Things to Do in Mill Valley

At Marin Murder Mysteries, dinner mates may ask you to pass the rolls just before they begin chipping away at your alibi. That’s because guests are both suspects and sleuths during the theater troupe’s interactive performances, attempting to tally the clues and pinpoint the culprit's motive. Each year, the cast and crew serve up three to four different shows that inject generous portions of slapstick into the familiar detective genre. The writers and directors have a particular fondness for the noir-soaked era of the 1950s, with such past plays as Remains to be Seen, Murder Me, Always, and Death of a Doornail. During the show, guests have the option to dine on a gourmet dinner or sip cocktails from a cash bar.

When Cliff Hodges, the founder and CEO of Adventure Out, graduated from MIT with a degree in electrical engineering, he knew a traditional desk job wasn’t for him. According to Technology Review, he quickly gave up his engineering career for the wireless world of the great outdoors, where he began to hike, climb, and surf his way around the world, always staying true to his philosophy of environmental respect and protection.

His travels and business accomplishments have gained some measure of notoriety; he's coached on MTV's Made, consulted for ABC News, and was selected as one of four winners of the 2011 Santa Cruz County Civic Service Award: The Nextie. Adventure Out was also identified for meeting survival skills training standards by The New York Times best-selling author Tim Ferriss in The 4-Hour Chef.

Today, he and his program consultant Tom McElroy lead excursions into the California wilderness to teach backpacking and survival skills, including the tracking of animals and wild ice-cream trucks, and they also guide novices through surfing, rock-climbing, and mountain-biking sojourns. Through fundraising, Adventure Out has helped save Castle Rock State Park from closure and a portion of their proceeds is put directly back into the park.

Dirt bikes kick up plumes of dust in their wake, fishing boats search for prize catches atop Millerton Lake, and three-person jet skis drag race mermen along Shaver Lake's tree-lined waters. Though unfolding at different locations, these events have one thing in common: they're all supported by A1 Recreation's fleet of watercraft and recreational vehicles.

A1 Recreation serves as an epicenter for outdoor adventure, with locations that skirt Yosemite National Park and equipment rentals of up to multiple days that outfit customers with everything from pontoon boats to on-land hovercrafts. The company's dedicated staff members can also deliver chosen rentals to nearby recreation sites and load them onto patrons' trailers.

The tech-savvy staff members at Blue Sky Rental Studios lease three varied studio spaces to clients for multimedia, film, and still-photography shoots. Two studios with multipurpose floors and white industrial walls bathe subjects in natural light spilling in from tall, white windows. The Light Grid studio's four walls and ceiling are inlaid with digitally controlled studio lighting, enabling photographers to join forces with a robot without having to promise their camera's hand in marriage. Outside these three creative spaces, a 7,000-square-foot hall hosts a range of private events such as weddings and new-equipment showcases.

When not hosting creative talents, Blue Sky staffers contribute directly to the process as they provide camera gear and accessories, photography and production assistants, and services such as location scouting and casting. They can also aid in completing a photographer's digital workflow with postproduction work, secure-image archival, and hand-drawing mustaches on models in each photo.

Porpoises, seals, and pelicans follow in the wake of sailboats as they coast through the waters of the San Francisco Bay. The 30-foot Cherubini Hunter known as Fearless sails among them, bringing passengers toward sights that are only attainable by boat. Captain Stephan Sowash boasts 30 years of experience and certification from the U.S. Coast Guard, and steers the vessel with the confidence of a boxer who has filled his gloves with sand. He coordinates trips with light refreshments or gourmet dinners such as grilled salmon or lamb, leading guests toward attractions such as McCovey Cove, where kayakers paddle frantically for rare home-run balls and autographs of famous fishmongers.

It’s an amazing feeling to gaze into a massive animal's eyes, knowing that it possesses an equal or greater amount of intelligence and curiosity. Jim Robertson, a 26-year licensed captain, regularly shares this experience with guests in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary aboard his Coast Guard–certified vessel. The Farallon Islands—located 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco—are home to 26 federally listed endangered or threatened species, including leatherback sea turtles and blue whales. With a staff of naturalists on board to narrate the breathtaking scenes before them, guests can peep blue, gray, and humpback whales swimming, breaching, and playing Marco Polo in their natural habitat. Along the way, they might also catch a glimpse of dolphins, seals, sea lions, and a cloudburst of native birds.