206 Life in the Open 



the sea takes on marvellous shades and tints in the sun- 

 light, and at sundown no place along-shore so appeals 

 to the artist as this land of soft airs, sea odours, and 

 melody. 



One afternoon the coachers entered Los Angeles 

 from the south. Perhaps they had lost the King's 

 Highway ; perhaps they were in the very footsteps of 

 the old padre who walked up and down the coast, blaz- 

 ing this trail in the hot sands or yielding adobe. Who 

 knows? Then, or in 1820, when the old Plaza chapel 

 was half built, the town boasted of but 650 souls ; but 

 this city up whose fine streets we pass has over 200,000 

 inhabitants in 1906. One can make Los Angeles in a 

 day from San Juan, but the coach tarries at Santa Ana, 

 Orange, Tustin, and El Toro, and their famous walnut 

 groves and ranches of all kinds are visited. 



I have hoped in this brief recital, an enumeration of 

 some of the Missions along the old Highway, to suggest 

 the charm of coaching and automobiling in Southern 

 California, and the review of the Missions has been 

 made merely to provide a motif or objective. A small 

 party can make such a trip in a carriage or automobile, 

 or even on horseback. Inns and hotels are scattered all 

 along the old Highway, and the journey can be made 

 with ease and comfort and the true charm of the country 

 in the open enjoyed. 



The old Missions of California are among the most 

 attractive features of this country to the average person. 

 They are typical California ruins and, like wine, will in- 

 crease in value as time rolls on. Many of the old 



