486. Two Petite Precariously Planted Peppers
Part of our "travelin' light rock" series in southern CA.

1. Padre Peyri's Pepper
If you ever happen to be going to the old mission in southern California that is famous for its gargoyle-headed washing facilities, don't forget to note that it is also famous for having the first pepper trees ever planted in Alta California! (Apparently the seeds were brought there in 1830 by a sailor from Peru, and planted by Padre Peyri.) One of these first pepper trees still stands in the quadrangle near the restrooms. We were about to plant our little pepper inside this courtyard, in a chink in the wall, until we noticed that the gate would be closing at 4:30 PM. Therefore, we quickly removed our pepper stone and put it just outside the courtyard gate under two red bricks on the left side when facing the courtyard. There under a small white stone should be a very thin grey 1 inch oval stone. Turn it over, and, yepper, there's your pepper!

2. Pio Pico's Pepper
Another one of our favorite colorful places in southern California is the place where the American flag was first planted on California soil back in 1846. When you get there, find the spot where Pio Pico planted a plot of "pickled" pepper trees. One little pepper has fallen not far from the "tree". (Hint: a sign near Casa De Reyes marks where these trees used to be.) Sitting on a nice rustic bench painted with 4 "Day of the Dead Ladies" under a Tienda de Reyes sign on the wall behind, look right to an pointed arch mosaic with some plants growing in a small garden plot in front of it. About 8 to 10 inches in front of the bottom right side of the mosaic, pick up the smallest stone (circa 1-inch diameter) near the edge of the stone border. Turn it over to stamp your pepper and replace it as discreetly as possible, since there may be hidden cameras somewhere around this area.

As we already said, these are very precariously placed peppers, so get them while they're hot! We don't know how long they will last in such public places, but we will be curious to see how they fare, and how many people may find them before the gardeners rake them up!

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