use of tenses

Question

I was a little confused, as it suggested using the simple past tense, but also uses the past historic...something I need to make sure I understand in terms of the context!

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Hi Jane, 
As there has been confusion about how the passé simple tense is translated in English, we have changed it to the historic past tense. 
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/glossary/verb-tense-mood/the-french-historic-past-le-passe-simple
Trusting this answers your query ...

Chris Wirt · Answer

The simple past is the historical past -- passé simple. I'm confused by your question.

In the text, though, the first part talks about something in the past that continues into the present: her love for California. This is not a case for the passé simple and you use other tenses (past perfect tense, imperfect tense), After that, the text shifts into relating a specific event ("One day, ..."). That's the point where le passé simple comes into play.