Hi All. Had a very interesting day. I took an early morning trip down to San Miguel to see Mission San Miguel. I wanted to see for myself the extent of the damage done by the San Simeon quake. I wasn’t allowed to go inside, but was allowed to walk around the outside of the area. Needless to say I stayed more the 60 feet away from the outside walls. My Mother may have raised a fool, but she didn’t raise a dumb one. I have tempted faith in the past, but with time getting short I don’t want to tempt it any more then I have to.

Mission San Miguel's church, front courtyard and cemetery are currently closed due to exterior and interior damage sustained in the quake. There are a series of top-to-bottom cracks in the 40 or so foot tall front façade and interior plaster damage. This I was told was the reason for closing the church.

On Dec. 28, the County of San Luis Obispo red tagged the church property, stating that the property was unfit for occupancy. A team of professional engineers and architects has evaluated the damage and at present time no decision has been made as to when and or if the church will be reopened.

What really makes this so sad is that the mission's church is famous for its altar, fresco secco paintings and wall decorations created and painted by Indian artisans and the Monterey artist Esteban Munras. The interior decorations are original and the best preserved of any mission in the California mission chain according to mission experts.

Just from what I could see from outside it wouldn’t take much to bring it down. The walls have been shored up, but I feel that a good strong shake could still bring it down.

I talked to a couple of people about what they felt just before the quake and during the quake. All said it was pretty violent, but one person did say he felt the ground lift up just before the shaking started. His home is situated on a small hill on the west side of the town. Don’t know if this had anything to do with what he felt. Most said they could hear the quake coming. One person even said that at first she though a semi had drove off of highway 101 and was coming down the hill. Over all the town came through the quake pretty good. Most if all that I talked to said their nerves were on edge for a couple of days after that. That’s a feeling I know all to well. Take Care…Don in creepy town