourist. After the museum I walked around the grounds, which were green and serene. Much of the area surrounding San Diego is dry and barren, but inside the town it is lush.
The second mission
I continued my walk down the hill and arrived at the center of Old Town. Or, should I say, the downtown of Old Town. A few pedestrian streets provide access to several shops and restaurants. The one I admired above all was Old Town House of Jerky and Root Beer. They carried dozens, possibly hundreds, of different root beer flavors. Root beer tasting is a passion of mine. Once, I participated in a blind taste test of ten different root beers and correctly identified all ten flavors. My dream is to open up a soda shop and sell root beers from all around the country.
There are also plentiful Mexican restaurants and handicrafts. Even if one sticks to the streets, the Hispanic architecture and colors are fun to see. The most fascinating part of Old Town, though, is Whaley House, suggested to be haunted. The ghosts of several people who died in the home, including the Whaleys, are said to be there. Anecdotal evidence of the haunting includes mysterious sounds, faint footsteps, and apparitions. The usual suspects.
The Spanish Padres may have created the first mission in San Diego, but I completed the second mission on my stroll around Old Town. I walked from Old Town Station, a trolley stop, to Pechanga Arena. Here I watched my first National Lacrosse League match and cheered on the San Diego Seals. The Spanish and Americans may have kicked the Kumeyaay off their lands, but Native American traditions don’t die easy. The sport of lacrosse is growing in popularity every year. Heck, I even watched a match on ESPN this year.
