Sea Ranch Abalone Bay is one of the most romantic locations to spend time with your loved one. In fact, our honeymooners agree! The Sonoma Coast beckons you to discover this treasured love❤️location. It seems that love is always in the air there. Valentine’s Day, a honeymoon, Mother’s Day or any other day that ends in “y” is the best day for a love retreat at Sea Ranch.
Our Return to the Sonoma Coast
It’s been 5 years since our fateful vacation/honeymoon /Mother’s Day trip back to northern California. At the time we resided in Santiago, Chile. We looked forward to returning to the place where Jorge and I first met. One of the goals of our trip, besides enjoying the company of each other, was to “try on” various cities in northern California to determine where we would ultimately like to retire, even if part-time.
Saving the best for last, we had a fabulous time at The Sea Ranch where we happily discovered our home on Green Cove Drive. We were thrilled that after 36 years we would become the thrilled owners of a home at Sea Ranch.
Love of the Coast
Our first year anniversary was spent camping at the Gualala River Redwood Park and Campground just above Sea Ranch where we celebrated with Champagne and fresh abalone cooked over a campfire.
So it would follow that we would also fall in love with a home on this marvelous coast!
A Love Letter Seals the Deal
To help seal the offer we made on the home, we sent the love letter below. The goal, convince the owner that we would continue to lovingly care for her home:
Dear Kathleen,
Jorge and I want to take this moment to thank you for all you have done during our very short return to The Sea Ranch and surrounding area. We especially appreciate the time taken to tell us more about the history of the house on Green Cove and its owner. We do hope you will kindly let Mrs. __ know that are thrilled for the possibility of continuing to care for her beautiful home and grounds.
Long love affair with Sea Ranch
As you know we have had a long love affair with Sea Ranch, stretching back to when Jorge and his high school chum, Doug, would drive up the coast to dive for abalone and fish. As you saw, they wasted no time to do it once again! Should Mrs. __ find we are the best care-givers of her home, I can assure her it will also become the place where these two life-long buddies will sit in their adirondack chairs, wine glasses in hand as they gaze out across the horizon arguing which of them caught the biggest fish over the years or discussing the nuances within their recipes for paella that make it uniquely their own.
Gathering spot for our family
Please assure her we also anticipate her warm and welcoming home to be the gathering and resting space from our years of expat life. We currently reside in Santiago, Chile along with our family. Do let her know this home will become a frequent gathering spot for our family now living across the globe. We also are certain that it will soon become the meeting spot for our new friends made just in this short visit “home” to Sea Ranch and the Gualala area. Jorge and I hope that we may be able to count Mrs. _ in as one of them!
Looking forward to seeing you again Kathleen on Sunday afternoon before we head back home to our family in Santiago. We will miss our new “family” here and hope to meet up with you all on our return.
Un beso y brazo fuerte (a kiss and big hug)
Donna and Jorge
Well, as they say, “The rest is history.”
A New Home in Need of a Loving Touch
Once we took the title of the house we began work on repairing the wear and tear that the sea, salt, and winds can do to a building on the Sonoma Coast. Most noticeably was the addition of an enclosed deck, its landscaping and adding a hot tub. Of course, we put our personal touches on the interior of our new home as well. John Seed of Apple Construction was one of our contractors for the job. Little did we know we’d be reunited in the years to come.
Fast Forward Five Years
In the last five years, we appreciate that our vacation rental guests never complained about the condition of our home, its views or its amenities. Nonetheless, it was time for a change.
Five years later we are now full-on into the remodel of our dreams. We loved the location of our home with its southern coastal views. However, we were dismayed an outdated fireplace stood in the way of a view to the west. We also realized the small one-car garage would not be sufficient for all of Jorge’s fishing equipment and our home’s supplies.
Abalone Bay Gets a Makeover
After a few delays, we contracted the famed architect of The Sea Ranch, Obie Bowman, known for designing the “Walk-in Cabins.” By spring, 2019 Obie completed his designs and helped us navigate The Sea Ranch review process.
Renovations Begin!
Then in late fall, 2019 work began on bringing ideas from paper into reality. Phase one includes the creation of that longed-for window, an improved fireplace, new flooring, and conversion of the garage into a game room. The living room will also see updating in the decor, beginning with the removal of the builtin bookcase.
Phase two will be the building of the new garage. Plus during this phase, we’ll hire co-hosting and housekeeping staff to assure your stay is top-notch!
An Invitation Just for You
We have a very special invitation: Be the first to learn of our Grand Reopening by becoming a member of our Inner Circle!
As you know nailing down a completion date for constructing and remodeling homes is tricky. We hope to have everything in place and ready to book by late summer. Once that date is confirmed we’ll send out the first notice and special booking rates to our Inner Circle Members- only.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
Just click here ??
Abalone Bay Inner Circle Sign Up
Then fill out the form and you too can be an elite member of Abalone Bay’s Inner Circle.
In the meantime, we invite you to follow its progress below and imagine what it will all look like in just a few months from now…
Photo Gallery:
Construction Begins September 2019
Progress: January 2020
Game Room: January Progress
Follow Us on Social Media!
Can’t get enough of our “baby pictures”? Then be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. As I pop by to check on the house usually post there first. We expect to get new photos this Valentine’s weekend. While the house continues to be without heat (while they work on the new furnace), we’ll be warmed by the exciting changes made so far.
Don’t Forget:
Just click here ??
Abalone Bay Inner Circle Sign Up
UPDATE: It’s been two years now. The house has been renovated, a courtyard and landscaping with hot tub added, and it’s been filled with amenities galore. We have been very honored by our guests’ reviews of all our work and find that ours is a very popular vacation location…So much so that we can barely find a time when WE can go and enjoy it.
Because of our successful bookings by you our guests, we have started this year our “Give Back To The Community” program. We are donating 10% of our bookings between two very worthwhile organizations in: Coastal Seniors-Meals on Wheels and Action Network-Children and Families Support. We thank you all for helping us make this possible. We encourage your direct participation in these foundations as well. Learn more about them on our About Us page: https://searanchabalonebay.com/about-us/
Our plans for the home are not yet complete. We expect to add a two car garage and loft in 2016 and a recreation/media room to the main house. There are other details we hope to add to the home later on.
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