Rusty and Angela's cozy little place was an excellent home base to use for exploring the area and also for just sticking around to be lazy on the beach down the road. It's quiet and the location is great - jaunts of an hour or less can take you up to Santa Cruz or the beaches to the north of Santa Cruz or south to Monterey and BigSur (which is just a bit further south of Monterey). We did all those trips and the travel time didnt eat up the entire day so we were able to come back and still enjoy a couple hours of sun on the beach down the road.
That beach, by the way, is very nice. Clean and barely any people. It's about a 10-12 minute walk from the Airbnb and the walk is pleasant - past rolling organic farmland and tons of flora we dont see in the midwest. The water was a little chilly for my girls so I took them up to Seacliff Beach (about 15 minutes north) where the water was a bit warmer. It can be crowded there but we went twice and had no trouble parking nor did I think there were so many people that it wasn't fun. But for laying in the sun and just enjoying the sounds of the ocean and beautiful sunsets, that was all right down the road.
The AirBnB itself was very inviting, airy, well supplied and furnished, tastefully decorated, and super clean. We left the front doors open often when we were there and just let the sun and coastal breezes fill the front room.
If you have any interest in birds, bring binoculars. That little area had tons of bird activity (late June this was). Hawks, Osprey, Stellars Jays, hummingbirds galore, and at least a half dozen other birds I couldn't identify but sure did like to sing. Plus chickens! But you dont need binoculars for those - they're right outside and they want you to feed them!
Finally, Rusty and Angela were very accommodating, helpful, and communicated well - answering my many questions promptly and supplying anything we needed.
Can you tell I highly recommend this?