I’ve been living on Trellis Drive in Terra Linda since 2007. Very soon, I’ll be putting 111 Trellis Drive on the market, and I wanted to let people know why I love it here so much! We started out at 25 Trellis Dr, a long block down the hill from the house I’ll be selling at 111. 25 backs up to the field at what was Saint Mark’s when we moved in, and rebranded itself as Mark Day School a few years ago. I have heard from some home buyers that they are reluctant to live close to a school, but being on Trellis Drive is a truly awesome location for a myriad of reasons.
While I can’t advertise on the MLS that we are ‘walking’ distance to Vallecito Elementary School, I don’t think there was one day we ever drove the kids to school at Vallecito. I suppose there might have been a movie night or back to school night we drove to Vallecito, but most often we walked, and sometimes we rode bikes to school. There’s really nothing like walking across the Mark Day and Vallecito fields to get to school, especially in the winter when the fields frost over. It’s so much better than getting in a car!
The school fields are pretty awesome. So much of my kids’ youth was spent playing in the fields. I coached their soccer teams on those fields. When it was practice time, we’d head out the back door and be on the field in no time. The first team I coached, the U6 Twistin’ Tornados, lost every game but we made sure the kids had a great time. There was no drought at that time and on those hot, late summer and fall days we would stretch our yard hose out to the field and spray the 5 year olds down! They started taking their towels to practice, and it was definitely their favorite part of the soccer experience.
Living so close to the Mark Day, we also spent a lot of time skating on the blacktop. My kids rolling skated while I rode my skateboard. I taught my younger daughter how to ride her bike on the school blacktop. We shot some hoops too, and played in the playground. When you live on Trellis you are so close to the schools it’s easy to get outside and have fun!
Living on Trellis, on hot summer days we also liked visiting the Montecillo water park just around the corner. When the kids got older, I spent a lot of time exercising at the water park. There were plenty of early mornings when I would do the China Camp loop on my bike, and then stop off at the water park to do calisthenics before coming home and walking the kids to school. I’ve seen some older adults doing yoga and Thai Chi at the water park. It’s also a great place to play frisbee and let a dog run around.
Being on Trellis we are also very convenient to the Northgate Shopping Centers. Only a half mile away we are walking distance, but I’ve almost always driven because I prefer not to lug groceries home. I’ve ridden my bike to Safeway plenty of times and used a backpack for groceries. I probably should do it more when I need to pick up just a couple of things. This is a great neighborhood for casual bike rides.
The Trellis hill is also a prime skateboarding slope. It’s not too steep, and the pavement is in good condition. I’ve skated down Trellis more times that I can count, and often skated it during the pandemic rather than getting my exercise walking. There’s one guy who used to bomb straight down from the top, then do massive slide to slow down as he approached the Montecillo intersection. On warm summer days we used to cheer him on when he raced past our house.
For years I rode my skateboard to Kaiser, which is just around the corner from Trellis. I used to take particular delight in riding to orthopedic appointments. I’m sure the doctors and nurses thought I was a little nuts, and I probably am. Sadly my skating days are behind me now, after breaking several ribs last year. Falling into the water off my surfboard is much safer than skateboarding and falling on cement. Skateboarding down Trellis and on the school blacktops was a lot of fun while it lasted.
There’s a lot more I could say about living on Trellis, but I think you get the point. I can’t imagine a better street to have raised my kids, and now 111 Trellis Drive is coming on the market! I’m sure whomever moves in will love it here just as much as we have!