On December 13th, 2021 we travelled to California to spend the winter months of 2021/2022 on the westcoast of the United States. Because we liked being at one location for a while at the end of 2020 and start of 2021, we first stayed in Los Gatos for seven weeks where we looked after a house. Then we travelled further to look after a house in Petaluma, in California as well.
Read all about the winter months 2021/2022 in California on this page. Enjoy the specific blog posts about our experiences on the westcoast and read what we recommend and what tips we have.
California
California
From Mexico we travelled to the United States on December 2nd, 2021. There were several options at the time; stay in Mexico, head south to Central America and South America, but in the end we chose the United States. Just because we felt like it. We first spent 10 days in Florida, just to do nothing and enjoy the sun. And we have a history with Florida, we've had a home there for over 10 years.
In the 10 days in Florida, we also started drawing up our further plan for the United States and beyond. Because we felt like staying somewhere longer around the holidays and to settle a bit, we also looked at the possibilities of house sitting. There are many people looking for a sitter for their home, usually in conjunction with caring for their pet. Finally we got in touch with Susan and Charles who were looking for a sitter for their house and cat Lenny. The house was located near Los Gatos in the mountains of Santa Cruz on the west coast in California. After a pleasant video call we decided to do it, and we went to the westcoast to sit their house for 7 weeks.
Santa Cruz is a small town on the central coast of California on the Monterey Bay. It's a very relaxed town, with a good surf vibe and about 63,000 people live there. Santa Cruz is known for its mild climate, natural environment, beautiful coastline, redwood forests, alternative community lifestyle, and socially liberal leanings.
The Santa Cruz mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in this part of California. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from the San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, continuing south to the Central Coast, bordering Monterey Bay and ending at the Salinas Valley.
Santa Cruz
As mentioned, the house that we sitted, was in Los Gatos but in a rural area in the mountains, about a half an hour north of Santa Cruz. Sitting a house that you have never seen seems like a gamble. But when you do your research, get some good pictures and ask for good footage during a video call you can get a decent picture. The house in Los Gatos was just perfect for what we were looking for in this period. Remote and in the mountains, spacious enough, authentic with character, fantastic views and ofcourse there was Lenny the cat.
We did the housesit for seven weeks, from December 13th 2021 until February 1st 2022. It was a perfect period for us to take a break from dynamic travelling and to reflect on the 15 months that we had been on the road. And from there to look towards to the future, where and how would we travel from here. Next to that we could still do lots of exploring on the central westcoast of California. San Francisco was only a one hour drive away, so we went to the city several times..