Despite stiff competition, that hillside village of tiny houses was the winner — but the margarita came in a tight second.
We’ll get to both those delights in moments, but before that, let’s orient: Spending some hours in and around the California Mission town of San Juan Bautista, just 45 miles south of San Jose, is gladdening, even with this virus fouling even the simplest of pleasures.
But even masked-up and cautious, strolling the town’s streets and marveling at buildings with plaques that say “1799” on them invites you to savor the past — and maybe even hope for a sunnier future. Traces of that past are everywhere here. The colorful 1797 Mission church in the town’s center offers daily Mass (though now socially distanced outside), and the surrounding State Historic Park is replete with intriguing buildings, exhibits and personal accounts of California’s 18th century stirrings.
Alas, most of the exhibits are closed because of that pesky pandemic. But the nearby Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is very much open. San Juan’s namesake led an expedition of 240 people and 1,000 head of cattle from the Mexican deserts to San Francisco in 1775 and 1776, and a wiggle on his route took him through these parts.
The graded trail starts with a long, gradual ascent through pockets of oaks and over now-dry grassy hillocks, with farms, cows and horses near and far. About 1.5 miles up, some enterprising contractors have erected a series of tiny — I mean really tiny — houses perched on a naturally terraced hillside. Seeing those colorful constructions with no actual homes nearby was one of those oddball and gratifying surprises that the world needs more of.
I needed the stop even more, since being a codger, I was puffing pretty good from the merely moderately steep ascent. The trail did level off for bit, then up again and level again. We did five miles total (I wanted to nap in one of those tiny houses on the way down) and felt we’d earned our lunch.
And lunch we did, in the enveloping garden setting at one of the quite-a-comfy-distance, socially distanced tables set in the lovingly landscaped grounds of Jardines restaurant. The gardens are a place of color and cheer, and big succulents and cacti abound. Even though we had to use takeout containers and plastic tableware, the food — a shrimp enchilada for me, a chile relleno for my companion Alice and crispy chips and salsa galore — was savory and satisfying.
Rest assured: While a margarita in a nice, salt-rimmed, stemmed glass is excellent, a margarita in a squishy plastic cup is also excellent.
That dang virus makes the expansive Mission plaza a ghost zone, but it’s still fun to peek into the exhibits and historic buildings, and check out the contours of the sizable church and its outside passages. In contrast to the plaza, downtown was lively, with bouncy music, lots of outside dining and most shops open, at least when we visited before the current shutdown — and it will be so again someday. There are intriguing antique shops and other boutiques with Latin flair, and if you’ve got the time (sorry), Mission Clocks has many old mechanical marvels. Even the local trees, the stars with gnarled and knotted cork and pepper trunks, carry history’s weight.
San Juan doesn’t have tourist glitz, but it offers a welcoming, mellow vibe. Stroll the side streets with their beautifully preserved, old buildings, and check out old adobe homes where yard roosters will squawk out directions in cranky rooster talk.
Catch a cup of whoosh at Vertigo Coffee as you head out of town, and remember that part of Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” was filmed at the Mission. History. This place has oodles of it.
If You Go
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail: Access this historic trail, which stretches 1,200 miles from Arizona into California, includes a trail head on Old Stage Coach Road in San Juan Bautista. The trail is closed to vehicles, but you can park nearby. Find trail and park information at www.nps.gov/juba. Historical information and an interactive map may be found at www.anzahistorictrail.org.
Juan Bautista Anza State Historic Park: The park is currently open for outdoor use. In non-pandemic times, the park also offers living history programs, including Dutch oven cooking demos and living history days, and special events, such as a “Vertigo” screening on the lawn. www.parks.ca.gov
Jardines de San Juan: This colorful Mexican restaurant is offering a limited takeout menu. Open daily, beginning at 11 a.m., at 115 Third St. in San Juan Bautista. Order takeout ahead (831-623-4466); www.jardinesrestaurant.com.
Vertigo Coffee Roasters: This indie coffee house is open from 8 a.m. onward Wednesday-Sunday at 81 Fourth St. in San Juan Bautista; https://vertigocoffee.com.