Mission Field Trip

This past Saturday my cohort class went on another field trip. Our first one was to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and was part of our American Ethnicity & Pluralism class. This time we were taking a field trip to the San Juan Bautista Mission, Colton Hall at Monterey Bay, and the Carmel Mission as part of our California History & Politics class. These field trips were with the same professor that we all just absolutely love.

I had been to the San Juan Bautista Mission before when I was elementary school, but I didn't remember much other than the fact that I remember my mom being a parent chaperone. I though I was the coolest kid in class. I had a few deja voo moments.

The San Juan Bautista Mission is absoluetly beautiful. I had no idea that it lies parallel and right next to the San Andreas Fault. Another thing that was interesting was the fact that the original "Camino Real" is there in its original form. The Camino Real was the road that connected all California Missions.

You probably all know that the Missions were built to convert Native American Indians towards Christianity. They were also the main reason for the basic extinction of Indians in California, but I won't go into that. I will get too heated about this topic because Brent is of Native American blood.

Below are pictures from the San Juan Bautista Mission.

This is a statute of John the Baptist, which the Mission is named after.


Here's the bell tower at the Mission. (I just love this picture).



Here's a fountain in front of the Mission.



Here's the actual front of the Mission.

Okay, here is a mass grave of where thousands of Indians were buried. Obviously it shows only a few crosses which makes people think that dead people had their own grave, but in reality they didn't.

This is the original "Camino Real".

This is Colton Hall where California's first Constitution was drafted and signed. As a result, California became a part of the United States.

Here's the absolutely beautiful Carmel Mission.

Here's the grave site of Father Juniper Serra. Most of you should know who this guy is so I won't reiterate. If you don't, look it up in Google.

Another mass grave at the cemetary at Carmel.