The next jornada was a long one of four leagues, and [the Portolá Expedition] camp was on San Gregorio Creek. It began to rain and the command was prostrated by an epidemic of diarrhoea which spared no one. They now thought they saw their end, but the contrary appeared to be the case. The diarrhoea seemed to relieve the scurvy, and the swollen limbs of the sufferers began to be less painful. They named the camp Vane de los Soldados de los Cursos, and Crespi applied the name of Santo Domingo to it.

Unable to travel on the 25th and 26th, but resuming the march October 27th, they pressed forward.

From The March of Portolá and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco by Zoeth S. Eldredge

Portolá Expedition of 1769 Under orders from King Carlos III of Spain, Gaspar de Portolá i Rovira and Franciscan Father John Crespi marched north from San Diego on 14 July 1769 with sixty-three soldiers and one hundred mules. Their destination was Monterey Bay, but they missed the fog-shrouded bay and instead became the first documented Europeans to see the San Francisco Bay. Just seven years later, Spain founded Misión San Francisco de Asís on 29 June 1776. The California Coastal Trail traces much of the route, and twelve California Landmarks in San Mateo County commemorate the expedition:

October 23   Mouth of Gazos Creek (Bean Hollow State Beach) October 24-26   Mouth of San Gregorio Creek (San Gregorio State Beach) October ???   Tunitas Indian Village October 27   Mouth of Purisima Creek October 28-29   Mouth of Pilarcitos Creek (Half Moon Bay) October 30   Martini Creek October 31   San Pedro Creek (Pacifica State Beach) November 4   Sweeney Ridge November 4   San Andreas Lake November 5   Cañada de Andreas (Upper Crystal Springs Lake) November 6-10   San Francisquito Creek (Menlo Park) November 11   Cañada de Reymundo (Pulgas Water Temple)

Some Missing California Plaques

When we visited the following sites, we were unable to locate a California commemorative plaque. In some cases, it appeared that the plaque had been stolen. In other cases, it appeared that a California plaque had never been ercted.

Douglas Flat
Portolá Camp October 24-26, 1769), San Gregorio State Beach
Portolá Camp October 28-29, 1769), Half Moon Bay
Sailing Launch Comet, Lathrop
San Joaquin City Site, Tracy

Stone Corral, Calaveras County
Transcontinental Railroad, Lathrop
Valley Springs