Second Date Ideas in Marin

Paddle Richardson Bay together on Sea Trek's Sausalito Houseboats & Nature Kayak Tour, a guided trip in double sit-on-top kayaks that brings you close to the houseboat community and gives you chances to spot herons, cormorants, pelicans and harbor seals. The return faces the San Francisco skyline. The 2.5-hour tour requires no experience and includes gear plus a safety briefing. Paddlers must be 14 or older, and the launch is from the Bay Model. Sea Trek's Sausalito location is open daily from 9am to 5pm from September 1 through October 31, except October 17 for the annual regatta.

Turn the second date into a spa afternoon at Cavallo Point Healing Arts Center & Spa in Fort Baker, where a meditation pool, infrared sauna, Zen garden, outdoor Jacuzzis and firepits come with a Tea Bar serving teas, tonics and fresh dishes. Book a treatment to use the pool and amenities before or after the service. Guests must be 18 or older, and the spa also offers wellness retreats built around reconnecting with a partner or yourself.

Stop at Mountain Home Inn high on Mount Tamalpais for drinks and small plates on a wooden deck looking from the sea toward the forest. The bar serves snacks and items from the Trail & Table menu, which you can eat at the inn or pack for a hike. Come for the view and a lighter meal rather than a sit-down dinner.

Il Davide in downtown San Rafael keeps the plan centered on Tuscan food, house-made pasta and a long list of Italian and California wines by the glass. Heated outdoor dining is available, and the kitchen uses organic and local ingredients where it can.

Catch a show at Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, a small community theater dating to 1912 that describes itself as an intimate space. The calendar mixes the weekly Tuesday Night Comedy lineup of Bay Area stand-up with concerts and musicals. Shows are seated and begin promptly, and tickets are picked up at will call because the theater does not issue paper tickets.

Share sushi, skewers and small plates over sake at Village Sake, a Japanese-style izakaya in Fairfax with a compact dining room and seven outdoor tables. Pair the food with sake or craft beer. Dinner is served Wednesday through Sunday, and the nightly waitlist is the main way in outside large-party bookings.

Nick's Cove puts dinner on the Tomales Bay waterfront in Marshall, with dock views and ingredients from local farms in a restaurant that has been around for more than 90 years. Hours generally run until 8pm and until 9pm Fridays and Saturdays, though they can change daily. The restaurant is closed to the public for a private event on Saturday, October 17.

Trek Winery in downtown Novato gives you more than a standard tasting, with live bands, comedy shows and open mic nights appearing on the calendar at the family-run tasting room. It is open Wednesday and Thursday from 3pm to 8pm, Friday and Saturday from 3pm to 10pm and Sunday from noon to 4pm, and closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Sit down to sushi, omakase or wagyu cooked at the table on grilling stones at Shiro Kuma, a small Japanese restaurant in San Rafael's West End. The name Shiro Kuma means polar bear.

Beso Bistro and Wine Bar in Novato's Hamilton Field gives you a choice between a reclaimed-wood dining room with intimate lighting and a patio shaded by palm trees and crepe myrtles. Seafood anchors the food menu, while the wine list runs past 20 selections by the glass. The Bay Trail at Hamilton Wetlands is steps away if you want a walk before or after dinner. Beso is closed Mondays and serves dinner from 5pm to 9pm the rest of the week.