For the Forth of July weekend, I decided to split the difference between a real vacation and a “staycation,” opting to explore several parts of the North Bay I’ve never or rarely been to in the past.
My first stop is in San Rafael, named after the second to last of the Spanish missions in California: Mission San Rafael Arcangel.
The above photo is the current incarnation of this mission. Nothing stands of the original structures. I’m not entirely clear why they built something that’s clearly an architectural mashup between a modern church and the style of an early 19th century mission, especially since it just comes across looking ridiculous. But that’s what you’ll find if you walk a couple blocks up from downtown San Rafael trying to find the mission the city was named after.
To be fair the history of the mission is clearly posted in the front plaza, you can read the official story if you zoom in on this photo:
