October 3 and 4, 2021

We have 9.6 miles before we arrive at Mission San Jose. It’s open today so Tracie is excited to visit a gift shop and museum.

We left our comfy hotel at 7 am and watched the sun rise over the mountains to the east.

As we walked into Fremont we noticed it was market day. We strolled through buying some fruit and a few edible veggies that didn’t need to be cooked. I love markets! They are so colorful and it’s awesome to meet people who grow our food, especially the younger generation.

Finally we arrive at Mission San Jose. It is a beautiful old building with grand stairs at the entrance. inside the church the colors are soft and inviting.

While we were visiting we toured the museum which held many artifacts found after the original building was destroyed. As in many historical buildings they often have had to be rebuilt because of natural disasters. In California that’s often earthquakes.

As we walked into the Mission we noticed a group of mainly young women having their faces painted and costume choices. They were having photos taken for the Day of the Dead after Halloween. They were beautiful!

We stayed for at least two hours and had to get going so we could finish for the day. We had another 4 miles to our hotel. It was hot, 88 degrees, and we were hungry…

This was our path today… sidewalks, some shade and pavement everywhere!

Monday October 4

Another 7 am start today. The weather today will be hot again so we want as many miles as possible while it’s cool. Tracie usually is out front so my photos include her. She loves it!

We switch sides of the road depending on the shade factor. We rarely have to walk in the sun exclusively.

The flowers today were amazing! They brightened my walk…

We actually arrived at our hotel before the Mission because of the route we took. It was much better this way as we were able to check in early, shower and rest a little before more walking and exploring.

The Mission is on the Santa Clara University campus and was less than a mile from our hotel. It sits along The Alameda which is described below from Wikipedia:

The Alameda is a historic district of Central San Jose, California, west of Downtown San Jose. The district is centered on an alameda (Spanish for tree-lined street), a historic portion of El Camino Real connecting Downtown San Jose to Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and includes the smaller, surrounding neighborhoods to the north and east, like College Park and St. Leo’s.

The Mission Church was rebuilt in 1822 and restored in 1928. It was moved from the original site about a mile away after being built in 1777, and later destroyed.

Everything appeared to be locked up for the day so I encouraged Tracie to try the door – and it was open! She was shocked but so excited as evidenced by her face!

What a beautiful campus this was. Another day is done and we have three more to go. I believe I will be happy when we enter Santa Cruz!

#CAmission