My first stop of the day took me to the city of El Monte 
, just outside Los Angeles. El Monte was called the "end of the line" of the Santa Fe Trail by many settlers to this area well before Los Angeles became the mega city it is today.
Having been settled by Texas emigrants, it also has the distinction of being the first permanent American settlement in Southern California. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to spend in this little community, but I was able to make a stop at the Santa Fe Historic Park .
The park is small but full of history — including the old city well. And being the site of the well, it is most likely the spot where the stage stop was located.
When I arrived, the park was gated shut, but thanks to the kindness of one of the maintenance workers I was given access to the beautiful little spot.
Ormsby had great things to say about El Monte and considered it an oasis of civilization after thousands of miles into the wild. For Ormsby and undoubtedly others, civilization meant shingled roof tops....
After leaving El Monte we made a pit stop at the Los Angeles Wells Fargo History Museum to pick up Museum Manager Ileana Bonilla, who was spending a few hours with Juan and me. Then it was on to the Pico House across the old Los Angeles Plaza near historic Olvera Street . The Pico House was built during 1869-70 by the last Mexican Governor of California, Pio Pico , and it dominated this area as a luxury hotel for several years. Near this site was the Butterfield stage stop.
We were lucky to be able to go inside the grand structure, which is now owned by the state of California. The bottom of its three stories is now used to house temporary exhibits and is currently housing one entitled "Sunshine and Struggle: The Italian American Experience 1827–1927" ."
Of course no visit to L.A. would be complete without some sort of Hollywood experience! Lucky for me there was a movie or commercial (I was never able to figure out which) being filmed right in front of the Pico House. It was very exciting to walk onto the live set, and I scanned the scene feverishly in search of a star.
Unfortunately, I had no star sighting.
After some filming of my own inside and outside the Pico House, I retired to the RV to do some work and check on the boys. Juan and Ileana walked down the street to grab some lunch.
Soon there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, an unassuming man in glasses with a sash around his neck identifying him as a docent was standing outside. He told me he had noticed the RV and thought I might be interested in his family history.
Turns out he is a descendant of my very own Waterman Ormsby! For the second time in two days I had the very real feeling that Mr. Ormsby was making his presence known. After a brief discussion with Mr. Bob Lisenby, he agreed to be filmed, so I grabbed the equipment and hastily set up an impromptu interview.
I could hardly believe it! I was actually speaking to a descendant of Waterman Ormsby!
Thank you for sharing the nice stories of your journey. I enjoy reading them.
Please note that the Pico House is now part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, a City department and is not owned by the state of California.
Thank you Suellen for sharing the journey with me and for the information. Stay tune for the conclusion.