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Locals Talk
Vanda Marlow
Age: Fabulous Forties!
Marin
- When I took the Hotel Matchmaker test these are the words I selected:
- Serene/Soulful, Creative/Eclectic, Stylish, Worldly/Sensual, Visionary/Artistic
- My favorite activities include:
- Eating (Scharffenberger Chocolate), laughing (Absolutely Fabulous videos), sleeping (in the sunshine on my back deck), traveling (Rio for the Carnival), poetry (David Whyte). Gardening (hydrangeas and jasmine), collecting orchids (I am named after one), documentary films (Rivers and Tides), yoga (at Mill Valley Yoga Studio, 650 East Blithedale Ave, Mill Valley, 380-8800), soul stretching (Spirit Rock Meditation Centre in San Geronimo Valley, 5000 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Woodacre, 488-0164 ), watching my goddaughter (Lola Skye) grow up
- I was born and raised in:
- Gloucestershire, England
- I currently live:
- a houseboat in Sausalito, just over the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County
- What do I do to make a buck?:
- I raise bucks for my passion - the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco - as well as volunteering my time there at the bedside. Such sweet relief from the corporate world of London from whence I escaped in 1997!
- 5 things I love about the San Francisco Bay Area:
- 1.Every known spiritual teacher seems to come through the Bay Area - the Dalai Lama has been several times. The place is seething with folks practicing mindfulness and exploring new thought and influences
- 2.The weather (from early March to late November) and its proximity to Hawaii (from late November to early March)
- 3. The high standard of bumper sticker commentary reflecting the fact that this remains a bastion of Democratic Party liberals, tolerance, humanity, diversity and other concerned elements. A truly international place
- 4.Sunday Morning meditation and Dharma talk at the Zen Centre, Green Gulch Farm Muir Beach 383-3134
- 5.Boogie boarding with the seals at Stinson Beach
- My favorite local hidden treasure you shouldn't miss:
- Crab Cakes on the rail at Horizons Restaurant (558 Bridgeway, Sausalito, 415 331-3232), The crowd is mainly tourists (that would be nice people like you) because locals are too busy hiding from them - but hey, they're missing a picture perfect view of the Bay from Angel Island to the spire of the TransAmerica Building. Those discerning non-smug locals (that would be people like me) who are lured past the tourists by the excellent food, arrive by boat.
- My perfect day spent in the San Francisco Bay Area:
- Drinking lattes and journaling at The Depot in Mill Valley (87 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, 383-2665), having made an important purchase of perhaps a peppermint flavoured tennis ball at AlphaDog(383-7606). This store stocks everything you need for canine presents. A hike around Mount Tam, or renting bikes to scale it more energetically. For the equestrian and the brave there is always the Miwok Riding Stables (701 Tennessee Valley Road, Mill Valley, 383-8048) who lead fantastic rides across the Marin headlands. A massage, after all that activity, at The Mill Valley Tea Garden Springs (38 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, 389-1723) and/or a hot tub at Joseph Smiths (158 Almonte Blvd, Mill Valley, 383-8260) will ensure that you know you have been in California. Lunch in the garden at The Lark Creek Inn (234 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur, 924-7766) or dinner at the impossibly hard to get in to but definitely worth it raw food restaurant, Roxanne's, (320 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur, 924-5004) will take you to enjoy the delights of strolling through Larkspur. Be careful, this small town is so seductive you may feel obliged to go home, pack all your belongings and move here (like I did). Catch a film at the newly renovated San Rafael Theatre (1118 Fourth Street, 454-1222)which specializes in foreign films and those not usually found on general release. Stop by the Double Rainbow Ice Cream on your way in for the authentic ice cream diner experience. Pop into Open Secret (923 C Street, San Rafael, 457-4191) on your way out to buy any book, music, incense, statuary, prayer flags etc that you may need to take home as proof of your enquiring mind and spiritual maturity (!)
