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              On Thursday, October 10, OC Guide Dogs Alumni members and visually impaired friends went to the Outlets at San Clemente for a tour and shopping excursion.  Our tour was led by Susan Jennrich and Jason Chase.  Volunteers Joyce Alderson, Brenda Hayler (photographer) and Jen Puls were incredibly helpful.  Upon arriving at the Outlets at San Clemente, we were escorted through the California visitor center and up to the second floor VIP lounge.  This private lounge, reserved just for us, was complete with comfortable seating arrangements and plenty of beverages and snacks.  Even the restrooms were high-end and an experience in themselves.  Our host Susan gave us an introduction to the Outlets at San Clemente as a company and some general information about its history.  Each member was provided with a VIP pass to use at another visit and some shopping coupons.

              We were in good hands as Jason led us out of the visitor center and then to the giant Jack-O-Lantern for a group photo. After the group photo, Jason and Susan took turns describing the layout of the Outlets at San Clemente.  They gave us a descriptive tour of the architecture, landscape and walkways, and talked about the stores and movie theater under construction. Another photo opportunity presented itself at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness display where members took photos and selfies in front of the huge pink decorated background.  Jason described the setting of the Outlets San Clemente and the future restaurants to be located above the parking structure with a spectacular view of the ocean.  As we faced west,  Jason described the proximity of the outlets of San Clemente .

              We thanked Susan and Jason for their hospitality and tour, and then we ate lunch at Rockwell’s restaurant.         

In our OC Guide Dogs took a field trip to the Fullerton Arboretum.  The Arboretum is a fun, free place for all to learn about wildlife conservation and research.  Fullerton Arboretum was formerly a citrus orchard that, when abandoned in the early 1970s, became a reservoir for many local weeds. It has taken decades of development to control these plants, most of which can never completely be eradicated. 

Much of California and the West are in a prolonged and worsening drought. The Arboretum has taken steps to reduce water use while sustaining the health of their garden collections and achieving their educational mission, such as eliminating grass lawns, using efficient sprinkler heads and drip irrigation, and watering in the evening to reduce evaporation.

A significant portion of Fullerton Arboretum is focused on drought tolerant collections from Mediterranean climate regions, especially those from southern California and the Channel Islands, as well as deserts and dry environments from around the world. This includes the American Southwest, South Africa, Madagascar, Chile, and Australia

The entrance waterfall, stream and two pond system are operated as a recirculated hydrological system.  The arboretum also boasts a bee apiary where conservation is key, a tree Arboretum, and a children’s garden.  It also has a large pond that attracts local waterfowl and has a nice collection of turtles.

Members enjoyed a hands-on session with the docent, and lunched afterwards at a nearby restaurant.

In 2016 OC Guide Dogs gathered a team of walkers for the Foundation Fighting Blindness Vision Walk.  It was held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness was established in 1971 by a passionate group of families driven to find treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases that were affecting their loved ones. At that time, little was known about these blinding retinal degenerative diseases.

Today, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world’s leading private funder of retinal disease research. That funding has been a driving force behind the progress toward cures, including the identification of more than 270 genes linked to retinal disease, and the launch of over 40 clinical trials for potential treatments.

OC Guide Dogs also manned a booth with information about our organization.