SAUSALITO – For shopping, dining and strolling, a day-tripper can't beat the Mediterranean- flavored bayside beauty of Sausalito. But don't stop there: High-drama views and much more await as you head toward the rolling hills of the Marin Headlands.

Just south from Sausalito is Fort Baker, an Army post established in 1897 that is now a national park facility, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which encompasses the sprawling headlands.

From Fort Baker, as decades of visitors from the Sacramento area can attest, you won't find a better cumulative view of the San Francisco skyline, the bay and the titanic Golden Gate Bridge, which looms like a magnificent sculpture.

We headed to Fort Baker to visit Cavallo Point: The Lodge at the Golden Gate, which opened in 2006 (415-339- 4700 and www.cavallopoint. com); and the Bay Area Discovery Museum (415-339-3900 and www. baykidsmuseum.org; $10 general, $8 ages 1 to 17 and 62 and older; free for ages 1 and younger).

A bonus was the Marine Mammal Center at adjoining Fort Cronkhite (open daily to visitors, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., free; 415-289-7325 and www. marinemammalcenter.org).

At Fort Baker's Cavallo Point lodge, we were looking at a showplace, a restoration and retrofitting project of wood-framed Colonial Revival buildings constructed between 1902 and 1910 for military housing. The lodge and the Bay Area Discovery Museum occupy a number of them.

The unique hotel features 60 historic rooms and suites rooted in the past, dignified examples of architecture from another era. They feature stamped-tin ceilings, period furnishings, original hardwood floors and wide porches, yet with state-of-the-art bathrooms. The spectacular hotel buildings front a grassy, 10-acre parade ground.

Also, 74 newly built rooms are in contemporary buildings on a hillside above. You'll find great views through walls of glass, along with wet bars, blond wood on the walls and fireplaces, flat-screen TVs and decks.

Valet-park your car and enjoy a slow stroll around the property, capped by Irish coffees in front of a fireplace.

We found:

• The elegant, Michelin-rated (one star) Murray Circle restaurant, which focuses on locavorism with such dishes as Wolfe Ranch quail, Marin Sun Farms grass-fed beef and Drakes Bay oysters. When it's sunny, Sunday brunch on the porch draws a crowd from San Francisco.

• A cooking school and a 13,000-bottle wine collection.

• The clubby, super- relaxing Farley Bar, with copper-topped tables, two fireplaces, cushy chairs and a gorgeous redwood bar. It was named to honor the late Phil Frank, a longtime Sausalito resident and cartoonist whose "Farley" strip appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle for three decades. Take a look at the original "Farley" strips and other framed memorabilia on the walls.

• Rotating exhibits from local artisans in the Mercantile gift shop, plus postings of upcoming exhibits and special events.

• In the lobby of the Healing Arts Center & Spa (a 90-minute stress reduction, $250), we stopped at the tea bar (high tea on weekends) and downed shots of "Fire Wellness," an "antiviral remedy" of lemon juice, ginger, oregano oil and aged garlic. It left us speechless for a moment but well-buzzed for hours.

Go on and play

Another Fort Baker gem, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, is a marvel of indoor and outdoor play opportunities for children, set on 71/2 landscaped acres.

"We really love open-ended, child-directed play, the kind without restraint on the kids but with safety in mind," said communications director Jennifer Caleshu, showing us around. "The unifying theory centers on creativity, allowing kids to discover things on their own."

The gift shop is a destination in itself, filled with quality goods such as illustrated activity books, stuffed animals, imaginative rain gear, science- and nature-oriented projects (the Hoe Down underground worm farm, the Star Rocket powered by vinegar and baking soda), unusual puzzles, imported wood toys and art supplies.

A long list of special programs is part of the scene. One is "Animal Secrets," a fascinating exhibit (interactive and hands-on, of course) playing through May 9.

Inside the exhibit "halls" (those restored buildings again) are many supersized playthings, such as giant models of the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf and the ports of San Francisco and Oakland. Add fishing boats, "underwater" tunnels, pulleys and winches, ropes and ladders, giant "underwater boulders" encrusted with starfish and mussels, kinetic sculptures, construct-your-own art projects, and simulated undersea scenarios in which children don costumes and become the "stars" of their own TV shows. The highlights go on and on.

The 21/2-acre outdoor Lookout Cove is "the jewel in the crown," Caleshu said. Consider: water play, a crow's nets for climbing, tools and "machinery" for building, a huge replica of the Golden Gate Bridge for hands-on construction, an archaeology dig at a "recovered" sunken galleon, a real commercial fishing boat (yes, go aboard), interactive sculptures and much more.

Marine mammals get help

"First and foremost, this is a veterinary hospital whose prime directive is to rehabilitate injured marine mammals that have been rescued and return them to their natural environment," said communications manager Jim Oswald at the Marine Mammal Center, which sits on a bluff above popular Rodeo Beach. "Since June, we've had more than 40,000 visitors."

The facility is also a research and teaching center with educational displays, a life-size statue of an adult male elephant seal and a raised-platform viewing area overlooking the holding pens where the patients are housed. The day we visited, the patient list included 40 sea lions, three fur seals and an elephant seal. In 2009, the center rescued more than 1,500 marine mammals.

One startling display is the Wall of Shame, a grim collection of "some of the things marine mammals have either swallowed or become entangled in," Oswald said. The items include fishing lures, treble hooks, fishing line, plastic bags, netting, wire leaders, lead sinkers, nylon rope and deflated helium balloons.

Recently, the center made headlines when it helped rescue an adult male sea lion that had been shot and severely wounded in November in the Sacramento River. "Sgt. Nevis," as the animal was nicknamed, was finally captured and taken to the center Dec. 5.

Late in the month, Oswald gave me an update: "Sgt. Nevis is holding his own and eating 45 pounds of fish a day, but there are still issues. He remains on antibiotics and the veterinarians are still looking at options," which could include reconstructive surgery.

In a letter published in The Bee on Dec. 9, Jeff Boehm, executive director of the center, thanked Sacramento volunteers for "sending words of (sightings and) support to share with our rescue teams and who let us know they were rooting for this animal."

Referring to the difficulty of the days-long rescue, he added, "Why do we go to such lengths at the center? Because it's the right thing to do. Because these animals deserve the best care they can receive. And because we learn incredible things by working closely with them."

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Call The Bee's Allen Pierleoni, (916) 321-1128.

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