Tues.-Wed., June 1-2, 2021
While Tuesday was largely dedicated to helping grandson Jacob with his rigorous Third Grade curriculum, Wednesday would be one of again exploring the artsy beach community of Ventura on another five mile morning walk.
An interesting cacti at the start
of today's walk
Today's trek would proceed without any hitches under the typical overcast SoCal weather phenomena known as "June Gloom."
For a confirmed carnivore like me,
this was even more gloomy
The Art Deco front of the Star Lounge
bar in downtown Ventura
An interesting ceramic tile mosaic
near the San Buenaventura Mission
It deserved a closer look . . .
Who is that baseball player?
Why it is none other than Fred Snodgrass who was born in Ventura in 1887.
An outfielder, he played Major League Baseball with the New York Giants (1908-15) and the Boston Braves (1916). During his career, he played in three World Series for the Giants in 1911, 1912 and 1913.
He was a member of the five person inaugural induction class of the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.
There was a second old time
ball player in the mural
This one was one Charlie Hall, born in Ventura in 1885.
Hall was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1906-07), Boston Red Sox (1909-13), St. Louis Cardinals (1916), and Detroit Tigers (1918).
Hall's Red Sox team played in the 1912 World Series against Snodgrass' New York Giants squad. The Boston club took the World Series that year in eight games by winning four games, losing three times. There was also an unusual tie game called because of darkness in this World Series.
Hall was inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
Lots of the City of Ventura's
luminaries adorn this colorful mosaic
That longhorn in the back
is a tad goofy looking
The controversial monk in the lower left corner bears a closer look.
Father Junípero Serra
Franciscan Missionary
Canonized by the Catholic Church in 2015
Serra was born in Spain in 1713 and gained fame for his building of the California Mission system between 1769 and 1782.
He was responsible for the building of the first nine of the 21 missions in the system. The first mission he built in 1769 is the one in San Diego, Mission San Diego de Alcalá.
His final mission, erected in 1782, is the one here in Ventura, Mission San Buenaventura.
The 21 missions were built approximately a one day's horseback ride from each other and offered travelers a nightly safe haven for trips anywhere between current day San Diego and San Francisco.
But at what price?
Native Americans make a strong case that indicates that Serra's treatment of California's Native people was much more cruel and infamous than what we were taught at St. Phillip the Apostle Elementary School in Pasadena in the late 1950s.
In 2015, in response to his canonization as a Catholic saint, many of the Padre Serra statues throughout the state were decapitated or otherwise mutilated.
For as long as I can remember there was such a statue in front of Ventura's old City Hall on a bluff overlooking the city. The city took the statue down in response to a strong community backlash over this now polarizing Franciscan monk and his work.
The mood got lighter when
I saw these colorful blooms
Eucalyptus Strip Show?
A city that prides itself on its art,
is one full of love don't you agree?
At the end of Main Street, I turned to walk towards the Pacific Ocean along the Ventura River.
The Ventura River Parkway
sounds friendly enough . . .
. . . but it actually fraught with
DANGER as this sign attests
A small lagoon forms just before
the river meets the ocean
The confluence of salt and fresh waters
The Ventura Pier in the distance
As stated earlier, Ventura
is an artsy beach community
More evidence of the same
Blue is my favorite color
It looks like a Phoenix rising
from the "ashes" of a dead tree
in Ventura's Plaza Park
It was worth a closer look
Across the street from Plaza Park is Ventura's old U.S. Post Office that is worth entering for, what else, the art.
In the Post Office's waiting area are the murals of artist Gordon K. Grant titled "Agriculture and Industries of Ventura" painted between 1936 and 1937 and was funded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Federal Arts Project, a part of FDR's New deal.
We still are a huge citrus
fruit producing county
I don't think that oil production
in the county is anywhere close to
what it was in the Depression Era
The same decline goes for the
dairy industry in the county
Several of the houses in Ventura
have that artsy feel to them too
Art or dormant vines?
You make the call.
Strong mural next to a
tire store
Are we on holy ground?
Even the entry gate to Ventura's
Lincoln Elementary School is
an artful interpretation of a
mythical, happy sea monster
Just another good pair of days enjoying life in sleepy yet exciting Ventura County.
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