Los Angeles was all over the place. Sometimes it seemed magical and other times it seemed a bit like a fever dream, but there was always something interesting going on. I had a few other friends staying there too, who also lived in their vehicles. There was Tamra in her short bus with her cat, Cami in an RV with her two dogs, Laffrey in his box truck, and Libby in a bus. While we were there we also made friends with Grayson, who lives in a Sprinter Van.
During the day we parked at Elysian Park, a large, grassy park that had bathrooms and running water. Because of overnight parking rules, at night we would move to a side street less than half a mile away. Both areas had hiking trails that meandered through the woods.
I loved the trails and took full advantage of them. We would sometimes hike to the tops of the hills to watch the sunset, and one morning I even caught the sunrise.
The trails were also great for walking the dogs. One night the sun had already set, but I decided to walk Maggie and Sophie through the woods anyway. It was going well until all of a sudden a coyote sprinted past us, only feet away. I instantly turned back, which was not an easy task with my two dogs who wanted to go after the coyote. I was pulling them down the trail and looked back to see a coyote not far behind us. It was low to the ground and in stalking mode. I didn’t want to run, knowing this can trigger some animals to pounce, so I walked as quickly as I could, pulling the dogs along. It stalked us until I made it safely to the sidewalk where there happened to be a man with a drum set playing very loudly. It seemed very random, but I was so grateful for him.
I enjoy big cities, but only for small periods of time. Los Angeles, being the second biggest city in the United States, second to New York City, was always bustling. Driving a bus around was constant chaos, especially when I would get on a busy highway and have less than a mile to cross over four lanes of traffic to get off an exit on the other side. The traffic was so heavy that it seemed it would be impossible, but I somehow managed every time. I just pretended I was in a video game. Also, when people saw a bus starting to merge, they had no choice but to let me in or get hit, and I was bigger.
My friends also made the city enjoyable. I loved being a part of a group. Although I was in LA to work, we also had days where we did nothing but sit in the park talking and watching all the parties going on around us. We often got together for potlucks as well.
One day I was chilling in my bus in the park parking lot when I heard a honk. I popped my head out to see who it was, and there was John Paul, the friend I had bought my bus from. I had no clue he was in LA, and he had no clue I was there either until he saw the bus.
It’s wild how our paths keep crossing. He converted the bus in Syracuse, NY, within 30 miles of where I grew up. I first met him on the road in Austin, Texas while he was living in the bus. He wanted to sell it and I wanted to buy it, but I didn’t have enough money at the time. Once I saved up enough, I called him to see where he was and if he still had it. He did, and was in Denver, Colorado. It just so happened I was already on my way there. And then out of nowhere, here he was again in LA. It got even more bizarre when later I bought my moped and needed a helmet. I was looking up helmets on marketplace, found one I liked, and when I went to message the seller, it happened to be John Paul. The world keeps proving to me just how small it really is. We hung out for a bit, catching up, and Sophie got to play with his dogs, who were her first friends when I got her as a pup.
Jon Paul was staying in an apartment and he invited my friends and me over for dinner. He made us stuffed peppers with rice, which he made gluten free and vegetarian for the different diets within the group, which was thoughtful and nice. He also offered to let any of us shower there, which is always greatly appreciated amongst vehicle dwellers.
Early one morning, Libby messaged the group chat, which all of our group staying in LA was a part of. She had parked her bus on a hill to get out and look at a rainbow. When she went back to the bus, it was not where she left it. The parking brake had failed and her bus had rolled down a hill, up over the curb, was nestled in the bushes, and would not budge. Luckily no one was hurt.
Tamra, Cami, Laffrey and I all went up to help. We tried digging out the tires but weren’t getting anywhere. Luckily, Laffrey happened to have a tow strap. He pulled his box truck up behind the bus, and after snapping the tow strap once and having to retie it, he was able to pull her free. Luckily there was no damage other than two of the back tires were now bald from spinning in the dirt. The rubber-track remains of the tires were there in the dirt as evidence.
That night as I was laying in bed, I heard yelling outside my bus and Sophie started barking. I looked out the back window to see two grown men squaring up in the street. I told myself to stay in the bus, that it probably wasn’t safe, but once they started throwing fists, I couldn’t help myself. I jumped out my back door and started yelling at them to knock it off. That stopped them for a bit, but as the bigger guy, who was winning, started to walk away, the smaller guy started yelling at him, and the fight continued.
Both these men were very clearly drunk, and from what I gathered from the yelling, one guy had grabbed the other's door handle of his car. Every time I would get the fight broken up, the guy who was losing would proceed to yell insults and get beat up all over again.
Eventually I convinced the bigger guy that it wasn’t worth it, and he got in his car to leave. Of course the smaller guy still couldn’t let it go and grabbed onto the door handle once again. He got dragged a bit before letting go and getting flung into the road before running off on foot. I looked over to see my friend Tamra standing on the sidewalk. She had seen the fight from her rig and was staying put, while laying on her horn to try to get them to stop, until she heard my voice and came out too.
The next day I swung by Jon Paul’s house to get a shower and laundry done. We hung out as the laundry finished up and I mentioned how I hadn’t seen the Hollywood sign yet. He suggested that we go out to Griffith Park to the Observatory where there was a clear view of the sign in the distance. We took his motorcycle and got there just before the sunset, which gave us a beautiful view over the city.
I was impressed with the building there too. Griffith Observatory was beautiful, built of white bricks, with three domes on top of it. We climbed to the top to get an even better view.
I love holidays and was grateful to be part of a group with Easter coming. Laffrey had been invited to an Easter brunch potluck, and since we all always hung out together, we were all welcome. I made deviled eggs and the group piled into his Prius to go over. There were so many good foods and mimosas, which I loved. It was the perfect Easter celebration.
Afterwards we all walked over to a park with a pond in the center. The pond was full of swan paddle boats, which I absolutely love. We sat in the grass a while, enjoying the scene.
As we started to walk back, we noticed people dancing in the park while others sang and played instruments. We wanted to join, but didn’t want to intrude, so we stayed back watching until one girl waved us over. We danced in a circle with the group, twirling along. They ended up being Krishnas having a little celebration in the park.
That night as I was walking the dogs before bed, Sophie, with no warning, lunged, pulling the leash from my hands and was instantly gone. She ran off so fast she was out of sight in a heartbeat. I quickly went back to the bus, dropping off Maggie and getting treats. I was walking up the road calling for her when I saw a man, and asked if he had seen her run by. He had not, but proceeded to tell me about the coyotes and how they were probably going to eat her, which was not one bit helpful. As he continued to go on about this, I walked away to keep looking.
Tamra heard me calling and came out to help. That was when we spotted Sophie on the other side of a tall fence. Seemingly out of nowhere, that man was there again, telling me that the coyotes were stalking my dog and trying to eat her.
The police just happened to be driving by, so I waved them down and told them the situation. They told me that on the other side of the fence was Dodger Stadium, they had no jurisdiction, and drove off. My only option was to try to hop the fence, which would have been simple if the top didn’t have rows of barbed wire. I climbed up and carefully over the wire, surprisingly not hurting myself. As soon as I jumped to the ground, Sophie appeared, as if by magic, on the other side, which was quite frustrating. I climbed back over and was eventually able to catch her.
As I was walking her back to the bus, that same man came over and told me that next time I shouldn’t let my dog go, as if it was intentional and I was having a grand time. I was trying to be polite and bit my tongue, but he just wouldn’t stop lecturing me. Eventually I couldn’t take his sermonizing anymore and yelled something about the situation clearly not being intentional, and walked off. I was so relieved and grateful to have Sophie again, but taken aback by the audacity of that man.
Despite some craziness, L.A. was still a great place, with so much to see and do, and I didn’t plan on leaving yet. However my favorite part of the city adventures so far was spending time with my small group of friends in our little community in the park.
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