Today we're off on another adventure . . . This time we're taking the Metrolink Train to San Juan Capistrano to see the Swallows' Day Parade, tour the Mission, and enjoy whatever other fun and mischief we can find. We met at the North Main Corona Station . . .
 |
| Metrolink Station |
 |
| Barbara, Debbie, Chris and Joy . . . Waiting for the train to arrive |
 |
| All Aboard! |
Once on the train, we found our seats and were happily chatting away and watching out the window as the train flew down the tracks, stopping at the various stations to let passengers off and take on new ones. We arrived at the Santa Ana Station, and for awhile we weren't paying much attention - we were having way too much fun talking and laughing together - until we realized we had been sitting at this station for much longer than at any of the others. Then came the announcement that everyone had to get off the train and transfer to the Amtrak for the remainder of the journey. No explanation, and we never heard what happened, but oh well . . . . So off the train we went . . .
 |
Our Metrolink Train sits in the station as our
Amtrak Train arrives to take us the rest of the way |
 |
| We've arrived! |
First order of business after getting off the train . . . Breakfast! We asked around and were directed to Ruby's Diner . . . .
 |
| Ready to eat!!!!! |
Breakfast was great! Next we found a spot on the sidewalk to view the Swallows' Day Parade which was about to start. People come from everywhere to see this parade - the curbs were lined with folding chairs and lots and lots of people!!! The Swallows' Day Parade is our nation's largest non-motorized parade - all participants are either on foot, on horseback, or in horse-drawn wagons. This year's theme is "New Trails West" and it started off with a bang (literally) with citizens from the Wild West. . . .
 |
| Fun!!! |
The parade started a few minutes later and I'll let the pictures do the talking . . .
 |
"Fiesta de las Golondrinas" means "Festival of the Swallows"
and is celebrated each year for the three-months following the swallows return on March 19 |
 |
| Marine Color Guard |
 |
| Honoring Veterans from WW2, Korea & Vietnam |
 |
| Awesome! |
 |
| Beautiful horses, beautiful carriages |
 |
Clydesdales - always a favorite
|
And then . . . . nothing. No more horses, no more wagons, just an empty street. Finally it was announced that there would be a 30 minute or so delay because of an "incident". We saw several ambulances, a fire engine, and some police, but had no idea what was going on. Later (actually the next day) we found out that a couple horses hitched to a wagon got spooked and bolted into the crowd, injuring two women and a double-amputee who was knocked out of his wheelchair. In a separate incident later in the parade, a mini-horse hitched to a chariot bolted, causing the woman riding in it to fall into the street. This caused another delay. None of the injuries were serious and thankfully everyone is OK, including the horses.
So, while the parade was interrupted, we decided to head into the Mission . . .
 |
| Mission San Juan Capistrano |
 |
| Silly Red-Hatters!!! |
 |
| The mission grounds are so pretty |
 |
| Wheel used to extract oil from olives |
 |
| Scale model of the Mission as it looked originally |
 |
| Love that the mission is shaped like a cross! |
One of the reasons we decided to come to San Juan Capistrano at this particular time was to see the swallows. The closest we got was this . . . a photo of a sign with information about the swallows . . .
 |
| San Juan Capistrano Cliff Swallow |
We did see several nests - still unoccupied as of this moment . . .
 |
| Swallow Nests |
 |
| The nests can be found under the eaves of the mission buildings |
We did learn some interesting facts about the swallows though . . . They migrate 15,000 miles from Goya, Argentina, to San Juan Capistrano in large groups. Some of their colonies number more than 3,500 nests. (I wonder if that is current information or old facts???) As you can see in the photos above, the nests are gourd-shaped, and are built from mud pellets which consist of sand, silt and clay, and are then lined with grasses and feathers. A typical cliff swallow nest contains 900 to 1,400 pellets, and the pellets are added one at a time, meaning each one takes a single trip flying to and from the nest. That's a LOT of flying!!! In fact, swallows spend most of their days flying - up to 600 miles per day - just coursing back and forth sweeping up enough small and large insects in their mouths to satisfy their appetites. Pretty amazing!!!
As we were wandering around the mission grounds, we realized the parade had started again. We found a perfect viewing spot just inside the mission wall. We were just in time to see .. .
 |
| The Scottish bagpipers |
 |
| The cute cheerleaders |
 |
| The backyard gardeners |
 |
| The Mexican dancers . . . |
 |
| ... who quickly broke into action |
 |
| And more beautiful horses |
 |
| Including the Posse |
 |
| And the rider-less horse |
 |
| And then there was the hula-hoop horse . . . |
 |
| And the kiddy horses (so cute!!!) |
 |
And the best part - the kiddy swallows . . .
bet the real ones aren't nearly this pretty or cute! |
 |
| And don't forget the Indians!!!! (OK, the Native Americans!!!) |
Back to touring the mission . . . We walked inside Father Serra's Church . . .
 |
| Father Serra's Church |
 |
| A closer look at the alter - so ornate |
 |
| The pipe organ above at the back |
 |
| And of course, the candles |
The mission grounds are beautiful with gorgeous flowers blooming everywhere . . .
 |
| Even a beautiful lily-pond |
 |
| Complete with huge koi fish |
 |
| And this cute family who were feeding them |
 |
| Check out those hungry open mouths! |
A couple more photo opts before we ended our visit to the mission . . .
 |
| In front of the lily/koi pond |
 |
| And the bells |
 |
| The other side of the bells |
 |
| The ruins of the original mission |
 |
| More of the ruins |
 |
Father Serra
If you listen near the bush on Father Serra's right,
you can hear recorded sounds of Swallows nesting |
We exited the mission and were off to check out the street faire - along with everyone else in Southern California!!! We couldn't believe how many people there were . . . . but that didn't stop us from finding some great treasures . . . bracelets, scarves, a couple new hats, a pretty purple blouse, and even some bed sheets . . . . SCORE!!!
Finally our feet were screaming and it was time to head back to the train station for the trip home . . .
 |
| Train Station |
 |
| Checking the schedule |
 |
| Our train! |
We ended our day with a yummy dinner at Carino's in Eastvale . . . . Thank you Queen Barbara for such a super fun day!
 |
| Nighty Night! |
