So, we were at Hollywood RV park starting Monday, January 28th. We rolled in around noon and I started work the very next day at 0830. This was my first interim assignment and I was so excited to see if we could actually do this!
Hollywood RV Park has been a fun experience. The spots are very close together. There are little streets with 5 RV’s on each side of the street. There is just enough space for each of us to park a vehicle in front of the site. We were on the very last site at the end of our road. It’s nice that we had a little area beside Reva to stash the kayak and no one can even see it, but it also means I have to back Yeep in the single driving lane quite a distance. My back up skills definitely improved while we were in LA! LOL!
Mike did amazing parking Reva. There were cars parked on either side, it was one single lane he had to back her all the way to the end. I was SO impressed. Of course, the staff here directed him and they know how to do this, I would not have been much help! The lady on the first site on the end was amazed when she got up-she’s a night nurse from Idaho. She woke up and there we were. She was like “how did you get that down there without me moving my SUV?” Mad skills! And great directives lol!
Hollywood RV Park has quite an array of residents. There are people who live here full time, part time, and passing through. There are a lot of travel nurses, Cedar Sanai transplant patients, and people who work “in the industry”.
The park sits directly next to a studio where Gordan Ramsey films. No, we never saw him but we did hear he was flying in one night via helicopter.
Everyone has been really nice and the place itself is very quiet at night. It is close to the Van Nuys airport so there is helicopter noise at night and traffic, but this is urban camping. The park is very clean and is always advertising fun things. They had a free canvas paint night one night that I couldn’t attend and last Sunday they had a concert we did attend.
There are a few artists here and I understand that a couple of them had made tv auditions on The Voice. There’s been a band here writing for a few weeks. All of them performed in the recreation room with free pizza. It was really fun! We lived near some really talented people.
I especially enjoyed Sarah Rogo. She was an amazing one woman band with a great voice. Check out Going Where the Weather Suits My Soul on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/6iS4moKRkWko7okWLeqisy
We were having a great time. It was nice to get out of the RV for a bit anyway. We had been here nearly 4 weeks and it had rained almost every day and it did rain every weekend. We were feeling the cabin fever. We hadn’t been away from Louie and Kiya for any length of time-one of us, usually Mike, had been with them 24 /7 the entire time. It was a nice break to leave them home and walk down to the rec center for a free dinner and concert, until a woman ran in and yelled, “there’s a fire.” Oh shit!
We were near the front of the room so it felt like forever before we could file out of that rec room and find out what and where the fire was. I was so scared for our babies, Louie and Kiya. Knowing Mike can move a lot faster than me; I gave him the keys as soon as we got outside and told him to” get our dogs, go.” He took off running.
At night, in a panic, it’s hard to know how far you’ve walked. I was petrified when I got to one of the little street and saw an RV at the end of the row on the left hand side in flames. My heart sank, I started shaking for just a split second. It was obviously a 5th wheel and not our Reva, it wasn’t our street. The little street was flooding with people and I couldn’t see Mike so I kept walking to our MH-which was still several streets down the road. When I got there, it was, of course, fine and Mike wasn’t there. I realized he had gone to help at the fire so I walked back to the scene. The fire truck was pulling in and then I saw Mike coming out of the crowd. His shirt was wet with fire extinguisher stuff and he was visibly shaken. We walked to Reva and checked on the dogs as he told me what happened.
He said he got there and the door was open, there were a couple people hooking up a hose and out of nowhere someone handed him a fire extinguisher. He said he asked if there was anyone inside-he initially thought about crawling in the door, the flames were higher and he thought he had a little room to get in if needed. The first reply was “no”, then someone said there was an elderly disabled couple and 2 dogs inside. The flames had spread quickly and there was no longer any space to crawl in the door. He and another man started beating on the window on the backside of the trailer with their extinguishers. He said, “Patti, I heard someone screaming. I thought I heard her screaming “somebody help me.” I should have gone in right away. There was a chance right when I got there.” I tried to console him and remind him that the flames had moved fast, he could have died. We were both in shock and our home was so silent. Mike was just devastated and the sound of the woman’s screams were wearing on him so heavily.
I walked back up to the scene to see what I could find out. Mike was certain they had to all be dead. The flames were too big and I could feel how heavy it was weighing on him. I found the man he had worked with to break the windows and learned that everyone got out alive. The man was actually in the hospital having suffered a heart attack days prior and a neighbor had been watching the dog. When the firemen arrived, they were able to get to the lady and get her out. She was going to be okay. How scary!
Steve, the owner of the park, asked me how it felt to be married to a hero. Apparently, the fire fighters had told him the work Mike and the other gentleman had done with the fire extinguishers had bought the time needed for them to rescue this woman-who was wheelchair bound with dementia and weighed over 200 lbs. I was relieved that Mike didn’t try to go in and get her and grateful the firemen were able to save her.
I decided after that night that I would no longer lock my RV when my dogs are inside alone. I like to think that people are basically honest. I’d like to think there would be few people who would think to try and rob an RV with 2 large dogs inside. I ‘d like to think that my dogs would keep strangers out and not make friends with intruders.
I can’t control the things I’d like to think. I can’t make them 100% truth as much as I’d like to do just that. But I can accept this risk and make sure that if my dogs are inside, someone will be able to get to them if I’m not close enough to save them should something happen. Things are things and they are insured and can be replaced. I couldn’t bear it if I lost my dogs because the door was locked. Not worth it. This has been the second fire we have seen destroy an RV in a month’s time. The other was a little TT at Dana Point. Everyone got out ok, but the unit was toast.
Hollywood RV park has some of the friendliest residents and is really pretty quiet most days and all nights. There were a couple of things filmed there during our stay but they went about their business and we hardly noticed they were even there.
There wasn’t any trailer park drama that I hear about in other areas from time to time. It was just a group of hard working, respectful people living very closely together. If you need a place to park overnight or for a lengthy assignment, I would definitely recommend Hollywood RV Park.
What I learned about LA area traffic during this stay.
- I have no desire to live full time in the LA area. My 17 mile commute from Van Nuys to Hollywood took anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. BUT I was only 1 minute late one day-reinforcing my opinion that we can all be timely, regardless of our traffic issues.
- LA has its own set of driving laws-
- There will be at least 2, possibly 3 cars that will turn left on every red light that does not have a turn lane. This is pretty much the only way to make a left without a turn lane and it’s just part of life. Make sure to be aware of this when your light turns green and watch out.
- If you are on a 3 lane boulevard, do not drive in the far right lane. There will be cars parked in the lane when they are not supposed to be. If there is allowed parking, there will be cars parked poorly and in your lane. There will be vehicles that stop suddenly in this lane and double park with their flashers on. Buses stop in this lane frequently-expected, but something to be aware of when driving and not used to a bus system.
- Be cautious using the middle lane in a 3 lane boulevard. The people driving in the right hand lane frequently cut in on you to avoid stopped traffic, buses, and etc. They expect you to yield to them. A woman who got stuck behind a bus in the right hand lane actually chased me down to chew me out for not yielding to her and allowing her to cut in on me. I was happy to clarify my responsibilities when driving to her lol.
- There will be strange, unexplained things along the roads. This bucket has been sitting along the fast lane shoulder of 101S, just about a mile from the 405 junction, since I arrived 2 ½ months ago. I’ve been stuck in stand still traffic right next to it and it’s got trash in it. I’m amazed no one has hit it in all this time. I had to snap a picture to say good bye to the bucket! I wonder how long it will sit there.
- Drivers will cut over when merging onto a different highway at the very last minute to avoid the long lines of traffic waiting to merge.
- MOST freeway drivers are patient and courteous as well all move at a snail’s pace to get where we are going. There isn’t a lot of honking and it’s not bad getting in and out of lanes.
Alexandria Care Center is in the Little Armenia area of East Hollywood. It is a large facility with over 170 beds. There are a lot of great people who have worked here for many years and have seen many changes over time. The facility has so much potential but has fallen victim to lack of consistent leadership in recent years. I was honored to have been a part of the facility’s reincarnation for nearly 3 months.
I never expected that I would make such close connections with so many of the staff and residents in such a short time. While HIPAA requirements do not permit me to share a lot of the stories and adventures we went through during my time at ACC, I do want to give a huge shout out the one of the warmest, kindest, most loving SNF teams I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside. I will never forget Alexandria Care Center and will think of my new friends often especially when I eat Armenian pizza, Russian egg rolls, Cassava cake, and Frito casserole. My last day here was also my birthday and I was honored with a fantastic surprise party and potluck! Thank you all so much! I wish you all success!
Between long hours working, traffic, and rain nearly EVERY weekend, we didn’t get out to see much in the LA area. Mike was our nephew Michael’s special guest at a concert at the famous Whiskey A Go Go. He got to see the Rainbow Room and go back stage and see the area all the legends had been. He wondered how much drug use and sex took place in those bathrooms back in the day! It was an unforgettable experience at a glimpse of history few get to see for him. Thank you so much Goob!
We did get one sunny day and drove to Santa Monica pier for the day. It’s a busy beach and they were hosting the Independent Spirit Film Awards. We didn’t see any stars-that we recognized anyway-but it was fun to watch all the black SUV’s show up throughout the day.
Our final weekend we drove into LA and spent the afternoon at the Living History Museum with our nephew and his family. We loved our time with the adorable little Quinn. Here he is in one of the large trees outside. We were pretending the ground was hot lava and you could only be safe on the roots of the tree. We had so much fun. I’m looking forward to seeing all of the great nieces and nephews and our journey home to see the grand babies this fall. I feel so grateful and blessed that we have the time to spend with those we love.
Thank you, Hollywood, for the experiences, the work, the life lessons, and the new friendships! Off to Timber Cove for some fishing and crabbing.
Added note: It is with a heavy heart that I finish this article. I am sitting outside the RV at Timber Cove with an ocean view and a light wind, the sun warming my back. It’s a beautiful day and I have at least the next six weeks off work. The dogs and I went for a nice walk along the coast line this morning and Mike is out slaying some cod and hopefully pulling in full pots of crab for a feed with friends who are joining us for a couple days tomorrow. I am blessed to have this opportunity in life while my first cousin, Jolene, passed away at 54 years of age late last night. I am so sorry that I hardly knew her since becoming adults. I am sorry that her life was cut so short-complications from cancer, I believe. And I’m so sorry that her family is hurting so much today. It seems that every month there is another death, another reminder that this life is short and unpredictable. I hope that I can always find gratitude for all that I have and that I remember what is truly important in our short, unpredictable lives. Time is the most important resource we have-spend it wisely!
