Los Rios St, San Juan Capistrano

When friends or relatives visit Orange County for the first time a trip to San Juan Capistrano is always at the top of the list. It is really the only town of historic consequence and it's only 10 minutes away. I never tire of the standard tour that starts with brunch in the patio of the Cedar Inn followed by a lingering visit at the mission. After a few moments at the train depot, I then guide my guests across the tracks into what many of them have called "a trip back in time" - the Los Rios Historic District.

The whole scene of a narrow road lined with small, ancient adobe and wood frame house brightened with flower boxes and gardens. Each step down the road reveals another reminder of its past until we reach the Ramos House, famous for its exquisite lunch and bloody mary both of which we sampled. The casual patio engulfed in a luscious garden of flower vines, always frames a lasting memory.

If there are kids in our group, we never miss going to the petting zoo across the way. The pungent odors of farm animals reaches us well before the entrance to the zoo.

At this point I am usually ready to head back to the car, but on this trip I took more notice of the small homes that lined the street and continued our walk into the neighborhood. Realizing that some of these house were over a hundred years old and most at least 80 or 90 years, I became absorbed in the real history of the neighborhood. The pride of the residents of Los Rios was clearly on display. It's the neighborhood that is truly historic and the residents that provide the link to the present in way that is very respectful of the history.