Mission Santa Inés

Book excerpt: Renowned for its world-class vineyards & horse farms, California's breathtaking Santa Ynes Valley also boasts Mission Santa Ines, the "Hidden Gem of the Missions." The adobe Mission reigns over a mountain-rimmed expanse of the Old West, giving her perhaps the most beautiful settings of all the California Missions. She is the 19th of the 21 Missions founded by Franciscan padres from 1769 to 1823. This book traces the steps of the first European explorers who settled the Santa Barbara Coastal region & adjacent interior valleys. It describes their interaction with the Chumash Indian, as well as the cultural contributions of both groups, whose community formed the heart of what is still a largely untouched Valley. Rare archival photographs, paintings & modern photos take the reader back in time to old California. They reveal the early Mission community, preserved artifacts, the Mission's gardens, & her collection of historic paintings, statues, bells, rare "musical boards" & ornate vestments. Mission Santa Ines survived a sometimes stormy history to become one of California's greatest treasures. This book reveals her past glory through a well-researched text & her present charm through stunning color photos of the Mission & the Santa Ynes Valley. To order this book, contact Susan Megliola, Old Mission Santa Ines, P.O. Box 408, Solvang, CA 93464. Tel. (805) 688-4815.