The Mission Inn

The two fellows below are Joseph and Napoleon. They are the birds in residence at the Mission Inn where we stayed our last few nights in California. They are terribly loud and sometimes obnoxious. They do talk a little, but mostly just say "Hello!"

They are located just outside the main entrance, a short walk behind the the walkway you see below. The Mission Inn has a long history and has had some notable guests. Everyone from Ronald Reagan to Ozzie Osbourne has stayed there. Richard Nixon and his wife Pat were even married in one of the chapels.

This is what the entrance looked like from the street.

Inside the first courtyard it was very pretty. Everything was lush and green, with palms standing over the pool and the restaurants.

This is one of the patios for the restaurant. The hotel had some great balconies and walkways which gave a great view of the hotel and the courtyards.

There was a great religious influence all around. It certainly felt like a monastery in some places.

The inn has several towers.

The chapels had some very nice architectural points, including this stained glass window.

The pool below and the street behind it. It was a little cool but it didn't stop Isabelle from going in and staying a while.

Below is one of the chapels.

This is another view of the courtyard. There were also a few conference rooms and large ballrooms. One room on the way to our room had an old brass sign that read: Bride's Dressing Room. I suspect there are lots of weddings held here every year.

The clock was interesting. It had a rotating mechanism with life sized figures and animals which turned with the hours. You can see one of the figures in gray playing the violin.

Finally, a view from the top deck.

From the looks of this picture we could have been in Italy or Spain. Anyway, that concludes my recap of the trip to California. Like I said before, I think I need to go back and see the rest of it now: San Fransisco, Yosemite, the Sierra Nevadas, Big Sur, the giant redwoods....