Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

How an Escondido Trailer Park Became a Neighborhood

Escondido - Image by Alan Decker
Escondido

When I think of my neighborhood, I think of transformation. My five-year-old daughter and I were mesmerized when we first saw Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park in '94. There were plum and orange trees growing in the common areas, a far cry from asphalt jungle we came from.

We thought we'd be happy here. We explored the play area, which consisted of a swing set and a bank of enormous rocks for the kids to climb on. But once we settled in, so did reality. The mostly older mobile homes were decaying, and so were the people who lived in them. Our next-door neighbor Bob had a police car parked in front of his home every Saturday night. Once, he threatened to kill a social worker who was going to take away custody of his grandkids, I could hear him beat them with a belt at 2:00

in the morning. Another time, he threatened me when my puppy barked on my back porch, waking Bob from a nap. I was really blown away when he came over complaining that my weeds were growing in his yard. I politely dismissed him, saying I had to get back to more important things, like painting my toenails.

His adult children came in and out of his house as if it had a revolving door, depending on whether they were in jailor had just gotten out. The last time I saw Bob's son Matthew, I was looking out my kitchen window and saw the 30-year-old man lying in the street. He had overdosed on some kind of drug and had to be hauled away by ambulance.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The neighbors directly.behind me were drug addicts too. The couple was up at all hours, singing and rocking the night away to tunes like Madonna's "Material Girl." Apparently, they didn't realize how thin the walls of these mobile homes are. I lay in bed at 3:00 a.m., hoping Bob would get fed up and give them the "what for," but by then he was going deaf and snoozed through the whole spectacle.

I knew the couple used drugs, because my neighbor Bill told me. He Jived across the street from them. He had several boarders who went to the crazy couple's home every day. Finally, Bill asked them why, and one woman grinned and held up a Baggie full of white powder. "Cocaine! You get that out of my house!" Bill yelled. Then he wrongfully evicted them by tossing their clothes in the driveway.

These people didn't represent all of Bill's problems. He was on mental disability after having served in Vietnam. He owned a slew of video cameras, which he kept on the roof of his home. He believed the FBI had slit his tires and was determined to catch them in the act.

''Are you sure it wasn't your crazy girlfriend?" I asked.

He didn't answer but appeared to be mulling the possibility over.

Ten years later, Bill moved away, and we never saw him again. A pleasant transformation was taking place. Run-down shacks were replaced with manufactured homes that went for $350,000. A gentler class of people moved in, hanging overflowing baskets of bright-colored impatiens above their porches and heaping wisteria on archways along the paths to their front doors.

My 17-year-old daughter was stunned to discover that teachers really do have a life outside the classroom when she spotted her journalism teacher riding bikes with his daughter.

In '99, I married a man who was 6'2" and 290 pounds. Suddenly, Bob was a new man. He told us he loved having us as neighbors and offered to buy our well-trained adult dog for $500. He said his behavior changed for the better after he started taking his wife's antidepressants. I believe he is just afraid of getting his ass kicked.

The children I've known are now grown up and have gone away. One is on her way to medical school. There's a new crop of bouncing, happy children playing in the street. I love the guy who jogs by my home with a three-wheeled baby stroller. I've heard those things are expensive, and it gives the place class.

I've learned that no matter how bleak a place can be, there's always room for change. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else now. I hope Bob feels the same way.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Escondido - Image by Alan Decker
Escondido

When I think of my neighborhood, I think of transformation. My five-year-old daughter and I were mesmerized when we first saw Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park in '94. There were plum and orange trees growing in the common areas, a far cry from asphalt jungle we came from.

We thought we'd be happy here. We explored the play area, which consisted of a swing set and a bank of enormous rocks for the kids to climb on. But once we settled in, so did reality. The mostly older mobile homes were decaying, and so were the people who lived in them. Our next-door neighbor Bob had a police car parked in front of his home every Saturday night. Once, he threatened to kill a social worker who was going to take away custody of his grandkids, I could hear him beat them with a belt at 2:00

in the morning. Another time, he threatened me when my puppy barked on my back porch, waking Bob from a nap. I was really blown away when he came over complaining that my weeds were growing in his yard. I politely dismissed him, saying I had to get back to more important things, like painting my toenails.

His adult children came in and out of his house as if it had a revolving door, depending on whether they were in jailor had just gotten out. The last time I saw Bob's son Matthew, I was looking out my kitchen window and saw the 30-year-old man lying in the street. He had overdosed on some kind of drug and had to be hauled away by ambulance.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The neighbors directly.behind me were drug addicts too. The couple was up at all hours, singing and rocking the night away to tunes like Madonna's "Material Girl." Apparently, they didn't realize how thin the walls of these mobile homes are. I lay in bed at 3:00 a.m., hoping Bob would get fed up and give them the "what for," but by then he was going deaf and snoozed through the whole spectacle.

I knew the couple used drugs, because my neighbor Bill told me. He Jived across the street from them. He had several boarders who went to the crazy couple's home every day. Finally, Bill asked them why, and one woman grinned and held up a Baggie full of white powder. "Cocaine! You get that out of my house!" Bill yelled. Then he wrongfully evicted them by tossing their clothes in the driveway.

These people didn't represent all of Bill's problems. He was on mental disability after having served in Vietnam. He owned a slew of video cameras, which he kept on the roof of his home. He believed the FBI had slit his tires and was determined to catch them in the act.

''Are you sure it wasn't your crazy girlfriend?" I asked.

He didn't answer but appeared to be mulling the possibility over.

Ten years later, Bill moved away, and we never saw him again. A pleasant transformation was taking place. Run-down shacks were replaced with manufactured homes that went for $350,000. A gentler class of people moved in, hanging overflowing baskets of bright-colored impatiens above their porches and heaping wisteria on archways along the paths to their front doors.

My 17-year-old daughter was stunned to discover that teachers really do have a life outside the classroom when she spotted her journalism teacher riding bikes with his daughter.

In '99, I married a man who was 6'2" and 290 pounds. Suddenly, Bob was a new man. He told us he loved having us as neighbors and offered to buy our well-trained adult dog for $500. He said his behavior changed for the better after he started taking his wife's antidepressants. I believe he is just afraid of getting his ass kicked.

The children I've known are now grown up and have gone away. One is on her way to medical school. There's a new crop of bouncing, happy children playing in the street. I love the guy who jogs by my home with a three-wheeled baby stroller. I've heard those things are expensive, and it gives the place class.

I've learned that no matter how bleak a place can be, there's always room for change. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else now. I hope Bob feels the same way.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.