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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Mission of Nombre De Dios


This afternoon we drove over to the site of the first Spanish mission in the United States.  Some two hundred years before the Spanish established the western missions, there was a string of missions from the Keys to the Chesapeake Bay.  Mission of Nombre De Dios was the first.
Statue of Father Lopez in front of the Great Cross
On September 8, 1565, settlers from Spain landed here.  Among the passengers was Father Francisco Lopez who offered the first mass in what would become the United States.

In the early 1600s, the first shrine to Mary was built here.  That original Shrine, as well as several others, have been destroyed by storms.  The present chapel was constructed in 1915 and is dedicated to motherhood.
Our Lady of La Leche Chapel

Around the grounds of the cemetery are walkways which pass by the stations of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

Also on this historic site is the Great Cross which stands 208 feet in height and a statue of Father Lopez.


As our path crossed the outlet of a small pond, we found a Great Blue Heron just waiting for some unsuspecting fish to come along.  While we were there, I got more pictures of him than he got fish to eat.

Otherwise, we have been pretty lazy today.  Gene did rub on the Everest a little and I continued to work on organizing photos.  Some of you read Darrell’s blog, Wandering America.  He thought it would be great to have fresh homemade cookies today.  Guess who liked that idea?  I made cookies this afternoon.

Speaking of Darrell and Judy, last evening we were invited over to their 5th wheel for dinner.  Also joining us was Darrell and Judy’s long time friends from Maine, Mike and Peggy.  We had read about Mike and Peggy on Wandering America; it was great to get to meet these nice folks.  Judy prepared a delicious meal of chili, rolls, ice cream, and cookies.  Even though Darrell was not feeling too well, just starting to recover from a miserable cold, he and Judy were, as usual, wonderful hosts.  We had a great time with lots of laughs.

That’s it for today.  So far, we have nothing on the agenda for tomorrow.

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