San Diego Air and Space Museum & Mission San Diego

The next day we toured the San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park and the Mission San Diego.
The original San Diego Aerospace Museum opened in 1963.  The museum's collection grew and additional space was needed.  In 1965 the Museum moved to the larger Electric Building.  On February 22, 1978 a fire destroyed the museum's extensive artifact and archival collection and more than fifty aircraft in a matter of minutes.  The new museum opened in the Ford Building on February 22, 1980.  A very nice aircraft museum.  There was a special exhibition in the Museum when we went..Ripley's Believe It or Not.  There were many interesting exhibits.

 The Apollo 9 Command Module

A Ford Tri-Motor 

 The NYP-3 Spirit of St Louis is the only flying replica of the original Spirit of St Louis in th world. It was built in 1979 by volunteers of the Museum including three of the builders of the original.

Examples of just a couple of the displays in the Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Amelia Earhart most unusual "painting." This portrait was was "drawn" entirely from smoke.

  Rosie the Riviter poster made entirely from jelly beans.

Space Shuttle Endeavour contains 5,981 computer keyboard keys.

In front of the Museum..notice the SW Airliner.

On July 16, 1769, Father Serra established Mission San Diego and the California mission system was begun on a site overlooking the bay. The mission remained at this site for only five years. The decision to move the mission six miles east was made by the pastor, Father Luis Jayme (a young Majorcan) and approved by Father President Serra. The new site was close to the San Diego River and the American Indian villages. Father Jayme had great rapport with the American Indians but two of the mission Indians became discontented with the rules and regulations necessary for an orderly unit and they incited hundreds of Indians in remote villages to riot. Eight hundred American Indians stormed onto the grounds in the middle of the night on November 4th, 1775. They pillaged the mission, burned it to the ground and massacred Father Jayme who became California's first Christian Martyr and who is buried under the altar in the present church.

Father Serra returned to Mission San Diego de Alcala to oversee the rebuilding of the mission. This is the fifth church on this site.  The church was enlarged over the years. 

In 1976, Mission San Diego de Alcala was named a basilica. A basilica is a church of very important historical significance. It is an honor bestowed upon a church by the Pope.