A Seaside Artists/Writers Retreat: WHALESoNG HOUSE & GARDENS - Home Rental Listing Details

A working artists/writers retreat designed for peaceful contemplation and creative inspiration, WHALESoNG HOUSE & GARDENS are located only a block from the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse and directly across the street from Holy Trinity Church, whose magnificent steeple has served as a coastal landmark for over 131 years. Sweeping views of the ocean from Camel Rock to Trinidad Head will inspire you from the warm, cheerful, colorful home and gardens. The ocean bluff is literally steps from your door. Redwood National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site, is only minutes away.

Crafted of heart redwood in 1971, WHALESoNG HOUSE is a charming two-story home with three spacious bedrooms and two complete bathrooms, a fully-appointed gourmet chef’s kitchen with an adjacent dining area and literary study and library, a cozy living room with a brick-surrounded, wood stove fireplace, a comfortable media room, upper and lower decks overlooking the ocean and a private, Hot Spring spa which can accommodate six adults.

A designer’s delight, WHALESoNG HOUSE & GARDENS are lavishly landscaped with an enclosed, verdant, rear garden of over 50 specimen rhododendrons, climbing roses, hydrangeas, princess flowers, camellias and other perennials. A profusion of colors bursts from hanging baskets of annuals around the exterior of the house throughout the season. Designed by one of the owners, the serene, sculptured, three-foot spherical fountain, "Global Peace," which punctuates the dozens of heathers, lavenders and ornamental grasses in the front garden has become a Trinidad landmark. Byrd Baker, the “old timer” who, in his small skiff, once blocked a Japanese whaling ship, carved the driftwood whale insignia, which hangs at the apex of the face of the house.

Six adults can be accommodated comfortably in the three bedrooms, one on the upper level with a queen bed, one on the lower level with a double bed and another on the lower level with two single beds. All are dressed with luxurious down comforters and many comfortable pillows. There is a cozy bathtub in the bright, upper bathroom and a shower in the polished burl-countered lower bathroom. Complimentary bathrobes and linens are provided for each guest during your stay. The attached garage has been converted to a spacious laundry room with a large-capacity clothes washer and a pair of large-capacity clothes dryers, as well as a full-size ironing board and steam iron for your convenience.

The furnishings were chosen by the owners for their elegance as well as comfort. Some are precious, sturdy, family heirlooms. There is a comfortable sofa and two upholstered Bergere chairs in the living room and a teak dining table in the adjacent dining area. A teak writing desk is nestled in the corner of the non-fiction book alcove next to the kitchen. The upper media room has upholstered wingback chairs and a comfortable sofa, as well as a day bed. There are parquet floors and wall-to-wall carpeting and Oriental rugs throughout. Original art and photographs are tastefully displayed in the rooms and hallways. Massive, antique architectural pieces punctuate the apices of the interior and exterior walls.

The kitchen has a redundant supply of appliances and utensils including an automatic fresh-grinding coffeemaker which can be set to wake you with a rich aroma, a spacious, Panasonic microwave oven, a full-size 1954 GE refrigerator in perfect condition, a new Amana stove and oven, a new Maytag portable dishwasher, various Cuisinart and other brand mixers, blenders and crock pots, as well as grills and hot sandwich makers and even a miniature theater-style popcorn machine. Attractive cookware, service-ware and accessories are provided in quantity for your home-away-from-home comfort.

Should you require a gradual decompression from the distractions of modern life to the peaceful cooperation of man and nature which personifies WHALESoNG HOUSE & GARDENS, there is a large, inventoried collection of Emmy-nominated videos as well as hundreds of inventoried fiction and non-fiction books and journals lining the many shelves throughout the home. A cable TV media room features a 28” Sony TV and DVD/VCR player. There is a stereo CD/FM system in the living room and portable stereos in each bedroom. The upper bedroom has a separate cable TV/VCR player for your private viewing. In addition, there are many board games and puzzles for those quiet TV-free, intimate family evenings. The books, videos and games may be used at your pleasure. You are only asked to treat them gently and return them to their shelves after you have used them.

Should you need to stay connected, there is a FAX machine; you may use your own portable computer to access the internet through your service provider's toll-free access number.

Outdoors, the spacious lower decks and porches have picnic and patio tables and chairs and there is a barbecue grill in the rear garden near the spa. The small upper deck has patio chairs, a painted bench, hanging flower baskets, and an antique, lacquered, hatch-cover table for cocktails at sunset.

There is an efficient, Monitor brand, forced-air heater, as well as a romantic wood stove with an adequate supply of firewood and kindling in the lower living room for cool evenings. Overhead, there are romantic ceiling fans in the upper and lower levels to circulate the cool ocean breezes on warm days.

At WHALESoNG HOUSE & GARDENS you may leave your car behind and walk the short blocks around the hamlet (population: 323), to the harbor, the pier, the many beaches, hiking trails and museums as well as the marine petting zoo, several fine restaurants, the market, the post office, the salon, the massage spa, boutiques, the tennis court, and the fish market around the corner. There is a fine boutique farmer’s market on Sundays and occasional food and craft festivals. Trinidad is the home of Humboldt State University’s Marine Laboratory and its pioneering Solar Hydrogen Energy Research Center.

Whereas WHALESoNG HOUSE & GARDENS features some fragile art and furnishings and is not considered “child-proof,” should you wish to bring children or pets along, you are kindly requested to discuss your specific situation with us before you make your reservations.

The lower floors of the house and the lower porches and decks are accessible to narrow wheelchairs.

Smokers, without exception, cannot be accommodated because of the nature of the furnishings and the importance of maintaining a hypoallergenic environment for the owners and other guests.

We look forward to welcoming you to our comfortable home in this idyllic place, which Robert Louis Stevenson called "...the most beautiful meeting of land and sea."

Please contact us regarding reservations or further information at your convenience.