Thaddeus and his family were extremely hospitable and friendly. Their property is far up in the mountains in Topanga canyon away from the city and yet it takes only 15 minutes to get to some beaches in Malibu along the Pacific cost and even with the heavy Los Angeles traffic it took only 45 minutes to get to Universal Studios and the Hollywood hills! The house we stayed at was close to perfect with a wrap around veranda looking into the trees and down the hillside. It was very private and felt like we were a permanent resident with our own parking space, walkway and access to a mountain bike! I highly recommend staying here if you want to get away from the city life but want to be close to everything Los Angeles has to offer!