Mission Possible: Maitaitom’s California Mission Tour
Our Crazy Quest to Visit all 21 of California’s Missions
After living in California all our lives, Tracy and I have decided to see some of our state’s history by visiting all 21 Missions. Our first stop was the San Gabriel Mission, and we have added on from there. Let’s see if we can get it done!
July 24, 2011
The Godmother Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Tracy asked me what I wanted to do on my 59th birthday. After a moment of thought, I said, “Let’s go visit something that’s even older than I am.” Of course, in California, this is not an easy task, since once something gets old, […]
July 31, 2011
“Jewel Of The Missions” Mission San Juan Capistrano The last thing you expect on the last day of July in Southern California is a driving rain storm, but as we drove southward toward San Juan Capistrano thats exactly what we encountered. Tracy and I met Kim and Mary in Dana […]
August 7, 2011
Mission Of “Hope” Mission San Fernando, Rey de España It was our third straight Sunday in our relatively newfound quest to visit all 21 of California’s Missions, and today Tracy and I were on our way to visit our third Mission in as many weeks, the Mission San Fernando, Rey […]
April 28, 2012
King Of The Missions Misión San Luis Rey de Francia After our initial burst of three California missions in three weeks, Tracy and I finally got back on the road the last weekend in April to visit the two San Diego County missions. We stopped and picked up our friend […]
April 29, 2012
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala is “The Mother Of Missions” Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá Just another perfect day in America’s Finest City, so after a little detour to an art fair in San Diego’s Little Italy, the four of us (Kim, Mary, Tracy and I) headed off […]
January 19, 2013
California’s Final Mission Mission San Francisco de Solano Although only the sixth mission that Tracy and I have visited, this was the 21st and last mission built in California. It was the only mission to be constructed under Mexican rule and is named for Saint Francis Solano from Montilla, Spain. […]
January 20, 2013
A Mission With A Feminine Side Mission Santa Clara de Asis What makes Mission Santa Clara de Asis unique is it was the first mission to be named after a woman, Saint Clare of Assisi. It is the 8th mission founded in California and was founded on January 12, 1777, […]
February 10, 2013
Mission By The Sea Mission San Buenaventura Known as “The Mission By The Sea,” Mission San Buenaventura was the ninth (and last) mission founded by Junipero Serra, and one of only six that he personally dedicated. This was the eighth mission Tracy and I have toured on our California Mission […]
April 10, 2014
Ring That Bell Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolusa While in San Luis Obispo (located about 3 1/2 hours north of Los Angeles) on business, I decided this would be a great time to pick up my ninth mission on my mission to hit all the missions. It would be […]
April 11, 2014
An Unexpected Gem Old Mission Santa Inés After visiting Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolusa, I headed south on the 101 until I saw the sign for Old Mission Santa Inés. To get to Old Mission Santa Inés (located four miles to the east of the 101), I first had […]
April 12, 2014
“Queen Of The Missions” Old Mission Santa Barbara On a rather overcast Saturday morning, Tracy and I got an early start for our trip to Santa Barbara that would culminate with a fun and interesting lunch with my relatives visiting from Norway. First, however, we would pay a visit to […]
February 13, 2015
A Little Off The Beaten Path La Purisima Concepción/La Purisima Mission State Historic Park I had taken a break from my goal to reach all 21 missions, so it was back on the trail in late November for me in my mission quest to visit all 21. In reality, La […]
April 13, 2015
Just Call Me Delores Misión San Francisco de Asís We were long overdue in renewing our mission quest, so over President’s Weekend Tracy and I were able to knock out two of them in one day. Driving from Napa (after visiting Tracy’s dad and stepmom), we coasted (well not literally […]
April 28, 2015
Most Obliterated California Mission Mission San Rafael Arcángel After a morning spent touring the Misión San Francisco de Asís, the four of us (Kim, Mary, Tracy and I) decided we could chalk off another mission shortly after crossing over the beautiful Golden Gate. We had two cars, so I asked […]