For those of you here in the US daring to venture out beyond state borders, there is a true treasure tucked away in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys, California, that I was truly honored to be a guest of this past week. There I traveled with no expectations, not sure of how my stay would play out but determined to use this week as a “time out” from my current circumstances of unemployment, temporary housing, car and self maintenance, lack of companionship, (both human and not!), and of course, stress. I was thrilled to find a very cozy two bedroom, two bathroom rental on the fifth floor where the cuisine was outstanding, both pleasing to the palate as well as the eye, the accommodations clean and welcoming, the four legged concierges waiting patiently at the door to greet and usher you in, always with a smile and tails wagging and the most cheerful and fun loving hostesses who never ran short of making me feel like part of their family.
Upon arrival, my bags were placed in my room, with an adjoining bathroom and a clean work desk in which to set up my equipment; laptop, camera, tablet, check! I was on a mission to focus on my creative side and leave the responsible one in NJ. As a very thoughtful gesture, I was loaned a pair of headphones to use during my stay, which I found came in very handy when glued to my Netflix Novela. Now spoiled and not wanting to do without, my first stop after arriving home; Best Buy.
Each day was filled with lazy mornings, with the exception of my two proprietors who worked tirelessly to make my stay a 5 Star Rating. I was free to roam, full kitchen access, my own bathroom, empty drawers to organize my belongings, in house laundry and daily excursions to introduce me to various places in California COVID style. Having been on my own for years now it was so very nice to be taken care of, nurtured and connected to five very beautiful souls instead of always being the lone person taking care of everything and myself. I quickly gave in to the experience. Exhale, accept and allow. Ohmmmmmmmm
In deep contrast, however, a war had been raging outside these comforting and protected walls; Mother Earth, our government, her people. Anger, wounds, fear, sickness, denial, injustice, division now mired in this landscape, more extreme than where I had traveled from and one deeply scarred by the ravages of a fire daring to be stopped, never to be the same again. Stepping out of our safe house, it was a very resounding smack straight to your face. One not to be ignored. The fires that had been raging in the north set a yellow-orange glow to a sky already weighted heavily with smog and now smoke. Walking out on my third morning there, I could smell the trees burning as if we were sitting in front of a fireplace in early fall. The ash was falling like fragile snowflakes, unnoticed, until it accumulated on every surface including ourselves. It was close and palpable; you could feel the fear and anxiety in the air.
We drove down Hollywood Boulevard where I was witness to the carnage left by the protests one month earlier, most places dark and bordered up, broken and struggling to resuscitate. They had all but given up. The homeless camps abounded at every turn, especially at the entrances and exits of the interstates and under the overpasses, filled with more uncertainty and survival now that they were battling an invisible and formidable foe. We continued on to Beverly Hills where things were more rooted and quiet and then made our way down by the La Brea Tar Pits and on to the Museum of Art where we could only enjoy the outside light exhibit. The streets were eerily empty of both cars and pedestrians and we could park pretty much anywhere to run and capture a kodak moment before diving back into our car. If you did not know any better, you could actually believe you were in a post-apocalypse movie.
Inside I had five beautiful souls who were taking care of my every need, attended to, nurtured - something I had not realized how much I was in need of, having been on my own for way too long now. In a very short period of time, I had fostered, with them, this deep connection that was feeding and nourishing me on so many levels. At some point it hit me; how so extreme in every sense was my in-door accommodation to the outside world reeling around us. I had not realized how much I missed that feeling of genuine and personal human contact that I was blessed to be a part of inside the confines of this temporary home versus the harsh realities of distancing and closing out the world beyond these doors. I knew then that the outside world I was now experiencing was a reflection of myself that had been living at a distance, wearing well earned battle scars for the last four years. I had sold my home, my sanctuary, traveled to different parts of the country looking for my next “home”, staying wherever I was guided, transient, living out of suitcases, never unpacking nor setting up a new home. I was letting go of my life before, clearing out and cleaning out like a slow contained burn with a haze of uncertainty whether any one place or any one would ever claim me or I them. Never putting down roots, connecting to people, a neighborhood, community; I remained boarded up, vacant to some degree, a battered sign on a faceless facade.
I am back inside now. It is bright and kind, loving and forgiving; it feels like what I remember a home to be. This wonderful family who unknowingly pulled me in and have become a part of my life and I finally remember how that all feels and how that once filled me as it does now. There is a soft warm glow where life overflows with laughter and tears, no borders, no boundaries, safe and protected. Where those furry kids curl up beside you to give unconditional love and be loved, where you help with the meal and then sit down together at the table to eat, with gratitude over meaningful and sometimes revealing conversation. Laughing, bickering, dealing with the unforeseen, putting it all to bed and then getting up and doing it all over again, hopefully better.
On the day that I am leaving I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she says goodbye to her new found friends but tells the Scarecrow that she will miss him most of all, as I will miss all of them most of all. There really is no place like home.
So when one of my hostesses asked me if my stay was the Five Star Rating they had worked so tirelessly for and hoped I would bestow upon them and their cozy abode, I fear that the five stars would not adorn this “Reuters” like travel review. Instead they will receive the infinite number of stars beyond the number that blanketed the sky, above us, at the Griffiths Observatory, their rating “Priceless”. For they gave me the one thing that I have been on this vagabond journey trying to remember all of this time; home and what that means to me. I could never thank them enough.
So, how does your travel rate?
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