Walking the mission area is relaxing, connecting with how it was here in past centuries. Yet we often discover something that’s new to us. This bell tower between the mission front and the seminary might have once housed the bells.
The big fountain in front of the mission is an ageless magnet for kids, and their watchful parents who navigate that ageless line between protection and freedom as their child teeters along the wall or leans to splash.
This visit, a new fascination for me was the sculptures over the mission roof. I like how the afternoon light played on the top one.
I presume her anchor honors the maritime history of Santa Barbara, and the brave souls lost at sea over the years.
From the front her anchor is invisible, and her visage changes. Probably more religious in theme, yet to me this could be a contemporary young woman in a hoodie engaged in quiet conversation.
Across the street on the expanse of lawn next to the rose garden, some young maidens were enjoying themselves, the weather, the setting and each other in just such a dialog at this gentle place where old California is renewed.
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