View from Mt. Tam

Summertime and the living is easy in Marin — especially if you have a pool. In Home, P. J. Bremier takes us on a tour of pool houses, from one fit for a Hobbit to another made for the good life under the Tuscan sun. Before you head poolside, though, read FYI Home for a guide to comfy outdoor living and FYI Green for the story of the Marin couple who turned KINeSYS sunscreen into a must-have product for summer activity.

For those who want to get away but still want to be at home, Mandy Behbehani tackles the buy vs. build second-home question and finds a variety of answers­­—from a lodge in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley to a restored apartment across from Napoleon’s Tomb in Paris.

Few people get away to the extreme that Mill Valley writer-photographer Vassi Koutsaftis does. In Journey, he takes us on a high-altitude—and harrowing—trek around 26,781-foot Mount Manaslu in Nepal. For a tamer vacation, follow Kendra Smith in GO to Ashland, Oregon, where Shakespeare provides most of the adventure.

As we head out for the summer, thousands of tourists from the world over arrive in Marin. Tim Porter tags along with them and learns that not only do millions of people consider a trip to the Bay Area incomplete without a visit to Muir Woods or elsewhere in Marin, but these eclectic out-of-towners also leave behind millions of dollars for the local economy.

Also in this issue, Play reports on trail running in Marin, Flavor samples the best of local barbecue sauces, Microclimate visits the Santa Venetia neighborhood, FYI Environment profiles Audubon Canyon Ranch on the Bolinas Lagoon and Dialogue engages with Inverness poet Robert Hass, winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

As always, our wish is for your good reading. Enjoy Marin Magazine, as we continue to celebrate this truly extraordinary place!

Lisa Shanower, Publisher
Nikki Wood, Editorial Director
Jim Wood, Executive Editor