beach house Rental in san clemente

Growing up in san clemente

We used to have to go to Laguna to find a grocery store.  Sure there were small markets around the greyhound bus station.  The busses were mostly bringing  marines to and from Camp Pendleton.  Our days were school and playing sports.  Surfing and going to the beach was everyones favorite thing to do.

What did I do in a past life to end up here? 

As we travel down Interstate 5, we notice Cristianitos Canyon above San Onofre State Park.  This is an area that welcomed the first recorded inhabitants, the Acjachemen. 

About 9,000 years ago, a group of hunters found San Mateo Creek with plenty of acorns and fish.  There were also deer, rabbits and squirrels for meat.  The Acjachemen were part of the few hundred thousand people thought to populate all of California at that time.

The San Mateo Creek and the San Juan Creek provided fresh water to the area, and people lived peacefully here for over 8000 years.   In about 1200 AD, two important Acjachemen settlements were established fairly close to each other. Panhe was settled along the beach in the southern end of San Clemente.  Later, these folks were called Playanos.

A larger village called Putuidem developed more inland along San Juan Creek.  Putuidem became the “mother village,” because it was preferred by the women because of more shelter and access to fresh water. In the mission times, these inhabitants were called Serranos.  Circular shelters called Kiichas were often home to inhabitants of both villages.

Colonialism, the age of exploration, and America’s manifest destiny changed the destiny of the Acjachemen.  Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed along California’s coast in 1542 and Francis Drake explored other portions of the northern coastline in about 1580.  Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1776. 

My experieces in San Clemente motivated me to purchase a beach house rental in San Clemente.