Ours is a large family home in Alameda's Gold Coast neighborhood. In addition to the spacious living and dining room area, there is a family room, kitchen, master suite with sitting room and full bath, three additional bedrooms and 2 additional bathrooms, a lovely backyard and a side patio area with separate entrance to one of the bedrooms. Several rooms and the balcony look out over a private lagoon, and the San Francisco Bay can be seen in the distance.

Alameda is an island east of San Franciso in the San Franciso Bay. It is just 20 minutes from downtown San Francisco by car, and approximately 30 minutes by rapid transit, ferry boat (a beautiful ride! ) or bus. The Carmel/Monterey area, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, the Napa Wine Country and numerous other sites are within easy driving distance for an overnight or weekend trip.

During the Victorian era, prosperous San Franciscans looking for a close-in location built family homes and vacation retreats in Alameda. Over the years Alameda has grown to nearly 75, 000 residents, but retains much of its small-town charm. It is well-known for the quality of its architecture, which includes many Victorians and California Craftsman bungalows. Our home is in Alameda's Gold Coast neighborhood, which boasts many large, custom-built older homes on beautiful tree-lined streets. It is a great neighborhood for walking and bicycling, with a public beach, park and tennis courts, golf course, various continental and ethnic restaurants, neighborhood coffee shops, shopping and services all within walking distance.

We are open to all offers. Would particularly enjoy hosting you and your family or friends while we are here. However, we have good friends close by who can help answer your questions and make you feel comfortable if we do an exchange.

Hospitality stays available anytime. Flexible regarding exchange dates, but would prefer months of March, April, May, September, or October.

Abierto a cualquier fecha

Anywhere in Europe; Turkey; Thailand; and open to all other offers. Especially interested in locations where textiles, mosaics and ceramics are part of the local history and culture.

Richard recently retired from a position with the City and now spends his time managing his income properties, enjoying the outdoors, gardening and taking care of his sweetie. His sweetie, Carol, still works for the City, managing its community programs and services. In their spare time, Carol and Rich enjoy music and theater, dragon boating, travelling and reading. Carol loves to sew and Rich loves to nap. We have three grown children who live in and around the Bay Area.