Things to know about SandCastle during your stay...

Directions

In Google maps… search for:

380 Oceanview Drive, la selva beach.

Occasionally,  other mapping programs don’t know “La Selva beach”, so you can try:

380 Oceanview Drive, Watsonville.

Parking

The homes in this neighborhood are in buildings of 4 or 6 units per building. Each building is separated by stairways that lead to the beach. Our unit is the last (end unit) of one of the buildings. It’s next door neighbor is connected and both units share a driveway right at the front (there are no garages). The driveways are on the narrow side... you CAN fit 4 cars on the driveway (2 per unit) but it’s real tight. So it’s best to park a single car right in front of the door to our unit so you have ample room to get in and out. If you have a second car coming, or are expecting guests, have them park in the street right across from our unit (there is a retaining wall on the road and you will see several cars parallel parked near that wall.

Access

The door is right by the address, (it’s red in color). And it opens to the top floor (of 3) where the master bedroom is. It has a keypad and a nearby “Ring Doorbell”. If you have trouble getting in, just ring the doorbell and I can talk to you from my phone. There shouldn’t be a problem.

Put your palm on the black keypad on the door... it will

Light up exposing numbers. Press your 4-digit number (that you provided us when booking) then the check mark. It will make a terrible grinding sound and become unlocked. There is no alarm.

The home is somewhat automated, including the locks. So you may hear the grinding sound when there is nobody around. It just means that the house thinks you left but the door is still Unlocked. It just locks itself. It has that feature in both the top floor (front door ) and the bottom floor (beach door), so it isn’t uncommon for it to lock if the whole family is enjoying the beach. Just type in the code like you did when you arrived (both doors are the same).

Exit:

When you leave for any extended period and want to lock either door, just place your whole palm on the black keypad panel and you will hear the grinding sound... viola it’s locked. In rare instances it has difficulty locking if the door isn’t closed all the way... it will beep a few times... just pull the door closed a bit while it’s grinding and that will help.

While you are in the house, just lock and unlock the door like a regular deadbolt from inside the house.

Windows

SandCastle offers unobstructed views of the entire monterrey coastline. The first thing you will want to do upon arrival is to open the blinds and see the stunning views of the surf.

Both the top floor and the middle floor are equipped with electrically retractable blinds (opaque in the master and light filtering in the middle floor, family room).

Open the blinds by finding a remote nearby that looks like this picture... press and hold the up button until the blinds start to smoothly move up (then you can let go - they will stop at the top, fully opened position).

Lowering the blinds is the same way, just press and hold the down button. Beware of any obstacles in the way of the blinds... if something is in the way, they may ball-up and abruptly slide off the obstacle causing a jarring effect that has in the past caused the blind to fall from the wall... I usually just watch the blinds fully close.

Speaking of windows...

You will notice there are no screens. This is because the screens hamper the great view. Besides there are almost no insects this close to the beach. Don’t worry about leaving windows open (including the slider)... I do it all the time - it adds the ambient ocean sound that I find enjoyable.

Also, Sea/Salt air takes a toll on the exterior side of the windows and they become dirty within a few days. So, they are almost always hazy (as we only go to the house every few weeks when we clean them), so they will likely be somewhat dirty when you arrive (housekeepers don't do windows), or they will become dirty during your stay. If you want to clean them, it takes just a few minutes. There is a bucket and a squeegee in the cabinet in the middle floor bathroom. Just put warm water in the bucket from the kitchen sink and use the fabric/sponge/netting side of the squeegee to scrub the window with the warm water, then use the rubber side to scrape off the excess water. It will make a world of difference.

I don't recommend doing this with the master window because there is a very narrow ledge that you have to stand on (after climbing out of the window). I do it... and the 80 year old woman who owned the property before me did it (I know, it shocked me too), but it IS dangerous and you must be very sure footed.

Swimming

Please utilize the beach in a safe manner. Though the beach is patrolled by California Rangers and trained Life Guards, they will not always be present. Be aware that there is a significant rip-tide and undertow at times. Only strong swimmers advised. Also, there is an abundance of life living in Monterrey bay…

Please be respectful of all of the natural beauty and animals you may encounter. The lifeguards may open and close the water for swimming for various reasons. Please respect their direction.

Beach Light

Near the middle floor beach windows (on the left) is a beach light switch (it’s labeled). If you want light on the beach at night go ahead and turn that on. I don’t generally do that (unless I’m looking for lost keys) because after the beach light warms up it’s about as bright as the sun and you can’t see any stars. Plus if you leave it on and try to sleep, the master windows let in quite a lot of the light.

This light operates on a mechanical timer and stays on only for a limited amount of time (HOA regulations).

Dogs on the Beach

Your dog is welcome on the beach but must be leashed and under your control the whole time. If a ranger sees your dog off leash, you may get a fine, but most likely you will get a warning on the first occurrence. Please pick up after your dog... Neighbors will certainly complain about dog messes.

Drinking on the Beach

Alcohol is prohibited on CA state beaches. If the ranger sees you drinking on the beach, he will ask you to stop or may possibly ask you to leave the beach. I have seen neither happen, but I needed to tell you. You may just get a warning... which is the usual case for your first offense. If you are drinking out of a solo cup, they have plausible deniability... dont let them see beer or wine bottles.

You can drink on the middle floor balcony and enjoy the beach without even getting sandy!

Trash and Recycling

In the unit, the cabinet nearest the dining table on the middle floor is a pull-out garbage bin. Bags are under the sink. We use the front bin for trash and the back bin for recycling. When the bins get full, the bags can be brought to the following locations...

Trash:

Next to where I recommended you park there is a large wooden cabinet. The main trash can is in that cabinet. Trash day is Friday the collectors will come between 7am and 11am.

Recycling:

There are several recycling bins at the far end (dead end) of Oceanview Drive.

Other Amenities

There is a k-cop coffee machine in the kitchen. Oven, microwave, dishwasher... all the regular stuff. Just look in all the cabinets - you should have everything you need.

Also, there is a full-size washer and dryer in the middle floor bathroom area. Please feel to use it but remember to bring detergent (because its not regularly stocked).

Laundry

This unit is equipped with a full size washer and dryer. If you would like to do laundry during your stay, please be sure to bring your favorite High-Efficiency detergent as we do not stock laundry supplies at the unit.

Working from "Home"?

There is a desk in the Master Bedroom, complete with white board, tack board, and a pair of 4K computer monitors mounted to the wall. Feel free to use this space as your office away from home. There are USB cables in the desk drawer, please leave them for future guests.

Like Shrimp one the Barbi?

Or whatever else you like to cook outdoors...

Great! Everything is there, Just light it up and enjoying BBQ-ing with the gas grill on the 2nd floor deck overlooking the sand and surf! 

Wireless Network

Sandcastle is equipped with 300Megabit networking. It is all wireless and works well throughout the whole unit, though the router is on the top floor so it works best up there.

WiFi: ProNet

Pass: prosoft4725

Fireplaces

The top and middle floors both have gas fireplaces. Just flip the switch on the left side of each fireplace to turn on the fire, using one of 3 positions:

The top is depressed - The fire is manually on, it will stay on forever, so please turn it off when you are done.

The bottom is depressed - The fire is manually off

The center is depressed - Automatic/voice activated mode. Read the section about home automation below for more details.

If the fireplace doesn't go on, regardless of position, the pilot light may have blown out in the wind – it happens sometimes. If that is the case, contact me and we will see if we can diagnose it together over the phone.

Baseboard Heater

The bottom floor has a baseboard heater installed. It does a nice job of limiting the humidity of that room, but it doesnt actually make things much warmer (the heat just runs up the stairs). We find its best to have the heat level set to about 4. The heater will turn itself off when it detects noobody in the room (after an 8 hour delay).

Furnace

On the middle floor, you will see a Nest Thermostat (for heat only). It is usually set pretty low to defer to the fireplaces to make the heat. However feel welcome to turn it up while you are waiting for the fireplaces to heat up. It will turn itself back down when it detects everyone has left the house.

This thermostat is touch sensitive on its outer casing... to turn the heat up or down, rub your finger on the right outer edge of the thermostat... UP to increase temperature, and DOWN to decrease temperature.

Beds

The bottom floor has 2 queen beds each in their own cubby hole. Kinda reminds me of a sleeper car on a train. They are great and comfortable. But they are a pain in the rear to make the beds. So don’t worry about that... housekeeping knows how to do it... they are used to it.

The middle floor couch unfolds into a remarkably comfortable memory foam bed. There are bed linens in the middle of the master closet.