PICTURES of ORANGE COUNTY (Mission Viejo, Vista: tile, tax, shopping center)

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by AKgirlinCA

There's actually a WalMart in San Clemente on Pico out by Talega. ( FYI for any potential San Clemente newbies )

I always forget about that one! So Walmart is just in Laguna Niguel, Foothill Ranch, and San Clemente correct for south of Irvine?

[IloveOC]

Hey - where are all our great picture takers??? I am having withdrawls. I need to see more pictures - please. You guys have all done such a great job. I would participate but I live in Minnesota so all I can do is check in and enjoy.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by missionhome

Hell on earth (I mean Walmart). There are only two Walmarts south of Irvine and people will drive all the way from San Clemente just to get to a Walmart (people love this store for some reason). I hate it. It is too crowded.

I won't drive 4 miles to the one in Fontana. "Everyday low prices" aren't as important to me as clean, uncluttered and uncrowded.

[californialove24]

https://www.city-data.com/forum/gener...s-vs-cali.html

[missionhome]

San Juan Hills High School was built by the Capistrano Unified School District at the eastern end of development in semi-rural San Juan Capistrano, CA. The school is the first high school to ever be located within San Juan Capistrano and it now serves the vast majority of the city's student population (about 90%). The southern portion of Ladera Ranch and the community of Capistrano Beach also attend San Juan Hills. The high school campus is beautiful, costing $155 million to build, making it one of the most expensive campuses in CA history. This price tag has made the district the center of attention for over spending and neglecting its other campuses such as San Clemente High which dates all the way back to the 60's. Hence the campus is a center piece of the "CUSD Recall" campaign.
Here is the campus:



This is the valley where the city of San Juan Capistrano is. Notice that San Juan Capistrano restricts all construction on the tops of hills making the city look more rural. Marco Forester Middle School and San Juan Sports Park are visible.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by missionhome

San Juan Hills High School was built by the Capistrano Unified School District at the eastern end of development in semi-rural San Juan Capistrano, CA. The school is the first high school to ever be located within San Juan Capistrano.....

The first one since 1965. From the early twenties until 1965, San Juan, Capo Beach, San Clemente and Dana Point were served by Capistrano Union High School on Camino Capistrano, most of which still stands. They were known as the Cougars (a tradition carried on with Capo Valley HS) and the school colors were blue and gold.

San Clemente HS (my Alma Mater) opened in 1965 and the old school became a 7th and 8th grade junior high (which I attended for 7th and half of 8th) until Marco Forster opened at the semester break in 1969.

The San Juan County Library stands on the site of the old Williams Gymnasium that was part of the old school.

[missionhome]

^^^

Yes, I forgot about Capistrano Union. It has been such a long time since the school closed. You can still see the "C" on the side of a hill in San Juan that was for the school. Is Serra Continuation School located on the campus of the old Capistrano Union? I have never known where specifically in San Juan Capistrano the old Capistrano Union High was. I'm assuming it is on the site adjacent to the Basilica.

Here is a map of the new San Juan Hills High School Attendance Boundary on google maps.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...30899&t=h&z=12

[Fontucky]

Yes for the question about Serra.

Yes, the old campus is located directly across Acjachema from the Basilica and extends from there to La Zanja. The east border is El Camino Real. The old football field for the school was located at ECR and Acjachema, southeast corner. The old baseball field is now known as Stone Field and is located at Camino Cap and La Zanja. The tennis courts across Acjachema from the church are the original courts used by the high school.

[missionhome]

Thanks for the little bit of history. I have been living in this area for over 20 years and never knew that that specific site was Capistrano Union. I always thought the school was rubble or something at the bottom of the hill where the "C" is. There aren't that many people that lived in South OC before the 60's so it is neat to learn about history in this area and somebody that knows what this area looked like before being covered in homes. I'm a Placentia native so I know about the orange groves and such up in the North area in the 70's, but the south was like the middle of nowhere back then except for small towns like San Clemente, Dana Point, SJC, etc..

[Fontucky]

We moved down to Capo Beach from Inglewood in 1960, so that's where my memories start. I'm full of these kind of tidbits.

I have distinct memories of the Mission Viejo area before anything was there. Then I recall when they started the first grading for the opening phase, which were, if I recall correctly, the Deane and La Paz homes on both sides of La Paz. For some reason, I've always been fascinated with MV, probably because I was there to see it grow from nothing. Then I ended up working for MV Company, then I bought a home and became a resident, and so on and so forth. Beautiful place. I miss it.