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Marin County is home to Frank
Lloyd Wright's only public building, George Lucas' Skywalker
Ranch and Industrial Light and Magic, as well as the birthplace
of the Mountain Bike among other highlights.
Gorgeous and relatively
unspoiled by progress, Marin County lies across the Golden Gate
Bridge overlooking the beautiful San Francisco Bay. Here is
where fog-weary San Franciscans came to summer or seek the sun
in the early 1900's. The Mediterranean feel of the area is enhanced
by the old Spanish Mission San Rafael and a well-developed network
of ferries which connects the whole Bay area and makes you feel
like you are on vacation.
Just north
of Marin is world-famous Wine Country
with its enchanting boutique wineries and Bed and Breakfast
inns. Along the way, you can take a side trip to the Point Reyes
lighthouse to see the annual whale migration that takes place
between January and April. Head south to laid-back Sausalito
for the annual Art Festival or visit to Muir
Woods and hike in the shade of centuries-old giant Sequoia
redwood trees. Go east across the bay to find the University
of California at Berkeley, revered center of learning, well-known
throughout the world, as well as the recently restored Jack
London Square with its historic, original First and Last
Chance Salon at which tables the writer met many characters
he later made famous in his writings.
Marin County's
charming towns, often with Victorian or Old-West style architecture,
have attracted writers, musicians, and film folks of note since
the early 60's. Historic San Rafael's newly restored classic
and foreign film theater, the Rafael, along with Mill Valley's
Sequoia Theater, are part of the hosting sites of the San Francisco
International Film Festival. Fairfax is still reminiscent of
the famed 'Summer of Love' of '68, and Bolinas hippies
still regularly remove the road signs from Highway 1 so that
casual tourists can't find their bucolic village.
Marin, where
no sign or billboard may be higher than 12 feet (4.37 meters),
is home to entertainment luminaries such as Sean Penn and Sharon
Stone, as well as to musical notables Bonnie Raitt, Chris Isaak,
Carlos Santana, Ali Akbar, Huey Lewis, the Grateful Dead, Big
Brother & the Holding Company and Foreigner band members.
Famous Marin authors include, Isabel Allende and Joe Esterhaus,
among others.
Marin's
cutting-edge, hi-tech software and multimedia companies are
scattered throughout the county, enabling happy Marinites the
attractive option of telecommuting. No heavy industry and a
small population result in bright blue skies and lots of nature
everywhere. Deer, squirrels, skunks, llamas, cows, hundreds
of different types of birds and many other creatures are still
a regular part of the scenery. Beaches and coasts are often
wild and unspoiled setting for surfing fun.
So leave
your suit at home, ride a bike, hike a mountain, watch whales,
cruise the bay, see a classic film, tour the wineries, see some
art, hear some music and check out the latest technology. You
can do all this while improving your English in beautiful Marin
County, just 30 minutes north of San Francisco by the bay.
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