the story of bolinas
A bit north of San Francisco there’s a little town called Bolinas.
The plan was to go fishing in the Bolinas channel: a break where the ocean flows into a narrow strait that makes it a popular surf spot. There’s also a beach and tide pools that make for a lovely Sunday beach outing.
We drove north on the Golden Gate bridge along Highway 1.
As we turned the corner into the town we were met with a group of what at first looked like protesters. It was a group of 4 or 5 against a backdrop of hand painted signs.
I rolled down my window, self-conscious of the fact that I wasn’t wearing a mask from the car.
“Are you trying to hike Alamere Falls?” a man asked, “if so you likely won’t be able to find parking. We ask you don’t visit our town if you don’t have to.”
”Here’s a message from the local kids,” a women said, handing me a slip of paper.
Wish I still had the printout but it went something like “Hey welcome to Bolinas but we’re not welcoming visitors Covid. Please help us keep our town Covid-free but if you really must visit know that we support #BlackLivesMatter and don’t welcome anyone who doesn’t…”
The town was friendly and people kept to themselves, likely more of a reflection the social distancing than the community. The ocean scenes were stunning. It seemed a shame to turn around and we saw other visitors, so ended up spending a quiet afternoon on the beach, attempting to fish as respectfully as possible and checking out a secluded tide pool.
Days later I still couldn’t place my finger on it. It was unlike any other beach town I had visited. It was so magical and isolated and unique.
The town felt almost…commune-like.
I mean this in the best possible way (though admit I am a bit obsessed with sunshine state cults a la Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). It describes the vibes: isolated, happy, communal. We drove past rural farmscapes dotted with #BLM posters and hand painted drawings of George Floyd - where else would a town like this exist?
The more I read the more I found this “hidden gem” was already out.
They’ve been in the national spotlight, probably to the dismay of local residents. So much so that the NYT wrote this piece on The Town that Didn’t Want Company and more recently was characterized as the The Town that Tested Itself in times of Covid.
There’s even gems from a 1972 paper (!) that with major “New Society” vibes as the town was developing.
The town felt it was “struggling for survival” in in the 70s.
What made me feel really guilty though was reading this resident submission in last month’s Bolinas Hearsay News
(which I am absolutely obsessed with)
So here’s my own reply to editor to the lovely town of Bolinas:
Sorry for intruding when you clearly did not want visitors and sorry for writing a post and I promise to try to not sing your praises because I now understand it’s the last thing you want.
So: don’t visit unless you really have to. If you’re considering it, I’ll leave you with the words of the town’s Measure G (a real measure passed in 2003)
“Vote for Bolinas to be a socially acknowledged nature-loving town because to like to drink the water out of the lakes to like to eat the blueberries to like the bears is not hatred to hotels and motor boats. Dakar. Temporary and way to save life, skunks and foxes (airplanes to go over the ocean) and to make it beautiful.”