Chapter XIII 



El Camino Real 



(Coaching or Automobiling) 



LOS ANGELES was the starting-point, the 

 centre of radiation for many of our coaching 

 and riding trips to Santa Barbara and beyond 

 and through Southern California to the adobes of Tia 

 Juana. To see Southern California effectively the trip 

 should be made by coach, motor-car, carriage, or on 

 horseback. Excellent roads extend all over the country, 

 inviting one to the old ranches, canons, ruins, and Mis- 

 sions which cannot be seen from car windows. 



It was a mere conceit, perhaps, but remembering that 

 in the olden time pilgrims and travellers in this fair 

 country found a Mission at the end of nearly every 

 day's journey from San Francisco to San Diego and be 

 yond, along El Camino Real, the King's Highway, we 

 determined to emulate the ancient custom and go over 

 the old roads ; not on horseback, as did the old Cali- 

 fornian, but in a four-in-hand, making as nearly as pos- 

 sible a Mission every night, seeking the hospitality of 

 its secularised walls in reverential fashion, as did the 



181 



