The Fascinating Town of San Rafael Essay -- Descriptive Essay About A

The Fascinating Town of San Rafael As a young child, I would visit my grandparents in Marin County often. My parents would pack my sister and me up in the car, and we would head north from San Francisco to the small town of Novato. The road to Novato took us through San Rafael, where I would always marvel at the one mile stretch of shopping mall that Highway 101 traversed. However, once we were into the hills of wine country and the shopping mall was a distant memory, so too became San Rafael. It wasn’t until I met Paul, my partner, that I learned the full story behind this fascinating town. San Rafael is located on the wedge of land that divides the San Francisco Bay and the mighty Pacific Ocean. Lying just 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Rafael serves as a major shopping destination and is the gateway to Wine Country. Despite its apparent peacefulness, closer examination reveals some interesting contrasts in this suburb of San Francisco, both in the surrounding environment and in the actual inhabitants themselves. Hills dominate much of San Rafael’s geographical profile. Partially located on a large rock quarry, San Rafael’s jagged edges provide stark contrast with its smooth, rolling hills and the nearby China Camp State Park, an almost unknown escape filled with lush greenery and forests. 10 years ago, both the state park and the surrounding hills were covered with oak trees. Recently however, the disease Sudden Oak Death has posed a serious threat to every oak tree in the area. Forestry officials have been forced to burn out any trees that have been infected with the disease, leaving the skeletons of these once mighty trees to dot the landscape. These reminders of nature’s tr... ..., many use drugs as an escape from the expectations of their parents and the intense atmosphere at San Rafael’s several private college preparatory high schools. These schools have a long expectation of both academic and sporting excellence, and those unable to cope with these expectations sometimes see drugs as their only way out. As illustrated here, San Rafael can be seen as a study in contrasts, within its environment, the political beliefs of its citizens, and in the racial and economic breakdown of these citizens. I learned from Paul that San Rafael was much more than I had originally thought. I quickly discovered that it was not, in fact, the pretty little town that existed solely to feed the two large malls it contained, but in fact has its own charms and dirty little secrets. Just like every town across America, it is not exactly what it seems. The Fascinating Town of San Rafael Essay -- Descriptive Essay About A The Fascinating Town of San Rafael As a young child, I would visit my grandparents in Marin County often. My parents would pack my sister and me up in the car, and we would head north from San Francisco to the small town of Novato. The road to Novato took us through San Rafael, where I would always marvel at the one mile stretch of shopping mall that Highway 101 traversed. However, once we were into the hills of wine country and the shopping mall was a distant memory, so too became San Rafael. It wasn’t until I met Paul, my partner, that I learned the full story behind this fascinating town. San Rafael is located on the wedge of land that divides the San Francisco Bay and the mighty Pacific Ocean. Lying just 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Rafael serves as a major shopping destination and is the gateway to Wine Country. Despite its apparent peacefulness, closer examination reveals some interesting contrasts in this suburb of San Francisco, both in the surrounding environment and in the actual inhabitants themselves. Hills dominate much of San Rafael’s geographical profile. Partially located on a large rock quarry, San Rafael’s jagged edges provide stark contrast with its smooth, rolling hills and the nearby China Camp State Park, an almost unknown escape filled with lush greenery and forests. 10 years ago, both the state park and the surrounding hills were covered with oak trees. Recently however, the disease Sudden Oak Death has posed a serious threat to every oak tree in the area. Forestry officials have been forced to burn out any trees that have been infected with the disease, leaving the skeletons of these once mighty trees to dot the landscape. These reminders of nature’s tr... ..., many use drugs as an escape from the expectations of their parents and the intense atmosphere at San Rafael’s several private college preparatory high schools. These schools have a long expectation of both academic and sporting excellence, and those unable to cope with these expectations sometimes see drugs as their only way out. As illustrated here, San Rafael can be seen as a study in contrasts, within its environment, the political beliefs of its citizens, and in the racial and economic breakdown of these citizens. I learned from Paul that San Rafael was much more than I had originally thought. I quickly discovered that it was not, in fact, the pretty little town that existed solely to feed the two large malls it contained, but in fact has its own charms and dirty little secrets. Just like every town across America, it is not exactly what it seems.