Diego Sepulveda Adobe

Such a nice place to enjoy your lunch. It’s not crowded at all and very well maintained. You can hear the cars off of Adams ave but the breeze, view, and the smell of the eucalyptus and pepper trees make up for it.

This cute, little historic landmark is conquistadorable. The first adobe bricks got laid here in 1820 back when California was Spanish. It originally served as a station between the San Juan Capistrano and San Gabriel missions. The Diego Sepulveda Adobe is the second oldest building in Orange County, and that seemed like a pretty good reason to check it out.
Volunteers from The Costa Mesa Historical Society open the building to the public on the first and third Saturdays of every month from noon until four. You can see the outside of the building anytime you feel like visiting Estancia Park, but timing your visit to coincide with the open hours is worth it. My docent Kathy was a fount of historical knowledge and shared lots of fun facts with the other guests and me. It’s free to visit, but you can make a donation if you’re a good person. (Do it. You can go on to describe yourself as a philanthropist. That’s totally worth throwing a buck in a jar. Right?)
The three room adobe is filled with relics and displays that reflect the different eras of California history. I’d like it if there were more informative displays on the Spanish and Mexican periods, but the early American period is well represented and there’s a nice display about local Native American history. If you just want to take a look around and see some cool old stuff, you’ll only need ten minutes to check out this quirky little museum. If you get a kick out of reading plaques and maps (like me), you’ll enjoy spending half an hour here on a Saturday afternoon. Much of the building has been restored, but the original adobe walls have withstood floods, earthquakes, and nearly two hundred years of Orange County history. She’s a brick house… mighty, mighty.