Rikki's house is as described, a cute house near the beach (10 minute walk) with everything you need for an enjoyable stay in Santa Cruz. We stayed for 6 days in June and our family of four would do the 15 minute drive in the morning up the Redwoods, come back and have lunch and then walk or drive to a beach in the afternoon. There are also some great State Parks (Wilder Ranch State Park, Coast Dairies State Park) that are only 15-20 minutes away by car, and we enjoyed those beaches immensely. A walk to the wharf/Boardwalk area is only a 20 minute walk, and the walk itself is mostly on the scenic West Cliff Drive along the Ocean. The hot tub on the back deck was a nice thing to have after our chilly night swims, and Oslo the cat was always fun to be around (and we are more dog people.)