The home is extremely clean and charming and everything smells nice too. We do all our own cooking (chili, rice, pasta, cake... everything) and we wanted for nothing in the very well supplied kitchen. There were tons of very comfortable furniture and plenty of heavy blankets. Lighting was ample and bright from the inside with huge windows letting in tons of light from the outside. Beds, mattresses, pillows, and blankets were very comfortable. The condition and elegance of the house was tip top. It was a truly wonderful place for a relaxing week with the family.
What a fun yard! Lots of grass, trees, and shrubs on the very large property, in addition to a planted garden in the front. Birders take note: over the course of 3 hours, I observed lesser goldfinch, house finch, oak titmouse, northern flicker, hermit thrush, California thrasher, California quail, California towhee, spotted towhee, scrub jay, acorn woodpecker, Bewick's wren, dark-eyed junco, fox sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, golden-crowned sparrow, red- tailed hawk, turkey vulture, Anna's hummingbird, western bluebird, mourning dove, and crows... all within the property (which includes a pond, where I hear egrets and herons come, though I did not catch them). The proper backyard has lots of furniture and a hot tub!
I highly value a quiet property and here we were not close enough to anyone to hear them. You could barely hear occasional traffic on the road from inside the house. At night, we cracked the bedroom window so we could hear the chorus of frogs and crickets from the pond on the property.
Places we went included Avila Beach, a walk along the dunes of Morrow Bay starting from the Coastal Access Butterfly Preserve, Montana del Oro bluffs trail, Monarch Butterfly Grove at Pismo Beach and the beach just past it; all very beautiful. We went to Avila Barn too but my kids were upset at the poor living conditions of the animals, so take note... their fruit pies looked quite nice. We also stopped by Cal Poly and it was a lovely campus in the hills. I wish we had stayed longer for more hikes at Montan del Oro!
Communication with Cathy was excellent.
I recommend this property in every way and would not hesitate to return in the future. If you come, be sure to bring your camera for all the beautiful places and your birding book!