The Pre-Stressed West

Feeling stressed out? Tired of the old bumper-to-bumper on the 405, the 5, the 55, the 57 the 22 and the 91? Had enough of strip malls, mini-malls, mega-malls, fast-food franchises and cookie-cutter homes?

Then consider stepping back in time--to a place where the pace is as slow as the clip-clop of a horse heading down a tree-lined street; to a time when Southern California was still more visionary dream than hard-edged reality and the only thing that was overgrown was the weed-choked empty lot next door.

The Los Rios Historic District in San Juan Capistrano, considered California’s oldest residential neighborhood, was originally established in the late 1700s for workers at the nearby mission.

Stroll down Los Rios Street, slip into one of the century-old board-and-batten houses selling handcrafted items, have a leisurely lunch or a cup of tea, ride a pony, feed a goat--feel that old romantic California vibe, circa 1900.

A Cat’s Life

Park in the public lot next to the Capistrano Depot and walk over the railroad track crossing where Verdugo Street dead-ends. Just across the track is a small, weathered old wooden house on the right. The brass historic plaque says that it was built in 1878 in Forster City (near San Onofre), that it was moved to San Juan Capistrano in 1882 and that it has served as a general store, post office and residence. Today it houses Moonrose, a candle shop that also sells oils, incense, jewelry and clothing. (26711 Verdugo St., [949] 493-8905. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days a week.)

Step onto the wooden front porch with a bougainvillea climbing onto the overhang. Then, just inside the doorway, check out the Critter Dipper, a do-it-yourself rainbow candle dipper that allows the customer to “discover the candle maker within you”: Buy a pair of white candles ($2.50-$3.50) then dip them into different containers of warm, colored wax.

You’ve got to look closely for the shop’s biggest attraction: Spanky the striped tabby cat, who is often curled up asleep on a shelf next to the cash register.

“Everyone comes to see the cat,” shopkeeper Anibal Becerra said. “A lot of people come in just to see him.”

A couple of regulars have been known to stop by with bags of canned tuna or fresh fish for Spanky: “He stays pretty healthy,” she said.

Brunch and Stuff

Hungry? Turn up Los Rios Street and head to the Ramos House Cafe next door where diners eat on a patio beneath a huge mulberry tree. (31752 Los Rios St., [949] 443-1342. Hours: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.) Chef-owner John Humphreys, who bought the 1881 residence five years ago, serves an a la carte menu Tuesday through Saturday and prix-fixe ($20) brunch Sunday.

Down the road a piece--and across the street--is the Teahouse on Los Rios (31731 Los Rios St., [949] 443-3914. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday). The Teahouse offers the same menu every day--specialty salads, hot dishes and tea sandwiches with scones--except for Sunday, when it offers brunch from 10 a.m. to noon ($5.95-$8.95).

Ready to continue your stroll? Next to the Ramos House Cafe is The Healing Garden Boutique and Spa, which sells women’s clothing, bath soaps, candles, lingerie and its most popular item: soft-cloth sculptured fairies with hand-painted faces. (31742 Los Rios St., [949] 248-2271. Hours: 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.)

Owner Sherri Wright, who moved her family into the five-room house from a ranch in Norco in 1996, turned the living room and dining room into shop space three months ago.

“Everyone says there’s something magical about Los Rios Street, and there truly is,” Wright said, as a New Age recording played in the background.

Next door is the Lemon Drop Grove, which sells a mix of new and vintage furniture, clothing and household items and gifts. (31720 Los Rios St., [949] 489-9734. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.)

Farther up the road is Apple Rose Cottage, which sells birdhouses, stuffed dolls, teddy bears and other items. (31600 Los Rios St., [949] 240-3666. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.)

Historic Houses

Los Rios Street includes a number of truly historic abodes. Visit the Montanez Adobe. Built in 1794, it is one of three remaining adobes out of 40 that were built for mission workers. (31745 Los Rios St., [949] 240-3119. Hours: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.) Or stop by the O’Neill Museum, a Victorian house built in the late 1800s and one of the town’s first wooden buildings. (31831 Los Rios St., [949] 493-8444. Hours: 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; noon-3 p.m. Sunday.)

Curator Gwen Vermeulen said the museum is visited not only by tourists but “tons and tons of students.” Over the last month, more than 100 high school students who have been assigned to write about a house more than 100 years old have stopped by, she said. And younger students frequently come by in groups.

Children visiting Los Rios Street enjoy the Jones Family Mini Farm, which offers pony rides and a petting zoo with rabbits, guinea pigs, a pig, goats and emus. (31791 Los Rios St., [949] 831-6550. Hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday.) It’s across the street from the Ito Nursery, a retail and wholesale nursery. (31825 Los Rios St., [949] 661-7291. Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.)

Mini Farm owners Gil and Millie Jones bought the 1 1/4-acre farm in 1980, but it wasn’t much at the time.

“It was a junkyard literally, with jacked-up cars,” recalled Gil Jones, who spent the first year cleaning up and fencing the property.

In 1981, the Joneses began offering a horse-drawn carriage for weddings. When that proved unprofitable, they bought a hay wagon and started doing hayrides around town. That lasted until 1995. By then the traffic in town was “horrendous,” Gil Jones said. By that time, the farm was so busy with pony rides, which they added in 1988, and the petting farm, which they added in 1990, that “we couldn’t do it all,” he said.

Pony pack: $6.50, includes one souvenir photo, a two-lap pony ride, one entry to the petting zoo and a small basket of carrots. The farm also rents out barbecue facilities for parties ($100 for three hours).

The Joneses are obviously filling a need.

“I estimate last year we had 150,000 visitors, based on our revenue,” Gil Jones said. “Kids really enjoy it.”

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IF YOU GO Getting There: Take Interstate 5 to the Ortega Highway (74) exit in San Juan Capistrano. Go west on Ortega Highway toward the mission and turn left on Camino Capistrano. Turn right on Verdugo Street and make another right--or left--into the public parking lots at the train depot.

Sights: If you’re lucky, you might see the Cross Creek Cowboys, a group of Old West preservationists, who are known to show up on Los Rios Street in full cowboy regalia. They’ve dropped in at the Jones Family Mini Farm for a couple of impromptu shootouts.

Asides: Owners of the cottage commercial businesses in the Los Rios Historic District are required to live on site. “It’s a real cottage industry,” homeowner-shopkeeper Sherri Wright said. “We’re literally what America was built on, making dolls, jelly, soaps . . . and everybody knows everybody; it’s like Mayberry.”