Tiburon: History, food and relaxation

Tiburon Friday Night Street Party
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I had driven through Tiburon before but I had never really spent any time there. Since it is only a half hour out of San Francisco, I must admit, I had never really thought of it as a weekend getaway. I couldnt have been more wrong.

We checked into The Waters Edge Hotel which is literally on the waters edge (San Francisco Bay) around noon on a Friday. It is a very nice little hotel.

Strangers throwing me a party??

I learned, from a brochure in the lobby, that from the 1880s to the 1930s Tiburon was a prosperous, and somewhat rowdy, railroad town. Despite several fires at the end of the late 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s enough of the original buildings remain to give you a real feel for what it must have been almost 100 years ago.

Old Town Arches
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According to a brochure from the lobby of the hotel the following buildings are worth checking out:

1. Paradise Drive Lyford Tower 1889 2. 1920 Paradise Drive Train & Ferry Terminal 1884 3. 15 Main Street McNeil Building 1886 4. 27 Main Street Sams Anchor Caf 1920s 5. 32 Main Street Anderson Meat Market 1921 6. 34 Main Street Beyries General Store, Hotel 1921 7. 35 main Street Saloon - 1925 8. 41 Main Street Waterfront Bar 1920s 9. 55 Main Street Bank Building 1925 10. 72 Main Street Fleming Rooming House 1918 11. 104 Main Street Ark 1895 12. 112 Main Street Cottage 1890 13. 120 Main Street Cottage 1890 14. 122 Main Street Ranch Building 1870s 15. Main Street Drawbridge Site 1880s 16. 52 Beach Road Social Saloon S.S. China - 1866

Ark Row
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Although I must admit, aside from the ones that are stores on Ark Row we didnt spend too much time looking at the buildings.

Daph had arranged for me to get a massage did I mention how great she is so we put in some time by looking around town a bit. Cool little shops and a nice walk beside the water. There is a sailing club right in the downtown so many colorful sails can be seen from the waterside park as people go out for their evening sail. We then headed over to the spa. Kind of a tricky little place to find tucked away in a strip mall but once you are in it is obvious that it is a very nice place. I had a great massage.

Pointed Tiburon Building
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We arrived back in town to find a big street party going on right in front of the hotel! A couple hundred people, restaurant tables in the streets, food cooking on BBQs, live jazz music and plenty of beer and wine. At first I couldnt figure out how all these people knew it was my birthday and for that matter who all these people were ;) -- then someone told us that they have a street party every Friday during the summer. While not as good as a surprise birthday party thrown by a couple hundred complete strangers, still a pretty good idea.

That evening we had dinner at a restaurant that is also on the water and right next door to the hotel called Guaymas. It is an Authentic Mexican Cuisine restaurant that specializes in Mexican seafood. The food was great and the service was good. The only thing I would do differently next time is to make absolutely sure we are sitting near a heater that works. We were sitting outside and were a little cool.