Heart of Orange County

There’s something inherently romantic about exploring history and projecting yourself into an earlier era, another way of life. Invariably, we like to think of the past as a simpler, kinder place. That makes the Los Rios Historic District in San Juan Capistrano a particularly romantic option for a Valentine’s weekend jaunt.

It’s the oldest neighborhood in California, dating to the late 1700s, when it sprang up as residential quarters for laborers and soldiers working nearby at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Within less than a square mile of quiet, tree-lined streets are about 40 buildings. Three are original adobe structures nearly 200 years old. Others include Victorian houses built a century ago by new immigrants from Europe.

Los Rios is a short jog off Interstate 5 at the Ortega Highway exit, easily accessible by car. But to start things off on a more romantic note, catch the Amtrak anywhere and roll into San Juan in style. The Los Rios district is just across from the train depot.

Mission romantic

Mission San Juan Capistrano, less than half a mile east of Los Rios, is a good starting point if you can spend the whole day in the area. Step behind the foot-thick walls and you’ll feel whisked back in time at least a century. The grounds, lush with native flora and Spanish architecture surrounding the historic Great Stone Church, make for a relaxing and transformative prelude to exploring Los Rios.

On to Los Rios

When you leave the mission, walk south on Camino Capistrano and allow a few minutes to pop into some of the boutique-like shops on either side of the street. Then head west on Verdugo Street, cross the railroad tracks and you’re smack in the middle of the Los Rios district.

It’s home to businesses ranging from gift shops (Apple Rose Cottage, Hummingbird Cottage) and art galleries (Logan Engstrom Gallery) to restaurants and a farm-zoo.

Among the noncommercial buildings is the Montanez adobe museum, giving visitors a hint of what life might have been like here a couple of centuries back.

The property also has one of the traditional dome-shaped tule reed kiichas, homes used by the indigenous Acjachemen tribe.

Talk to the animals

You can include the kids whether your Valentine’s Day outing involves children or not. Head south on Los Rios Street and take a right down River Street to the old-fashioned Jones Family Mini-Farm. Old-timers in the area may grouse that it’s gone commercial with fees for various items, from admission ($1 per person) to carrots to feed the horses (50 cents, outside carrots no longer allowed) to the souvenir photo of a pony ($4) or horseback ride ($2 for one lap, $5 for four). Still, it’s home to a menagerie of cuddly critters including bunnies and guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, sheep and, as promised, kids (goats).

O’Neill Museum

Adjacent the farm is an 1880 Victorian house, among the first wood-frame houses in the area. Saloon owner Jose Dolores Garcia built it for Refugio Yorba, the Indian woman he married in 1862. Legend has it some of the town’s other business owners may have arranged for Garcia’s murder to get the property his saloon occupied. The museum has examples of Victorian fashions Refugio Garcia might have worn as well as display cases showing pieces of the Garcias’ original wallpaper.

Romancing the palate

If you can make a day of it, get lunch at the Ramos House Cafe, and for dinner head back to the Tea House on Los Rios.

In between, tour the O’Neill Museum, visit the Jones farm and walk a block into town to poke around the cavernous Old Barn Antiques Mall (adjacent the historically rough-and-tumble Swallows Inn).

Ramos House owner-chef John Humphreys, who opened his restaurant nine years ago in the 1881 Aguilar House, gets California creative with a Louisiana-Southern accent on his menu, which includes cinnamon apple beignets and sweet potato duck hash at breakfast and a pulled pork sandwich or potato, corn and buttermilk crab cakes at lunch.

This weekend, Humphreys says, he’ll add some aphrodisiac twists, including gold leaf adornments, and oysters in at least one dish.

The Tea House, in a restored 1911 cottage, normally offers several levels of teas throughout the week, including a Tree House Tea for children. Families are welcome during the day, but this Friday and Saturday nights, the focus will be on couples, per the Tea House’s copyrighted motto: “Building Relationships One Cup at a Time.”

Owners Claudia and Allan Niccola created a Valentine’s menu for two seatings each evening. They’re serving a multi-course dinner ($55 per person) with offerings from roasted bacon-wrapped dates for appetizers to roast tenderloin of beef or Cornish game hen as an entree and a Belgian chocolate heart filled with strawberry ice cream and fresh strawberries for dessert. And champagne, of course.

The only thing left to do after that is hop back on the train and encourage the engineer to make the ride back to present-day reality a long, slow one.

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San Juan Capistrano

1. Mission San Juan Capistrano: Ortega Highway and Camino Capistrano, (949) 234-1300.

2. Hummingbird Cottage Gifts: 26711 Verdugo St.,

(949) 487-1249.

3. The Ramos House Cafe: 31752 Los Rios St., (949) 443-1342.

4: Logan Engstrom Gallery: 31712 Los Rios St., (949) 487-7090.

5. Apple Rose Cottage: 31711 Los Rios St., (949) 240-8188.

6. The Tea House on Los Rios: 31731 Los Rios St.,

(949) 443-3914.

7. Montanez Adobe Museum: 31745 Los Rios St.,

(949) 240-3119.

8. Jones Family Mini-Farm: 31791 Los Rios St., (949) 831-6550.

9: O’Neill Museum: 31831 Los Rios St., (949) 493-8444.

10: The Old Barn Antiques Mall: 31792 Camino Capistrano,

(949) 493-9144

11: Amtrak-Metrolink Station: 26701 Verdugo St.