Stumbling upon a jewel

Driving from San Diego back to L.A., we decide to stop over in Riverside because it is sunny.  Youngest daughter pulls out the blackberry and looks up hotels, finds one called The Mission Inn.  We get off the freeway having passed through nondescript dried looking terrain and drive up to a hotel that looks like it has been in existence before there was asphalt (and turns out it was).  Parts of it date back into the 1800s. It is gorgeous, quaint and grand.

The girls go for the pool, and I pull on my shoes.  Make a right and head towards a hill known as Rubidoux.  It looks like a giant dumped a load of boulders onto a mound.  I run around it then weave in and out city streets.  It's rush hour but there are very few cars.  This place is a centerpiece of the recession.   There are few store fronts but lots of attorneys offices.  I learn why.  The courthouse is smack in the middle.  It is a spectacular building.  One of the most beautiful courthouses I've ever seen.  I'm not sure how much it is used.  It is white with statues and intricate carving.  Really, it is just too pretty to be real.