Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (1)

When in California I love to visit the old missions that run along the whole state. This post features some outside shots of Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, near Monterey. It is the only California mission to have it's original bell tower.

It's a beautifully preserved set of buildings with a lovely courtyard.

Covered walkways always catch my eye.

What a peaceful place.

For those interested, it's very much worth a visit.

Inspired Sunday

Inside Mission San Juan Bautista

Here are a couple of final photos from inside Mission San Juan Bautista near Monterey, California. Some areas are maintained almost like a museum.

Others can still be actively used for worship.

Inspired Sunday

Mission San Juan Bautista

Last time we were in California I visited a couple of the old missions. This post is about Mission San Juan Bautista, northeast of Monterey.

Founded in 1797, the mission is very well-kept. I used a fisheye lens to capture the next shot.

Here's another photo of the inside of the church.

Today's last photo is of the cemetery, but I've got more to come from this beautiful area.

Inspired Sunday

Boston Famous Old Houses

I'm so far behind on my posts that I'm going back to last summer for this one. Boston has a lot of history, and here are a couple of famous landmarks in the city. First is the Old South Meeting House, originally a church, it's most famous as the building in which the Boston Tea Party was organized.

We didn't have time to tour the museum inside but I did take a quick peek through the door.

Next is the Old State House, the oldest surviving public building in Boston.

On March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred in front of the building; the spot is marked.

Inspired Sunday

Shadow Shot Sunday

Mission Dolores Interior

Continuing from last week's post, here is the interior of Mission Dolores in San Francisco.

Inspired Sunday

Our World Tuesday

Mission Dolores

Mission San Francisco de Asís, more commonly known as Mission Dolores, is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco - the original building in the foreground of this photo was dedicated in 1791.

The larger structure shown here was completed in 1918.

It includes a graveyard.

Lovely artwork can be seen.

Next weekend I'll show you some photos from inside the basilica. Please visit Inspired Sunday for more photos on this theme, and Our World Tuesday for assorted shots from around the world.

Air Force Academy Chapel at Night

Since my new camera is suppose to take good photos in low light, I went to the United States Air Force Academy yesterday evening to try some photos of the famous Cadet Chapel. I was very pleased with the results - my old camera wouldn't have worked without a tripod, and even then it would have had trouble with the exposures and autofocus.

All these photos are handheld, and it was much dimmer than the photos appear. The camera was pulling out details I couldn't see with my eyes.

This one is taken at the bottom of the previous one, at right angles.

This is the front of the chapel - I thought it looked almost like a landing strip, appropriate for the location.

And finally, here's the other side of the chapel, which wasn't illuminated - I was astonished that I could get a hand-held photo here at all. A couple of stars showed up and the autofocus was even able to lock on. This one's grainier because I had to push the low-light performance almost to its maximum.

Inspired Sunday

Our World Tuesday

Mission SLO Grounds

Here are the last of my photos of of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa,walking around the grounds.

Inspired Sunday

Our World Tuesday

Mission SLO - Inside

Here are some more photos of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, this time focusing on the inside. First, the main church.

And some photos of the museum.

The Inspired Sunday meme has lots more photos of religious buildings of all kinds.

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

This week I'll start posting my photos of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, in the beautiful town of San Luis Obispo in California. It was founded in 1772 and due to restorations is in beautiful condition.

I love this covered walkway.

Inspired Sunday

Our World Tuesday

San Fernando Mission Grounds

Here are the last of my photos from the San Fernando Mission in southern California, this time focusing on the beautiful grounds. This arch stood out against the blue sky.

This large expanse of grass and trees was relaxing.

This series of columns is very famous.

I always love fountains.

Since it's a mission I'm linking this to Inspired Sunday, and of course to Our World Tuesday. I will be without my main PC for a couple of weeks as it's getting repaired so I may not be able to comment on your blogs.

San Fernando Mission - Mayor Domo's Residence

Going back to the San Fernando Mission, the mayo domo had his own residence, and it is quite impressive.

This is for Inspired Sunday and Our World Tuesday.

Mission San Fernando Wine Cellar

It may seem like a strange thing to find in a church's convento, but the one at the San Fernando Mission has a wine cellar that was recently opened to the public. It was used to produce wine for  mass, and it was also sold.

These were very challenging photos to get as it was very dim and I didn't want to use flash. They're 3.6 and 1.8 second exposures, all I could do was lean the camera against something. I'm linking this to Our World Tuesday, and to next weekend's Inspired Sunday as this is within a church complex.

San Fernando Mission Convento

Continuing to explore the San Fernando Mission, here are some photos of the Convento building. This is the only original building remaining in the mission, built between 1808 and 1822, and it contains many fascinating artifacts.

It used to be the priests' residence, but is basically a museum at this point.

There were several signs indicating important people who had visited, including the Pope if I remember correctly.

All photos were taken without flash. I'm linking to the Our World Tuesday meme. And as I just found out about the Inspired Sunday meme, I'm adding a link to that - I'll have several posts for that in the next few months.