Visions of California

Sunset with the moon at Dana Point with Santa Catalina Island in the distance. As a kid in Southern California, I would look out over the ocean and conjure images of pirates and ships during the early modern period. These images were the products of all of the typical pirate and sailing fodder - rides at Disneyland, pictures in kids' books and magazines, Saturday morning cartoons, and the mysterious model of a sailing ship sitting on the mantle in the "den." And from the bond fire I stood barefoot in the sand and watched the sun set beyond the continuous washing of waves over the rocks and sandy shore, while the rising northwest wind produced its familiar but ever-surprising chill, and thought about the sailors of a time long past, returning back to their anchored vessels and drying out their sandy clothes in the lantern-lit below decks. This post tells what I could find of their story. The story begins with a question; why was California a part of Spain at th