World Travel Wednesday - Old Town!

I hope my loyal readers will excuse the fact that I'm already bushed; and this will be short. But I promise - Patriotism and Tradition tomorrow if you can bear with me.

Today I ventured out with Thing One's class to Old Town San Diego. Old Town San Diego is considered the "birthplace" of California. San Diego is the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in California. It was here in 1769, that Father Junipero Serra came to establish the very first mission in a chain of 21 missions that were to be the cornerstone of California’s colonization. Father Serra’s mission and Presidio were built on a hillside overlooking what is currently known as Old Town San Diego. At the base of the hill in 1820’s, a small Mexican community of adobe buildings was formed and by 1835 had attained the status of El Pueblo de San Diego. In 1846, a U.S. Navy Lieutenant and a Marine Lieutenant, raised the American flag in the Old Town San Diego Plaza.









San Diego Alcala 2, ArtPhotoGirl















Our guide this morning was Sherriff McCoy, State Senator and Sherriff of San Diego. In March 2000, the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) completed construction of the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park Entry Redevelopment project, which included extensive landscaping and reconstruction of the McCoy House. State Park archaeologists excavated in Old Town San Diego in 1995 to recover information needed to reconstruct a large residence built in 1869 by James McCoy, a well-to-do Irish immigrant who served as San Diego’s sheriff and state senator. Prior to 1851 the property belonged to Maria Eugenia Silvas, descendant of a Spanish Colonial soldier who came to Alta California in the 1770s.






Cactus Old Town, shellsnoel










Old town has lot to do; we saw the first Public schoolhouse in California, learned about adobe and it's use in the old west, about native California plants, and how to make butter! (The kids got to eat some with their snack of tortillas.) But what I really waned was CANDY! Old Town also boasts Cousin's Candy, an authentic penny candy store. They have some awesome old fashioned candy. (And sesame candy for cheap. Mmmm.)






Old Lithograph Print Small Town Scene Girl in High Boots, ArtPhotoGirl


It was a fun trip, all things considered, and it was nice to go with the Boy before he gets too old to want me there.