Penance for the Cars
The Mission to the Mission
Any road trip along the California coast owes credit to Father Junipero Serra and the string of Mission towns located along El Camino Real.
On Monday, the car-cruising configuration of Highway 101 in Eureka took me to on-screen memories of American Graffiti, filmed in Petaluma. Today in downtown Petaluma, I saw the essence that memory, the auto-dominated central spine of a portion of El Camino.
Farther south, I was chagrined upon arrival in walkable, ever-posh Carmel to find the annual Monterey Car Week was in full swing.
A waitress urged me to photograph cars, Neil Diamond music blared through dinner. Three guys next to me chatted about Ford Broncos.
It was time for penance on another remnant of El Camino.
No matter that it was dark and foggy — I had to h0n0r the underlying roots of the place, not the Car Show. I walked a mile in the dark to the Carmel Mission Basilica, dating to 1771.
I had an odd sense of accomplishment — and several nighttime photographs — for peeling away this layer of history. Score another victory for the resurgence theme.
More entries will appear throughout the month of August, and will generate the basis for future presentations and exhibits. All photos by Charles R. Wolfe. Do not copy.
