es along
its curving harbor. The pedestrian may go inland for a number of miles,
taking his luncheon with him, and have only the hills and the birds for
his company. We had such a walk, and saw a hawk alight and settle
himself calmly upon a fencepost, holding in his talons a newly captured
snake. The creature was still alive, its body ringed in a rigid hoop in
its effort to escape. But the cruel claws held it fast, and its captor
was preparing to finish it with his sharp beak. We were told that the
dust from Santa Ana Valley, twenty-five miles away, could be seen
approaching in a grey cloud across the water on windy days from
shoreward. Our landlady deplored such days, when her immaculate house
was covered with the dust of the distant mainland. Santa Catalina, a
grey green agate in the sunlight, a purple amethyst at twilight, ringed
by lovely seas, is well worth a visit.

Returning to Long Beach, we drove on toward San Diego, through the Santa
Ana Valley to San Juan Capistrano. As we came through the great valley
in which lie Santa Ana, Fullerton, and Anaheim, we passed fruitful
groves of lemons and vast fields of beets. We observed an odd optical
illusion as we came near Tustin. All the fields before us seemed to be
covered with water, and we at first thought that the irrigating streams
had been turned on and were flowing through them. But as we reached the
fields we found them perfectly dry. Field after field stretched before
us apparently swimming in water, and field after field as we came near
we found dry and brown under the sun. This occurred more than once in
southern California as we were driving along in the sunlight.

At San Juan Capistrano we stopped to see one of the most beautiful
Missions in all California. The cloisters of San Juan, the ruins of the
very fine old church, the bells in their places above the walls, all are
extremely picturesque and beautiful. At San Juan with its quaint little
street we found two hotels, both of which had attractions. The Mission
Hotel offered us Spanish cooking, attractive to one fond of red pepper
and high seasoning. Las Rosas looked like a pleasant country home turned
by some enterprising woman into an inn. We chose Las Rosas and had an
excellent home dinner there. From San Juan Capistrano we drove on south
to Delmar, where we spent the night at the Stratford Inn. This hotel,
which sits flower-encircled on its sandy hillside overlooking the blue
seas, has every modern a