Making Friends with Deer: Summer in Fairfax, California

We spent just under three months in Fairfax, California this summer. We hunted far and wide for a place near San Francisco because its damn expensive. We needed a two bedroom and gave ourself a radius of two hours around SF. The Marin area is a good place to hunt and it met our need to have nature close by. Out of all the areas in Marin, each with a different sub climate, Fairfax called us most. The people are friendly and laid back. Its got a bit of a hippie vibe which we preferred over the WASP like character of other areas, a great local health food store (Good Earth), and is very close to lakes and forrest. Its also just next to San Anselmo which has a sweet downtown and my favourite park: Robson-Harrington Gardens, which we named the secret garden with all its pathways and hiding spots.

A sublet in a Buddhist nun’s house provided our base amongst the redwood trees. The highlight of this space was the deer. One of them being Utku - a regular visitor who would allow Ruya and I within a few feet, provided we fed him some juicy pears which we picked at the secret garden. Ruya became a mighty forager during this stay. She can now identify and loudly point to blackberries, which grow profusely around this area. The secret garden had apples, figs, green beans, mulberries and pears for the taking. We shopped mostly at the local organic farmers markets and there was one every week except for Monday. The large Sunday market in San Rafael was a routine excursion for us. The Wednesday market in Fairfax was small but had vendors that did not frequent most of the other markets.

Further afield we went camping at Point Reyes National Seashore. We chose the campsite with the shortest hike in of 2.2 km - Sky camp. Since this was our first real camping trip with Ruya we wanted to make it a little easier on us. The location was magnificent. Redwood trees, the ocean, warm weather (though at night it got cold) and plenty of hikes around us. We stayed two nights with the second one being in the better camp spot. Its worth researching the spots because some are very exposed and others are nestled in forrest. On the second day we did the 6.4 km hike down to the beach and back. Ruya walked at least 1km of that. She blossomed within the nature space. She was so absorbed, content, vital and she slept at night as deeply as I have ever known her to sleep. This camping excursion was the highlight of our stay simply for the beauty of the landscape. It also makes us want to camp more so we have invested in some super lightweight gear - Nunatak sleeping bags and Gossamer Gear.

Being anywhere for two months brings people into my orbit for enough time to yield deeper relationship. My acupuncturist Rose Crane phrased things to me so poignantly, her words often hit as deep as her needles (415-256-1934). I made one friend and shared some playdate time with her and her sons. I had plenty of conversations in the playgrounds with mom’s and baby sitters and grandmothers. The playground is the congregating ground for children here, and whilst I am not a major fan of taking Ruya their alot, we tended to visit one park a day to get the social interaction. Landsdale playground was my favourite park - its perfect for toddlers even though its tiny. Peri park is the main hub in Fairfax. It is large, shady and Ruya spent a lot of time gazing at the antics of all the children running around. 

I am not sure if we will be back here, my gut not convinced its a return spot for me. But it has given all we needed for the summer and I leave with a sense of contentment. Life here has been comfortable and safe, a resting pad, before the next excursion. On the upcoming itinerary is Istanbul, Cape Town, Barcelona and Marrakech, so far.