Welcome to Calabasas

Now that I’ve been in Calabasas five months, I thought it was time to tell you a little about my new home.  Several of you have asked how I like it; some have asked if I’ve seen Kim Kardashian. 

Kim does live in Calabasas, but in contrast to my 800 square foot apartment, she and Kanye share a 15,667 square foot French country-inspired home that boasts 8-bedrooms, 8-full bathrooms, and 2-half bathrooms. Outdoors, compared to my 12-foot-long patio lined with potted plants, Kim and her family enjoy a fitness room, spa, 2 swimming pools, 2 vineyards, a guest house, a recording studio, and a 1,050 square foot entertainment pavilion. The massive property, as well as the residence itself, provides the West crew plenty of space for their growing family and to thrive. Several other family members hang their hats in Hidden Hills, a tiny gated and sheltered city with a population of 1875 that I pass every time I drive between my home and my son’s in Woodland Hills.

And no, although sightings have been reported at the upscale Italian style Commons shopping center I pass several times a week, I’ve never seen Kim at Trader Joe’s or Target, two stores I’m more likely to be frequenting.

So – that’s out of the way, then.

Calabasas is located where the San Fernando Valley meets the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. It is surrounded by Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills, Topanga, Woodland Hills, the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Topanga Canyon Boulevard,  my favorite of several winding two-lane roads that snake up into the Santa Monica Mountains, will take you to the beach in 20 minutes. The population of Calabasas was about 24,000 in 2020 and consists of primarily high-end houses, many inside gated communities, with a small enclave of apartments and condos along Las Virgenes Road. That’s where I live.

Lost Hills

Lee Goldberg, the bestselling author of over seventy books, set his most recent series of crime novels in Calabasas. The first one, Lost Hills, caught my attention because that is the name of the turnoff from Highway 101 that I take to reach my apartment. I had joined a local book group, which chose Lost Hills for its September meeting. After reading it, I attended the launch of Bone Canyon a few weeks later, then last week I attended the launch of Gated Prey. There is one more book about to be released in this series, which features Eve Ronin, “the youngest female homicide detective in L.A. County Sheriff’s Department history,” and I can’t wait. Not too surprisingly, when I heard Lee speak I learned that he lives in Calabasas and decided to situate this series in his own neighborhood because, well, Covid. Since he couldn’t travel anywhere during the outbreak to get the feel of the area or spot the details he likes to include in his books, he thought it might be fun to put Calabasas on the map.

For me, the title of his first book in the series motivated me to find out why the Lost Hills are “lost.” But there don’t appear to be any ranges around here named Lost Hills; it is just a road, Lost Hills Road. Also Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department, the law-enforcement agency featured in the books.

Actual Hills

I am enjoying living in Calabasas. We are surrounded by beautiful hills on all sides, and the winding roads I take to my son’s house, to my granddaughter’s school, and to the Saturday farmer’s market in Old Town are lined with trees.   Since there are mountains between us and the coast, the climate is dry, which my joints love. The people are diverse and embrace an outdoor lifestyle. No matter what time of the day or night I take Kismet for a walk, there are other individuals, couples, or small groups playing tennis and walking the same roads I do, some in exercise clothes, some with shopping bags, some with strollers, some with dogs. It doesn’t feel like Los Angeles at all. It feels safe. There is a pathway across the street from my complex that heads straight up one of our hills, and I often see people on it. I intend to walk to the top in the spring. If you plan to visit southern California in the future, let me know. I’ll meet you at the Commons, where we can choose from a half dozen excellent restaurants, sit by the Italian fountain, and watch for the Kardashians.

Marlene Anne Bumgarner writes primarily about food, families, and traditions. The author of The Book of Whole Grains, Organic Cooking for (not-so-organic) Mothers and Working with SchoolAge Children, her latest book is about raising children, animals, and vegetables on a rural plot of land in the 1970s. Back to the Land in Silicon Valley was published in 2020. She is currently writing a mystery.