Our home is near Santa Cruz, California, a seaside resort town 1.5 hours from San Francisco and 1 hour from Monterey & Carmel. The home has about 5000 square feet of living space, with four bedrooms and five baths. We have an office with wireless internet. There are flat screen TVs in our family room and master bedroom. The playroom has a TV and pool table. Our swimming pool and deck have a built-in gas barbecue, outdoor shower, and views overlooking miles of redwood forest to the sea.

We live in a private gated community in a beautiful forested setting. Our home is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains (1000 feet above sea level), ten minutes drive from Santa Cruz, a popular beach resort with an amusement park, fishing pier, and sandy beaches for sunbathing, sailing, fishing, kayaking, surfing and swimming. The house is set on five acres, with a large front lawn and recreation areas, including a basketball court, playhouse, tree swing, trampoline, heated swimming pool and jacuzzi hot tub. Just up the street are two private tennis courts. We have 3 road bikes and 2 mountain bikes.
We are close to four California State parks that offer lovely walks, steam train rides, jogging trails, hikes and bike rides through redwood forests to ocean bluffs. Several outstanding public golf courses are nearby. Fine dining to California casual restaurants are nearby. Within one hour’s drive, you can visit the charming seaside towns of Carmel, with art galleries and shops, and Monterey, with its famous aquarium. Traveling north along our scenic coast you can visit San Francisco (one and ½ hours’ drive). The famous wine regions of Napa and Sonoma Valleys are two hours away (although Santa Cruz County has many fine wineries that offer tastings!) Lake Tahoe and Yosemite are four hours from here.

We are non-smokers and do not permit smoking in our home. We may be able to provide a car in the exchange. We have a housekeeper who can come in during your stay; someone takes care of the garden and pool. We have two dogs, a golden retriever and a small terrier mix who can either be boarded or stay at home if you are amenable to pet sitting. We would be pleased to care for your pets as well.

June - August,2012, School Holidays at Easter or Christmas. Long weekends if local.

Open to any dates

We are open to all regions. We enjoy resort areas with access to outdoor recreation, swimming, hiking or tennis.Portugal Spain, Basque region, Italy, France, Switzerland, Thailand, South Pacific Islands, New Zealand South America, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Canada, Scandanavia, Mexico, USA. We are open to local California destinations for shorter stays.

We are a family of five. We have enjoyed our many home exchanges both in the US and abroad.

WE ARE INTERESTED IN A LONG WEEKEND EXCHANGE DURING THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST OR IN THE SIERRAS

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