Hats off to Marin’s own Governor Newsom for reaching out to Canadians last month to lure them back to California. According to the governor’s website, last year 1.8 million Canadians traveled to our state and spent $3.71 billion. Besides our nice neighbors to the north, last year visitors spent more than $150 billion, generating $12.7 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Long before we knew tourism would be “plummeting” as headlines decry, our edit team was planning our “local tourism push” for this issue with our second annual Local Getaways Flipbook. No surprise, creating the content has been a blast, and we hope you enjoy the offerings of how to get out and explore Marin and beyond with a fresh eye.
Within the magazine, we start off with a question that has challenged me for 20 years here at Marin Magazine. What do we call ourselves here in Marin? Mimi Pinson has taken a fun look at the topic, let us know if you agree with her findings. We also include a nod to Father’s Day, as writer and Redwood High School English teacher Jonah Steinhart shares his heartwarming journey to find his daughter, Annika, a safe place to live. She was born with a rare genetic disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome, as was my former neighbor Richard de Lone, whose parents Audi and Lesley inspired Jonah’s journey. His tribute to Audi as a father is especially heartwarming. SPACES editor Lotus Abrams is showcasing some home design eye candy. We appreciate how hard she works to coordinate the perfect blend of homes for this section.
We’re also happy to have Marin native Zack Ruskin back in our pages with two features. First is a list of chef’s tables in San Francisco to add to your bucket list this summer, and the second article explores San Francisco’s famous Crosstown Trail along with one of the trail’s biggest champions, Bob Siegel.
Bob’s wife, Pat, is one of the most inspirational athletes I’ve ever met. In her late 70s, she navigated our Outrigger Canoe Team through the high seas of a 35-mile Na Pali Coast race last year. It’s no wonder the two of them are together. Last fall, I was lucky to join them on the trail to experience first hand the magic of these neighborhoods, each a village on its own. Since Bob has been in the New York Times, as well as other local media outlets, walking with him on this 17-mile tour is not a quick or efficient endeavor. People stop him to chat, hug him in appreciation for creating the trail and take photos of him along the way. In our flipbook issue, we also highlight some of our most popular Local Getaways articles, such as traveling with pets. Emma Robertson has compiled some useful tips such as planet-friendly road trip essentials. And Mimi Pinson created an in-depth guide to what to do each month here in Marin this summer.
We hope to see you out and about on the trails, beaches and summer concert series. Let us know if we’ve left out one of your favorite local getaways, send us a note to [email protected], so we can be sure to include it next time.
