Day 10 (June 20)-San Luis Obispo to La Purisama to Santa Ynez

Morro Rock in Morro Bay

Everyday is a great day!

But some days are greater than others.  Today... well... was one of those not as great days.

It started out as I was all packed up, bike gear on, ready to hop in the car so Carolyn could drop me off at Mission San Luis Obispo so I could begin my long day of riding when... wait... where's my bike helmet?  To make a long story short, somewhere in the last 48 hours my helmet took a walk on its own.  It's 7:15am.  I got on the computer and started looking for bike and sporting goods stores.  We found a Sports Authority in San Luis Obispo right next to the mission that opened at 9 AM.  So we took advantage of the motel's continental breakfast, took some parting photos, then headed into town.  We arrived right when they were opening, and--voila--they had just the perfect helmet on sale!  I replaced my lost headgear and I was off.

There were two possible routes to take to Mission La Purisima Concepcion de Maria Santisima (or La Purisima, for short).  One was a more direct route on some off-the-beaten-path roads.  Another was to follow the signs for the Pacific Coast Bike Route (which, by the way, doesn't always go along the coast; coast should also not be construed as a verb--as in coasting downhill!).  The latter route is about 7 miles longer.  At the last minute, I decided to take the Coast Route.  It had some pretty formidable climbs, but the way was clearly marked and most of the way the shoulders were wide.  Carolyn, on the other hand, chose to follow the instructions of "Jack Garmin" (that's what we call the male voice on her Garmin GPS).  He "suggested" (it always seems like he's bossing the driver around to me) that she take the more direct route.  When we arrived at the mission, we compared notes.  Her remark on my choice was, "Good thing.  You would NOT have been a happy biker!"  Enough said.



Entrance to Mission La Purisima
State Historic Park

 Like Sonoma, La Purisima (near Lompoc, pronounced 'lahm-poke," so we are told by the natives here) is not owned by the Catholic Church, but the State of California.  The original mission still lies in ruins, with parts visible here and there throughout the park.  The mission has been "reconstructed" to serve as an educational tool to portray mission life in the 1820s.  In this regard, it accomplishes its purpose.  However, both Carolyn and I commented that La Purisima seemed to us to be less "mission-ish" than any of the other missions we've visited so far.  It was much different than we expected.  But considering the goal of the park, with a great visitors center, it has to be taken for what it is--an attempt to recreate an era, not primarily to preserve remains.


The reconstructed belltower and church at La Purisima.
No one knows exactly what the campanario looked like.



These structures were probably more typical of the original mission



Flower fields near Santa Ynez mission

 The next and last mission of the day was Santa Ynez, adjacent to the village of Solvang.  As I rode up and down hills on my way to the Santa Ynez valley, for the first time I saw large fields of flowers being grown commercially (along with other produce).  It's one thing to see a bouquet of yellow flowers, quite another to see acres upon acres of them!  There were other colors, too--orange, red, pink/purple.



Church and belltower at Santa Ynez.
This structure was built in 1817.





Santa Ynez is only 18 miles from La Purisima.  Several sources attribute its founding, even so close to another mission, to the potential for success the area showed.  It was the 19th mission founded, in 1804, and turbulent political times, Mexican independence and rebellious Chumash Indians all took a toll on the short life of this community.  It is still an active church, although much smaller in size than at its greatest.



Fountain in the courtyard at Santa Ynez



American and Danish flags flying above stores in Solvang

 The mission complex lies at the edge of a sizable Danish settlement, Solvang.  How did this happen?  Danish, specifically a large group from Iowa who were pioneering new ways of education around their Lutheran heritage, sought to establish a Danish colony on the West Coast.  in 1911, several Danish leaders bought large amounts of acreage from what was on the Ranchos formed after the secularization of the mission at Santa Ynez.  They moved from Iowa and started this colony.  Now, with significant wine growing in the area, Solvang has become a popular tourist hot spot, attracting many weekend tourists from the L.A. area (like the one's I talked with in the hot tub this evening).



Enjoying the ambiance of Solvang

 Now, there's a reason you don't see a picture of me on my bike or in my bike shorts at Santa Ynez.  After biking over 80 miles today, I turned into the parking lot at the mission.  Carolyn was walking toward me, so--of course--my attention is on her.  It should have been on the speed bump that I hit at about 18 miles and hour!  So... you guessed it.  That piece of raised pavement sent me and my bike flying.  I think my body took most of the shock--my hip, my elbow.  Then my head bounced off the pavement.  Or should I say my new helmet!  Some of my bike parts were a bit twisted, but nothing that Corey at Dr. J's Bike Repair in Solvang couldn't fix in short order.  So, no permanent damage to bicycle or body... but I think my pride took a huge blow!

I think Carolyn was hoping that the bonk to my head would knock some sense into me.  But, alas, no such luck.

After putting bike and body back together, we dined in Solvang and found an ice cream parlor.  And we're both very glad to put this day behind us!

San Luis Obispo to La Purisima:  62 miles
La Purisima to Santa Ynez:  19 miles
Total biked today: 81 miles
Total cycled on trip to date:  544 miles