On April 6th, 2024, Mission San Antonio de Padua held their annual Mission Days event. It was a fundraiser for the mission, so not free to attend.
The drive out among the wildflowers was incredible (the goldfields were true to their name!). You need to drive through Fort Hunter Liggett to get there, and we saw soldiers doing soldiery things on the way. We also saw a bald eagle fly over us (the kids first time seeing one).
When we arrived, we saw people in costumes from long ago: a trapper and his tent, a soldier on a horse, a blacksmith at work, some fancy people playing music and dancing, and more… The kids got to feed horses and then also go on a horse-drawn carriage ride (free!).
One can’t talk about the mission without acknowledging the deleterious impacts missions had on native people. Members of the Salinan tribe were present and the kids got to take home some California poppy seed bombs. We committed to making our own at home as well to help spread the native flowers.
We walked around the inside of the mission, which is much like a museum. We tried to tag along on a tour, but Joy didn’t have the patience or the ability to keep her voice down (“I’m boooored!”).
Rocko’s favorite part was the food and the blacksmith. The blacksmith was hammering out biscuits of metal and Rocko got to keep two of those.
The kids had the opportunity to crack and mash acorns, make an adobe brick, and we could hear people ringing the mission bell. All-in-all a great day!
Are you looking for adventures nearby? Check out this list!
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