Almost 4 out of every 1,000 Residents of Marin County are Authors

An impressive Marin Authors list is maintained by the Head Reference Librarian at the Marin County Civic Center Library.

The library also has a digital archive. The architect of the famous Marin County Civic Center was Frank Lloyd Wright and the photos of the enormous structure are quite interesting. Link.

Jump off (hang glide) Mt. Tamalpais, land on Stinson Beach!

According to the San Francisco Hang Gliding Center, "With the help of our certified instructors, anyone can fly with only ten minutes of instruction on the ground. The rest of the lesson is conducted in flight, from two thousand feet, side by side with some of the most experienced hang gliding instructors in the world." Sounds like fun!

They fly a distance of 2 miles out to the north end of Stinson Beach, and the flight can last anywhere from 10-30 minutes, depending on the wind and weather.

If you want to do it without an instructor, then head to the Mission Soaring Center. The Mission Soaring Hang Gliding school provides professional training on state-of- the-art equipment at their dedicated training site near Hollister, California, just south of the San Jose/ San Francisco Bay Area.

"Bacterial pulses" at Stinson Beach?

Over the next three years Stanford scientist and environmental engineering professor Alexandria Boehm and three graduate students will drive metal tubes twelve feet into the sand - on several beaches up and down the California coastline - including Stinson Beach. Boehm is trying to understand the causes of bacterial hotspots - first discovered at Huntington Beach. The three-year study will allow Boehm and her fellow researchers, for the first time, to get a solid handle on the relationship between groundwater flowing silently beneath the beach and the ocean waves beating the shore. Full article link (requires registration). Link to Ali Boehm.

Did American-style Hot Tubs begin in Stinson Beach?

According to the Marin Independent Journal, in 1966, Al Garvey, an artist and designer, placed a primitive "Japanese bath," as he described it, built from a redwood water barrel and jerryrigged water heater, on a deck overlooking the treetops of his Fairfax home. He believes the tub was the second such contraption in Northern California, inspired from a visit to a Stinson Beach couple who had one installed in their yard in the 1950s.

Eating Local Organic Foods Supports Marin Farmers

According to the Marin Independent Journal, the acres of land farmed organically stood at 357 in 2000, then jumped to 810 in 2001, 1,560 acres in 2002, 2,330 acres in 2003, 5,188 acres in 2004 and 11,305 acres last year, according to a new county report. Of the 11,305 acres in organic farming, 10,988 are on pastureland, with the other 316 acres in row crops.

Marin Organic has a list of farms, some of which offer bed & breakfast overnights, painting workshops, wedding locations, and the occasional film shoot.