Ferry service in 1959. The Angel Island you can ride today was designed and built by Milt in the 1975. Milt’s daughter Maggie is now driving the family business, having incorporated educational group cruises, and the forthcoming Marine Environment Program- an awesome effort that will inspire young people to preserve and rehabilitate the Bay. The ferry takes 30,000 school children out to the island each year, allowing them to run the boat, bottom trawl for fish (that they catalog and id before returning), and assorted other chances at adventures of a lifetime. Maggie and her family are a piece of real Tiburon. I appreciate their deep rooted commitment to the Bay environment. Whether its Angel Island or ecology, the McDonogh’s are fun and inspiring people to have explain it.

The Angel Island ferry provides public access to Angel Island State Park, complete with great bay views. The Island itself is beautiful, with wildflowers, rolling hills and gorgeous views everywhere. The whole island is open to the public except Point Blunt and Point Stuart which are active Coast Guard stations. To orient yourself, get a copy of the Angel Island State Park Map. You can call (415)435-1915 for recorded general park information and a ferry schedule. At the landing in Ayala Cove there is a visitor center, and a concessionaire who operates the Cove Cafe and tram tours in the summer. Bike rentals are available here for $10 per hour including a helmet. Or you can bring your bike on the ferry.

The 5-mile loop around the island on the Perimeter Road passes many historic sites (a half-hour bike ride or a three-hour hike). After the Civil War began, West Garrison was established to protect the Bay Area from Confederate attack. Overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and southern Marin shores, it contains the largest collection of wooden civil war- era buildings in the US. Several trails promote an hour’s hike from the Perimeter Road to the top of the island’s 781-foot summit, Mount Caroline Livermore, for a panoramic view of the bay. Perle’s Beach is the best bet for a beach walk on a broad, though windswept, sandy beach. Quarry Beach is on the calmer side of the island, next to remains of the military base Fort McDowell, which served during the Spanish American War and Panama Canal construction, and later became the world’s largest and most elaborate US military troop embarkation point. During W.W.II up to 80,000 people passed through this now quiet cove annually. The Immigration station at North Garrison, overlooking China Cove, was the main portal of entry for immigrants from Asia from 1910 to 1940, and later became a prison for Japanese, German and Italians who happened to be onboard ships in West Coast harbors when W.W.II broke out. You can visit the Immigration Station, the Quarantine Station, Camp Reynolds, and Fort McDowell with docents from the Angel Island Association (415) 435-3522. For a major highlight, schedule a guided sea kayak trip out of Ayala Cove through Sea Trek (415) 488-1000 in Sausalito. The three-hour trips depart Sundays at 10:30 and 1pm. Depending on the winds and tides, trips generally seek the island’s leeward side, allowing for a paddle to West Garrison or China Cove. You ride the ferry over and back and Sea Trek deals with the logistics of getting the kayaks across.

2. Main Street and Ark Row Stroll

The stroll along Main Street and Ark Row is a history trip with great shopping. Spend plenty of time here. It is one of those only-in-Tiburon opportunities, so some historic tidbits are in order. Main Street is the waterfront, and most everything on the east side of the street is a restaurant on a deck over the water. The west side holds shops. As you stand at the corner of Main Street, its fun to think that in the 1940s there was a hardware store, market, bakery, garage and post office, plus Sam’s Anchor Cafe. Now things are less about utility, and proprietors aim to pamper and entice: Guaymas is a Mecca in gourmet Mexican food, and they have a nice happy hour. The Water’s Edge is a beautiful, new boutique hotel on the water. The Sweden House Bakery and Cafe is a favorite of locals, as is Rooney’s Garden Cafe across the street. Servino’s is the classic Italian Trattoria. But its Sam’s, with its world famous deck and fresh seafood, that has the long and colorful past: Sam Vella started out in 1920 with a tent on the beach where he served breakfast and sandwiches to the rail workers. He made his fortune bootlegging, and the restaurant was his hub. A trap door to the bay still exists beneath the floor that provided access for boats bringing whiskey. Sam and his wife spent their lives at the restaurant- dining each night at a corner table. They retired in 1960, though the restaurant remains a locally run Tiburon institution. Both Clancy and Mary, who showed me the historic photographs in the dining room, knew all of the great, old stories, each having been at Sam’s for years.

Many of the shops provide unique opportunities. Billie Charton’s Westerley Coffee, Tea and Spice house at 46 Main is a step back in time to the essence of Tiburon. The Main Street Gallery, at 20 Main, features old world carpets that will enchant you. There are also several clothing and gift shops. Around the corner is Ark Row, a row of shops restfully beaded with benches. Keep in mind that Lower Ark Row, by the Tiburon Thrift Shop and Ed’s Garage (with its wonderful antique car displays) was the waterfront in the 1890s. From here you would be traveling by boat. Some of these shops are old arks brought to rest on Corinthian Island. Everything here is worth a look. The Windsor Vineyards, a historic rooming house, offers wine tasting and you can select bottles from their catalogue with personalized labels. Raffiniti offers contemporary work by California Artisans. Faux-Get-Me-Not offers home accessories in faux finishes. Owner Karen Leveen does children’s parties complete with wooden boxes to be decorated, and instruction. The Watermark at Tiburon Books is an excellent bookstore. The Tiburon Deli at 106 Main makes great picnics. The older buildings are toward the west end, where several cottages and an ark date from the 1890s. Main street ends nearby at Beach Street. Turn left and follow the water to the China Cabin, open Wed and Sun from 1-4pm. It is a feast for the eyes of gold leaf and architectural moldings. This old saloon was salvaged when the S.S. China was burned for scrap metal in 1886. It was used as a residence for 90 years before being refurbished for the Landmarks Society as a museum. (Image the intricacy of this job)!