For rent

Dave and I have been doing some house hunting this month. We were ready for a change of scenery, so we checked out apartments in Seal Beach, Huntington Beach and another part of Long Beach. Our current landlord made us an attractive renewal offer, so it looks as if we might just stay put. But our search wasn’t all for naught because I learned a few things about real estate in SoCal. I’ve come up with my own definitions for a few terms that you often see in real estate ads.

Steps from the beach: This could mean 8,059 steps. That’s 3.78 miles according to my pedometer, and probably not the average person’s idea of walking distance.

Peek-a-boo view: If you step outside onto the balcony that’s smaller than most bathtubs, stand on a chair, and look through the neighbor’s overgrown tree, you can see the ocean.

Fireplace: The home is equipped with a bright orange ‘70s-era contraption that is capable of producing flames and heat. It looks more like a spaceship than a fireplace and may give off fumes that could kill you in your sleep.

Close to shopping and restaurants: The apartment is down the street from a Chevron station (it has a mini-mart, so it counts as “shopping”), a Del Taco and maybe a donut shop.

Lots of windows: Get ready for high heating and cooling bills.

Spacious studio: Come on! Is there really such a thing as a spacious one-room apartment? It’s what my 7^th-grade English teacher called an oxymoron.

On-site laundry: Somewhere on the property (probably somewhere dark, wet and dirty) there is an old, rusty washer that you can use. It’s probably coin-operated and must be shared with others. There is a dryer there, but it never works.

Next year, when I look through ads on Craiglist, I think I'll have a more accurate vision of what's on the market.

Caption: I could see myself having a Christmas party and an 18-foot tree in this room. Dave did not share my festive vision.

Fire update

First, the good news: The Palos Verdes wildfire is out. Crews are still looking for hotspots, but evacuation orders were lifted yesterday and the smoke has cleared.

Unfortunately, what is being called the Station fire now stretches from Acton near the Antelope Valley to Altadena in the San Gabriel Valley. The L.A. Times has a great map on its website that shows the evacuation zones and road closures. There are mandatory evacuations in Glendale and Pasadena.

It’s incredible to read that the flames are spreading 2.5 miles per hour and that more than 2,000 firefighters are on the scene. Yesterday, the fire had consumed 20,000 acres and now that total is up to 35,000 acres.

Today is supposed to be the last of a five-day heat wave, so let’s hope the crews catch a break soon.

Smoke now in sight

Yesterday, I was assuring friends and family that I was far from the fires burning in Southern California. Now there are two more fires, one of which can be seen from our neighborhood.

We’re in the middle of a heat wave and the heat makes conditions ripe for wildfires. Yesterday, the Long Beach Airport reported a high of 103, which breaks a record set in 1981. The thermometer on our balcony read 99 around 2 p.m. and was showing 93 at 7:30 p.m. Downtown L.A. was 101, according to the Weather Service.

There are fires burning north of Azusa near Morris Dam and in the San Bernardino National Forest. These fires, while very large, are not threatening homes. The fires burning just north of La Canada Flintridge and on the Palos Verdes Peninsula have prompted evacuations and threaten many homes and businesses.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula is just west of Long Beach and we often have great views of the peninsula from our neighborhood. It’s one of few places in L.A. where you can see grass and trees; there’s still farming done there. There’s a Trump (as in The Donald) golf course over there, and it’s also a great place to go whale watching if you’re too cheap or too chicken to get on a boat.

The fire is spreading quickly because there is so much dry, dense vegetation and 80 acres have burned so far. Another thing working against the firefighters: Roads on the peninsula are steep and curvy, not ideal circumstances for navigating a firetruck.

The fire crews are stretched thin and tomorrow is supposed to be another very hot day. It's going to be an interesting weekend.

Lights, camera, action!

Some neighborhoods have too much traffic or noise. Some neighborhoods have shops, movie theaters or restaurants. My neighborhood has all of these things plus the Queen Mary and Pacific Ocean, making it a hotspot for filming. More times than I can count, I have stepped outside and run into barricades, lights and camera crews. Sometimes the filming is for a movie, but more often than not it’s a TV show. Scripted or reality, the production crews seem to like to work in Long Beach.

If the filming is to take place in a residential area, the city is kind enough to provide advance warning. The city has an Office of Special Events and Filming that promotes Long Beach as a filming site and makes arrangements to accommodate productions. I’ve arrived home several times to find notices taped to my door detailing the hours of any upcoming filming as well as anything out of the ordinary that might take place. (Gunfire, explosions, pyrotechnics, police chases, things that might cause a panic if there were no forewarning.) From time to time, there are road closures and a small detour. It’s usually nothing outrageous, but it’s enough to be annoying if you’re in a hurry.

Sometimes I’ll be driving through town and spot a bright yellow sign. Film crews use these signs with thick, black lettering and arrows to direct the appropriate people (and the curious) to locations. It’s not unusual to see signs for “Dexter,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “Bones” and “CSI: Miami” around Long Beach. (But seriously, “CSI: Miami” is down here so much that they really don’t need any signs. They know darn well where they are going.)

Because I am unemployed and often bored, I walk around the neighborhood a lot. Yesterday, I was making the rounds and ran across a yellow sign that read, “MP à.” The first thing that came to mind was “Mafia Princess,” but then I figured it had to mean “Melrose Place,” a hit show from the ‘90s that’s being made into a 2.0 version for the CW. I followed the signs to investigate. A nearby parking lot housed several trailers and portable toilets, sure signs that something Hollywood-related was going on. The presence of caterers, security guards and an open bar was further evidence. But I didn’t see any lights, cameras or power cords, so it seemed I had just stumbled onto a base camp. I kept walking so I didn’t look like a crazed stalker.

Today, after more snooping, I found the filming site. The lights, cameras and power cords gave it away. The large “Melrose Place” placards on the dashboards of the semi-trucks confirmed yesterday’s hunch. I spent the afternoon riding my bike around the base camp like a lovesick 12-year-old, waiting for a celebrity sighting. I was hoping for Sydney (Laura Leighton) or Michael (Thomas Calabro) but settled for Ashlee Simpson. I rode by screaming, “HI, ASHLEE!” and she was kind enough to wave back.

Now I have an excuse to tune in for the “Melrose Place” premiere on Sept. 8. I wouldn’t want to miss another chance to see Long Beach on TV!

Master of the house

I just finished reading “Loving Frank,” a historical novel based on true events in the life of Frank Lloyd Wright. Nancy Horan’s book is a fictional account of his relationship with Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Because they were both married to other people, their affair was considered scandalous and ended tragically in 1914. I don’t want to give away the story, but let’s just say that if it had taken place in this decade it would have dominated the tabloids and there would have been several made-for-TV movies.

The drama was news to me, but it had me thinking about Wright’s work. His best-known homes are in Oak Park, Ill., Wisconsin and western Pennsylvania. Wright also designed a few homes in Greater Los Angeles and I visited one of them in April.

The Hollyhock House was Wright’s second project in Southern California, and it was built from 1919 to 1921. The home was designed for Aline Barnsdall, the daughter of a wealthy oil baron. It sits atop Olive Hill and has sweeping views of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills. Barnsdall’s favorite flower was the hollyhock, so Wright used the flower pattern throughout the house. Over the years, the property has been used as an artists’ haven and a United Service Organizations facility, so the restoration is a work in progress. This is a kind assessment. I can’t help but wonder what Wright would think of all of the tarps and five-gallon buckets set up throughout the house to fight the water seeping in from the roof and foundation. The city of L.A. owns the Hollyhock House and it’s open to the public; volunteers offer tours of the home.

From the grounds, our guide pointed across Los Feliz toward the Griffith Observatory where another Frank Lloyd Wright house stood. The Ennis House was built in 1924 and may be recognized as a location in the movie “Blade Runner” and the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The house, built with concrete blocks, sustained heavy damage during the 1994 Northridge earthquake and 2004-05 winter floods. It’s been undergoing some major restoration projects. Sadly, the Ennis House Foundation announced in June that it was listing the house for sale to a private owner. There are no public tours, but if you have $15,000,000 the house could be yours.

At any rate, Mother Nature is sure putting two of Wright’s L.A. houses to the test. I hope they hold up and inspire Southern Californians learn about the famous architect.

Caption: The Hollyhock House was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2007.

Elvis was here

When most people think of Elvis, they think of Graceland or Las Vegas. (As well they should!) But the King also spent a lot of time in Southern California while he was recording music and filming movies. Since today is the 32nd anniversary of his death, I thought I'd look up some of his old haunts.

Elvis hits such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “All Shook Up” and “Teddy Bear” were recorded in Hollywood at Radio Recorders, 7000 Santa Monica Blvd.

Elvis rented a Bel Air home from November 1961 to January 1963. While living here, Elvis and his friends used to frequent nearby De Neve Park on Beverly Boulevard. In “Elvis Presley Passed Here,” Chris Epting writes that Elvis and his posse often played touch football at the park and they would often take on TV star Ricky Nelson and his band. I wonder who won!

In November 1967, newlyweds Elvis and Priscilla bought a home at 1174 Hillcrest Ave. in Beverly Hills. Elvis lived in the house while he worked on the “'68 Comeback Special,” which was filmed in Burbank. The home, which set Elvis back $400,000, is still there. If you’re in the neighborhood, drive by and take a look.

Elvis really left his mark in Hollywood. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6777 Hollywood Blvd., between Las Palmas and Highland Avenues. Believe it or not, I think I have walked right by his star and didn’t even notice it!

I could go on all day about interesting Elvis sites in SoCal, but I must go watch “Clambake.” It's not every day that you find it on TV.

Another day at the beach

You’ve probably heard that California has a lot of beaches. Recently Dave and I decided to visit a new one, or at least a new one for us.

The state of California is about to raise user fees and close some state parks, so we decided there was no time like the present to check out Crystal Cove State Park. Crystal Cove is just off Pacific Coast Highway between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach. We’ve passed the park many times while driving down to Laguna, which is one of our favorite beaches. Honestly, from PCH the park looks like a stretch of overgrown brush. I often wondered how much of a park could have been there because it looked like a pretty steep drop-off to the ocean.

What we found were several parking lots, paved biking trails and hiking trails with spectacular views of unspoiled coastline and the Pacific. Just a few steps from the parking lot, the noise from the highway was undetectable. Dave said it was strange to see the traffic and not be able to hear it.

Crystal Cove’s beach is the first I’ve visited in California that really felt like a natural beach. You could really smell the salt and sea air. It was high tide so there was plenty of kelp strewn all over the sand. There were even seashells. (Collecting shells is prohibited by state law.) Another surprise was that I didn’t see any trash anywhere on the beach.

The park was well worth the $10 day-use fee, especially since the park’s trails and facilities were so well maintained. It was the perfect place to walk on the beach with my sweetie!

Caption: Crystal Cove State Park has 3.2 miles of unspoiled Pacific coastline.