My Marin

By way of introduction, here's the current map of my life:

(View My Marin in a larger map...)

The various blue bulbs indicate points of interest (to me, anyway), but perhaps more remarkable is the general lay of the land. Zoom in a bit and you will see a string of towns--Mill Valley, Larkspur, Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo--leading out to Fairfax, and then, beyond...nothing.  (There are some names on the map--Woodacre, San Geronimo--but these are really not much more than names on a map.)  It was this nothing, or rather easy access to it, that convinced me Fairfax was the best place to land.  That, and the fact that getting back through all of those towns to San Francisco is such an unreasonable proposition that I don't have the slightest temptation to look for jobs in the Financial District.  I'm done with that, and want to make sure I stay done.

Switch to the satellite view and you'll note another attractive point about the area where we live:  it's green.  Very green.  The hills are covered with trees, and even in the dry season there's some water around.  To the north and east it gets brown--range land, quite beautiful--but here it's mostly green.  And, of course, you'll note the ocean's proximity, though it's a good half hour to get there due to the mountains that lie between us and it.  You'll see those most clearly in the terrain view, which will also explain why there is nothing much to the north of us:  too hilly.  This view, in close-up, also illustrates why I am so happy to live at 19 Park Road:  we're on the flats, not the slopes, so it's easy to get most places on foot or bike.  This has made living without a car (as I do:  Talia takes it with her on her commute) an entirely reasonable and pleasant fact of life.