Today, Rena and I went shopping at Santa Maria, CA all morning. After lunch, we went to Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. It is not too far from Santa Maria and is in Santa Barbara County. At the gate, some people were there already. People even brought flowers with them.
But we just went there to see and to experience…
Rena posted for two pictures; one at the gate and the other in front of a guard house at the gate. Jackson’s family school and farm land are just across the street on the other side of the road.
After that, we went to a man-made lake, Chumash Lake. Chumask was a Indian tribe who used to be around this general areas – Morro Bay, Avila Beach, Shell Beach, Pismo Beach, Oceano & Santa Barbara, etc. Before Spanish expeditions from the south, they used to live along the ocean. After Spanish established several Missions and occupied the land along the coast, they gradually moved inland. That was the beginning of the end for these people. Sadly, most of them died of diseases, brought in by the Europeans. Their history and cultures were almost completely lost in the process.
Today, this area is very sensitive to their cultural sites. I think it should be this way out of immense respects to our ancestors who once lived and called here their homes.