Junípero Serra in the context of "Santa Clara, California"

Carmel-by-the-Sea (/kɑːrˈmɛl/), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 at the 2010 census. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is a tourist destination, known for its natural scenery and artistic history.

The Spanish founded a settlement in 1771, when Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was relocated by St. Junípero Serra from Monterey. Mission Carmel served as the headquarters of the Californian mission system, until the Mexican secularization act of 1833, when the area was divided into rancho grants. The settlement was largely abandoned by the U.S. Conquest of California in 1848 and stayed undeveloped until Santiago J. Duckworth built a summer colony in 1888. When the Carmel Development Company was formed in 1902, Carmel became an art colony and seaside resort, which incorporated in 1916.

San Luis Obispo County (/sæn ˌluːɪs oʊˈbɪspoʊ/ ), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo.

Junípero Serra founded the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa in 1772, and San Luis Obispo grew around it. The small size of the county's communities, scattered along the beaches, coastal hills, and mountains of the Santa Lucia range, provides a wide variety of coastal and inland hill ecologies to support fishing, agriculture, and tourist activities.

Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 United States census. Ventura is a popular tourist destination, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and resorts.

Ventura has been inhabited by different peoples, including the Chumash Native Americans, for at least 10,000 years. With the arrival of Spanish missionaries in 1782, Mission San Buenaventura was established by Junípero Serra, giving the city its name. Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833, San Buenaventura was granted by Governor Pío Pico to Don José de Arnaz as Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura and a small community arose. Following the American Conquest of California, San Buenaventura was eventually incorporated as a city in 1866. The 1920s brought a major oil boom which significantly developed and expanded Ventura, a growth that continued with the post–World War II economic expansion.

California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra who planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

California wine production grew steadily after Prohibition, but was known mostly for its sweet, port-style and jug wine products. As the market favored French brands, California's table wine business grew modestly, but quickly gained international prominence at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, when renowned French oenophiles, in a blind tasting, ranked the California wines higher than the premier French labels in the Chardonnay (white) and Cabernet Sauvignon (red) categories. The result caused a 'shock' in viticulture industry since France was regarded as foremost producer of the world's finest table wines. This event contributed to expanding the recognition and prestige of vintners in the New World, specifically, the "Golden State".

San Luis Obispo (Spanish for 'St. Louis the Bishop'; /sæn ˌluːɪs əˈbɪspoʊ/ san LOO-iss ə-BISS-poh; Spanish: [san ˈlwis oˈβispo]; Chumash: tiłhini) is a city in and the county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway between the San Francisco Bay Area in the north and Greater Los Angeles in the south. The population was 47,063 at the 2020 census.

San Luis Obispo was founded by the Spanish in 1772, when Saint Junípero Serra established Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. The town grew steadily through the Mexican period before a rapid expansion of San Luis Obispo following the American Conquest of California. San Luis Obispo is a popular tourist destination, known for its historic architecture, vineyards, and hospitality, as well as for being home to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Monterey (/ˌmɒntəˈreɪ/ MON-tə-RAY; Spanish: Monterrey) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of 8.645 sq mi (22.39 km) and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census.

Monterey was founded by the Spanish in 1774, when Gaspar de Portolá and Junípero Serra established the Presidio of Monterey and the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo. Monterey was elevated to capital of the Province of the Californias in 1777, servings as the administrative and military headquarters of both Alta California and Baja California, as well as its only official port of entry. Following the Mexican War of Independence, Monterey continued as the capital of the Mexican Department of the Californias.

Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá (Spanish: Misión San Diego de Alcalá, lit. The Mission of Saint Didacus of Acalá) was the second Franciscan-founded mission in the Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it was founded on July 16, 1769, by Spanish friar Junípero Serra, in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. The current church, built in the early 19th century, is the fifth to stand on this location. The mission site is a National Historic Landmark.

The mission and the surrounding area were named for the Catholic saint Didacus of Alcalá, a Spaniard more commonly known as San Diego. The mission was the site of the first Christian burial in Alta California. The original mission burned in 1775 during an uprising by local natives. San Diego is also generally regarded as the site of the region's first public execution, in 1778. Father Luis Jayme, California's first Christian martyr who was among those killed during the 1775 uprising against the mission, lies entombed beneath the chancel floor.