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October 16, 10:35 PMBritish Royal Family ExaminerLinda Gentile

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Junipero Serra towers over I-280 on the El Camino Real trail

Back in 1958, on the 16th of October, Chevrolet rolled out its first El Caminos. These interesting-looking cars, with the long, extended pick-up truck rear, probably about tripled the average family's capacity to go shopping.

So far as this Examiner knows, there are no historical markers for the Chevy El Camino...yet. It's probably just a matter of time. But there are several other El Caminos, for the name means simply, "The Road." One in particular is historically famous: California's El Camino Real. In its time, the 600-mile long King's Road linked the 21 California missions, from San Diego up to Sonoma.

Originally, the road was set up so that there was never more than a day's ride between outposts; an outpost might be a settlement, a station, a mission, or a presidio (fort). A little south of San Juan Bautista an original stretch can still be found.

Starting in 1906, interested historical groups set up bells to mark the original route. These gradually succumbed to vandalism and time, but in 2005 were replaced to the tune of some 555 new bells. While these bells are not historical markers, the entire route is peppered with state and local historical markers, including the El Camino Real landmark, near Mission San Francisco, and the somewhat monstrous Junipero Serra monument that towers over northbound I-280 on the way to the city.

All the missions and most of the outposts have some kind of marker or landmark, enough to keep a landmark-hunter happy for weeks...perhaps even driving a Chevy El Camino. Perhaps this idea could seed a vacation or two?