CONTENTS

In Marin

23 Currents

Caring for elderly dogs, new openings in Marin and tips for living harmoniously with some new visitors.

28 Lessons From a Life at Sea

A sailor finds her footing after seven years sailing around the world.

OUT & ABOUT

96 Calendar

A roundup of what to do in Marin and beyond.

100 Dine

An insider’s guide to dining and food in the Bay Area.

108 On the Scene

Snapshots from events around the county.

Home

113 Backstory

An interior designer and her family turn to co-buying to purchase a property in San Francisco for their young family and imbue it with color and personality.

COLUMNS

16 EDITOR’S NOTE 18 CONNECT 130 LOOKING BACK

21

PRESIDENT / OPERATIONS

Nikki N. Wood nwood@marinmagazine.com

Editorial

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Mimi Towle

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Kasia Pawlowska

DIGITAL EDITOR

Jessica Gliddon

SENIOR WRITER

Christina Mueller

DEPARTMENT EDITORS

Lotus Abrams, Donna Berry Glass

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Emma Casey, Ciel Pierlot, Grace Towle, Jim Wood

INTERNS

Claire Fiorentino, Eva Knowles, Luke Lori, Emma Robertson

Art

ART DIRECTOR

Lisa Hilgers

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Alex French

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

John Merkl, Steve Kepple

COVER ILLUSTRATOR

Kate Forrester

Administration

CONTROLLER

Maeve Walsh

Co-Founders

Jim Wood, Nikki N. Wood

Volume 19, Issue 8. Marin Magazine is published in Marin County by 270 Media LLC. All rights reserved. Copyright©2022. Reproduction of Marin Magazine content is prohibited without the expressed, written consent of 270 Media LLC. Unsolicited materials cannot be returned. Marin Magazine reserves the right to refuse to publish any advertisement deemed detrimental to the best interests of the community or that is in questionable taste. Marin Magazine is mailed monthly to homes and businesses in Marin County. Marin (USPS 024-898) is published monthly by 270 Media LLC, 4000 Bridgeway, Suite 105, Sausalito, CA 94965. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sausalito, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 270 Media LLC, PO Box 50, Lincolnshire, IL 60069. The paper within this product is at least 70% from a Forest Stewardship Council®-certified forest (FSC-C002420). The balance may be recycled material and/or controlled wood.

EVERYTHING YOU LOVE ABOUT THE ACADEMY. AND TONS MORE.

Sauropods were Mesozoic marvels, measuring up to 60 feet tall and weighing up to 80 tons. Discover the world’s largest dinosaurs at the world’s only aquarium + planetarium + rainforest + natural history museum. With life-size models, fossil replicas, and more.

Now open | Get tickets at calacademy.org

Every visit supports our mission to regenerate the natural world.

Warning: don’t read any further if you are not in agreement that Marin County is the best place to live — the next 500 words will just tie your panties in a bunch. This issue we celebrate our Best of the County picks in a way we have never done before. It’s taken us years to evolve and, dare I say, perfect this process, to offer you a robust selection of over 400 small businesses that all make our county the best place to live (just ask the folks at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). Our best-of lists are composed of eight and as a complete surprise due to write-ins, added another 40 businesses, with bakeries, pizzas and nail and hair salons leading the charge. Once the votes were tallied we were happy to see we only had one tie. If your businesses earned this year’s readers’ choice, you might want to thank your customers — in many cases there were hundreds of votes cast per category and the winner won by only 20. categories: arts & entertainment, beauty, dining, fitness & sports, home & design, services, shopping and philanthropy, each with at least eight sub categories. Back in March we sent these lists to our newsletter audience to select their favorites with a caveat, to reduce the “you didn’t include me” emails and letters — if a business received 10 individual write-in votes, we would add them to our list. Luckily, Holly Smith, our marketing associate, had just started in her role and took on the task of searching for duplicate emails addresses with the fervor of an Orkin Pest control pro. “Got one,” I would hear her squeal, or “Cheaters, cheaters, cheaters.” In the end, we had over 7,200 individual votes

Then came the fun part: creating over 100 online articles. While it was a group effort, our then spring term intern, Ciel Pierlot, immersed herself in the poetry of writing most of the copy for topics ranging from auto repair to photography. Also on this Herculean task, Grace Towle managed and trained a small army, including Eva Knowles and Emma Robertson — two of five stellar interns we have in the office this summer — to upload all of these posts, find images, triple check for accuracy and include the category sponsors.

However, the real MVP award goes to the tag team effort of Kasia Pawlowska and Lisa Hilgers. Kasia painstakingly combed through each post, alphabetized businesses, fact checked names and made sure write-in information was appropriately included. She then passed off to Lisa Hilgers, who was tasked with making 18 pages of lists look dynamic without the help of a photographer or illustrator. It was just Lisa, and her dog Otis, in her studio with a lot of words and provided imagery we pulled from businesses. You’ll see the result on page 32.

Enough about us, this issue is about introducing you to a new bakery, Pilates studio or hair salon to enrich your life or visit here in Marin County. If you don’t agree with the selections, there is always next year, and if you feel like your favorite Thai restaurant should have won readers’ choice, be sure to vote and spread the word next year. Also please share your appreciation of your favorites throughout the year by tagging us and adding #MarinBOC2023, we will share your photos on our social channels (including Threads). Cheers to Marin!