Visions of California

The following is a short and early version of an excerpt from my book detailing  Saint Junípero Serra's time in Orange County and Mission San Juan Capistrano. Serra’s Third Time in Orange County – The Founding of Mission San Juan Capistrano – c. October 26 - December 5, 1776         Serra departed from San Diego on October 25th with Corporal Nicolás Beltrán, ten leather-jacket soldiers, some Baja California Indians, and Father Gregorio Amurrió to reestablish Mission San Juan Capistrano. When they arrived a couple of days later, they found the cross still standing from the year before. Father Amurrió pointed out the spot where the bells had been buried and Beltrán ordered the soldiers to dig them up. After they were hung on a makeshift wooden stand or in the branches of an oak, the bells were rung by the missionaries, echoing through the California hills of San Juan Canyon far into the distance. In the memories of the event left behind by the missionaries, “at the peal of [the be

Tired but accomplished - the team which led the bus tour following the Portolá Expedition's route through Orange County in the years 1769-1770. From left to right: Paul Spitzerri, Chris Jepsen, Stephanie George, Phil Brigandi and Eric Plunkett (author of this blog). Our friend and colleague, Phil Brigandi, died on December 12th, 2019. This is my story with Phil .              I met Phil Brigandi at an Orange County Historical Society meeting on April 12 th , 2012. I had known about Phil for long before meeting him. He was a hard guy to avoid. Phil seemed to have written or spoken about every historical topic I was interested in and started researching myself. Even after seven years of friendship, I’m still only scratching the surface of the breadth of history Phil knew and wrote about. But the Phil I knew was a kindred spirit. He  saw  what I saw in the backcountry. He didn’t just see the chaparral and grass covered hills dotted with occasional oaks (which he likened in beauty t