Following the Reese's Pieces trail home

As we drove up to the two-story house perched atop the long, steep driveway, we all smiled for a moment. There it was. And just like that, a beloved story had found a bit of a foothold in real life.

E.T. house today!

To put a point to this feeling of familiarity and comfort, another car drove up and stopped in front of the house. The 20-somethings in the car rolled down the window and asked, “Are you fans of E.T., too?”

My daughter and I looked at each other. We were, of course, and it was nice, and kind of amazing, to think that others had migrated to this house to catch a glimpse of a magical world they'd seen in the movies.

They say Steven Spielberg specifically chose this home at 7121 Lonzo St. in Tujunga because of the way it was framed by the mountains behind it. Today, it’s much like it was back then, but now its driveway is lined with more trees.

Elliott’s 2,800 sq. ft. home was built in 1980, and the movie's cast and crew became the first inhabitants.

 vintag.es

Why do we love these houses from our favorite movies and TV shows so much?

Hollywood professionals worked tirelessly to make us love them. Many times they fooled us with exteriors that didn't go with the interiors, which might have even been constructed on sets.

But thanks to great writing, acting and set design, we settled into their living rooms, hung out in their kitchens and snuggled into their beds. We became part of the fictional families who lived there. We experienced emotional journeys of joy and pain.

When Elliott's mother closed that refrigerator door and saw Elliott standing there sick and exhausted after his disappearance, we all breathed a sigh of relief right along with her. 

We laughed when Elliott got vicariously drunk at school as E.T. stumbled around the living room.

That’s why we go back to these houses and feel like we're returning to something treasured and memorable.

In the end, we're all attracted to the coziness of home.

So much time I spent in the Brady Bunch house, the Eight is Enough house, at Lucy and Desi’s apartment, in the Cunningham home.

Don’t get me wrong. These houses were not perfect places. If they were, we wouldn’t have been able to recognize them and take them into our hearts like we did.

They were familiar to us because within their walls families faced obstacles, questioned whether they could make it through and, despite it all, continued to love each other.

And looking up at the long, steep driveway to the house framed by those beautiful mountains that caught Steven Spielberg's eye, we shared those emotions with the car full of strangers who had also journeyed there.

What a fun bonding experience across generations and lifestyles.