Rockabilly Kustom Car Show, Part 1

This and a second page will detail a custom car show in Fredericksburg this weekend.  

My favorite from the show!

I just thought this shot looked better in B&W.

I Love the rat bikes!!!!

Reminds me of what we used to see all the time.

The Presidio - 31 Hours in San Diego Part VI (Last One)

San Diego Presidio Site

According to the historical marker at the site, "Soldiers, Sailors, Indians and Franciscan Missionaries from New Spain occupied the land at Presidio Hill on May 17, 1769, as a military outpost.  Two months later, Father Junipero Serra established the first San Diego Mission on Presidio Hill.  Officially proclaimed a Spanish Presidio on January 1, 1774, the Fortress was later occupied by a succession of Mexican forces.  The Presidio was abandoned in 1837 after San Diego became a Pueblo." 

On this hill, July 16, 1769, Padre Junipero Serra and the soldiers of Spain set the Royal Standard, raised the Cross, and dedicated the Mission San Diego De Alcala.

Top of the Presidio.

I'm always intrigued by scenes like this...

US, Mexico and Spain.

This is the same flag seen in the Old Town San  Diego pics.  The flag sits on the site of old Ft. Stockton.

Statue memorializing the 500 Member Volunteer Army of the Mormon Battalion.

The 500 Member Volunteer Army of the Mormon Battalion 

  While preparing for their exodus to the Great Salt Lake in 1846, Mormon pioneers were asked by the US Government to establish a 500 member battalion for service in the war with Mexico.  The troops set out from Western Iowa in July, 1846, and arrived over 2000 miles away in San Diego on January 29, 1847, completing the longest infantry march in history. The expedition helped the US win the war and set the stage for the colonization of the Southwest. 

Mormon Battalion.

I hope you've enjoyed my tour of San Diego as much as I have!!!  Thanks for looking............

Old Town San Diego - 31 Hours in San Diego Part V

Old Town San Diego, the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in California, is considered the "birthplace" of California. 

It was here, on a hillside in 1769, that Father Junipero Serra established the first of 21 missions which would end up spanning the California Coast. These missions established the cornerstone of California’s colonization. 

At the base of the hill in the 1820’s, a small Mexican community of adobe buildings, now known as Old Town San Diego, was formed and by 1835 had attained the status of El Pueblo de San Diego. 

The Adobe Chapel was originally built in 1850 as a home, and was converted to a church by Don José Aguirre in 1858. Much of the interior artifacts from the original chapel have been retained, including the tabernacle, the altar with its beautiful marbleized finish, some woodwork including pews and doors, and José Aguirre's tombstone is laid in the floor.

Old Town is full of various types of local art.

I kept hearing this rooster crowing.  Turns out it was this dude right behind me.....

Mmmmmm, them's good eatin!!!

On this spot, in 1846, a U.S. Navy Lieutenant and a Marine Lieutenant, raised the first American flag in the Old Town San Diego Plaza.

The flag in the background is at the site of the old Ft. Stockton, near the Presidio, mentioned earlier.  The next (final) San Diego blog will detail this area.