Monday - Fullerton

The Lost Trail

Yesterday, Mormon congregations all over Southern California employed the LDS Church's regular first-Sunday-of-the-month Fast Day to unitedly pray for rain. So when we looked out the window this morning, it was gratifying to see shiny streets and little rivulets in the gutters. The clouds were clearing, however, so after we finished our oatmeal, we decided to go on a "training" hike while Doug went off to dialysis.


The city of Fullerton boasts an extensive system of hiking and equestrian trails that connect several city parks. One of these, known as the Lost Trail, runs through a canyon right behind Morningside. Once you get down there you kind of forget that you're still in the city, although today Nancy noticed that it was easier to see more of the buildings on the ridges above than on previous hikes. A lot of the vegetation along the trail had been cut back, presumably to help prevent brush fires. The Lost Trail connects to the Brea Dam Trail, so we hiked to the top of the dam--which, at the moment, has precious little water to hold back. Michael was amazed at how well we could see the peaks of the San Bernardino mountains from the top of the dam. Nancy recalled that sometimes, as a little girl swinging on the school playground during recess, she would be startled to look up and see those mountains because they weren't often visible through Southern California's usual smog and haze. Though he understood the joy she must have felt on the few days a year when she could see that far, Michael, the boy from Idaho, found it profoundly sad that most of the time Nancy not only could not see the mountains, but often completely forgot that they were there.

We had an unusually clear view of the mountains from the top of Brea Dam.

An hour's worth of hiking would seem to be sufficient exercise for a day, but Michael decided to add an hour of swimming at a nearby LA Fitness facility. Meanwhile, Nancy went in search of a protective sleeve for the new Bluetooth keyboard Michael had bought for his mini-tablet. None of the electronics departments they had checked had anything small enough to fit in Michael's shoulder bag, but Nancy had a hunch that she might be able to find just the thing in a different department. Sure enough, a zipper case designed to hold a curling iron was exactly the right size. Michael assured her that the pink and purple polkadots were not a threat to his manhood.

Michael decided that he could use another long-sleeved T-shirt for the trip, so Nancy introduced him to the Sears/Lands' End outlet in Brea that she had discovered on a previous trip. At the Corner Bakery Cafe a little farther down Imperial Highway, Michael had an Asian pork sandwich with mixed baby greens for lunch; Nancy ordered the baby greens along with cavatappi pasta salad and tomato basil soup. Michael ordered a lemonade but later decided that he wouldn't do that again because lemonade no longer agrees with him; however, both he and Nancy thought the hibiscus lemonade was pretty good. When Michael headed back to the counter to choose a dessert to share, Nancy correctly guessed that he would return with the mini chocolate Bundt cake she had seen in the display case.

Michael spent the afternoon tracking down some unknown charges Doug had pointed out on his credit card yesterday. It turned out that Doug had been scammed, so he and Michael reported the fraudulent charges, cancelled his account, and arranged to get a new card. Michael helped Doug identify the legitimate recurring payments he had set up and made a list of what he needed to do and who he needed to call when the new card came. He then emailed the information to Nancy's sisters and asked them to follow up.

Doug was lucky; he had lost only $20 a month for eight months. Michael started to get sick as he tried to estimate how much scamming must go on. As we saw yesterday, Doug is a pretty savvy senior. How many other seniors are being scammed? And how many have no one to help when they get into trouble? Seniors need a service to help them monitor their credit cards, show them how to recognize a scam, and teach them how to respond to online solicitation. Doug's situation made Michael angry enough that maybe he will start such a service when he gets home.

Besides her dad, one of the people Nancy most likes to see when she visits California is Wendy Bell Crockett. Nancy and Wendy had lived next door to each other since first grade. Their parents had met at church in Downey, California, years earlier and become close friends. In 1959, they decided to buy adjacent lots in Fullerton and build their homes together. Thus the Tubbses and the Bells grew up closer than cousins, with Wendy and Nancy probably the closest of them all--and not just because they were the same age. They did virtually everything together: school, church, Girl Scouts, music groups, camp ... everything! Both girls went to BYU (where they were roommates), and eventually both married boys from Idaho who had served LDS missions in France. Now, whenever Nancy and Wendy get together and start sharing stories and memories, it's hard to get them to stop.

Tonight we met Wendy and her husband John at El Farolito in Placentia. The fajitas and enchiladas were not quite up to the standard set by Taqueria La Bamba, but pretty good. Rather than go for the flan or fried ice cream for dessert, Michael suggested finding a good ice cream place (the Baskin Robbins down the street did not meet that criterion). They ended up at Yogurtland (similar to Cincinnati's Orange Leaf) in Fullerton. When they arrived, there was a long line outside the doors--which were locked. It turned out that today was National Frozen Yogurt Day, and the staff was mopping up after the store's 4-7 PM promotion giving away free yogurt. To show appreciation for our patience, the manager came out and gave everyone in line a coupon for free yogurt up to 10 oz. So Michael's heaping bowl cost $.77 and Nancy's was a nickel. It was worth the wait!