On our way out of Buellton this morning, we drove through Solvang, California, which is a Danish-American enclave in the Santa Ynez Valley. Just outside of Solvang, we stopped at Mission Santa Inés, one of the original El Camino Real missions. The mission has had a face lift or two, but still retains it’s original early nineteenth century charm.
Santa Inés was the site where a Spanish soldier assaulted a Chumash Indian which led to an uprising that secularized the missions in the area. Most of the Indians returned to their tribal sites in the hills, although a few stayed on.
From Wikipedia:
The original bell structure (erected in 1817) collapsed in 1911 and was reconstructed out of reinforced concrete in 1948. The campanile has been compared by architectural historian Rexford Newcomb to the one that originally abutted the façade of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel.
Tonight, we’re camping at Morro Bay, just a quarter mile from the famous rock. Tomorrow, Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula.