San Juan Island Lodging WA Friday Harbor

e-newsletter January 2011
Featured Recipe
Friday Harbor Dining
Photo of the Month: Winter Fun
Foaming Hand Saop
Like Us - Facebook & Twitter
Island Flooding
The Shot Gun Wedding
Featured Recipe
Classic Doggie Loves
 

   Our four-legged friends give us so much love, they deserve to have special treats on Valentine's day too. 

 Classic Doggie Loves
 

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Friday Harbor Dining San Juan Island WA - Coho Restaurant

 
 Treat your Valentine to a perfect romantic evening at Coho Restaurant! With two nights to choose from - February 12 and February 14 - Chef Alphonsine's special Valentine's Day offerings will feed your passion and your body.

 


 

Valentine's Dinner Menus

 

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Photo of the Month: Winter Fun

Snowmen

Even though the temperatures drop, winter visitors still enjoy San Juan Island.  Our young guests Amy & Owen found the park across the street from the Lower Tucker House to be the perfect place to construct Mr.& Mrs. Snow. 
 
 
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Foaming Hand Soap 

 We like this liquid soap so much, we've got it at every sink in the inns.  Made with all natural ingredients, it has a lovely scent, and doesn't dry your hands out like so many soaps can.  
 
Click here

to order from our on-line gift shop.


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Enjoy "Fan" Specials

 

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Harrison House Suites &
Tucker House Inn Newsletter

Greetings!  

 

"Tell Dave he gets a gold star!  He's done a lot of nice renovations here."  This compliment from annual guest Jack Shultz points to the projects that occupy our time during the cold, blustery months.  During the winter months people tend to stay home, snuggled indoors.  This is when the inns become quiet and we have a chance to tackle major interior renovations. 

Erin Paints Orcas Suite

 

This year, innkeeper Erin Dannelly has applied her "handy man" skills to the Harrison House Suites.  She completely repainted the Orcas Suite, using brilliant colors of deep plum and spring green.  Next she tackled the Roche Harbor Cottage kitchen cabinetry, fully sanding and completely repainting them in a lighter color.   

 

Co-owner Dave Pass did a stint as tile setter; he removed the tile in Friday Harbor Suite shower to repair a leak, and installed new tiles.

 

  Dave Tiles Friday Harbor Suite

  

A maintenance crew is still working in the Shaw Suite.  A week of major rains in December caused flooding all over the island, including the lower level of the Harrison House.    The bedroom/living area of the suite had to be completely gutted in order to find the source of the flow of water.  While excavating, they discovered that half the suite was just dirt, not rock, so while they were at it, they excavated the area where the platform bed and closet once stood.  The suite, now on one level has an expanded living space.  This project is scheduled for completion by the end of February.

Octavio and Crew Excavate Shaw Suite 

  

These historic homes are always in need of love, and it seems there are many projects that are connected - one cannot be done without the other - so what starts out as a simple task inevitably turns into a major project.  We hope that, like Jack, our repeat guests will take notice and enjoy the fruits of our labors of love.

 

Fondly,

 

Anna Maria & Dave

Island Flooding 

 

The Harrison House, sitting on a hill,  wasn't the only place in town that suffered the effects of December's torrential rains. Many downhill homes and businesses experienced the same problem, as did our San Juan Island Public Library.
 

The basement, where the Friends of the Library volunteers store and sort donated books, was inundated with water.   Volunteers worked hard to rescue as many books as possible, and workers are still trying to solve the problem of preventing water from coming in the next time.

 

Unfortunately, with the sorting area temporarily out of commission, they can only accept limited donations of books - no place to put them!  But they can still utilize novels for their Ferry Dock Book Sale Program.  Volunteers stock a shelf at the San Juan Island ferry terminal with paperbacks and a few hard cover books, all for sale at only $1.  Payment is on the honor system, and the funds raised are earmarked for library programs and materials not covered by tax dollars, such as the Children's Reading Programs, Adult Live and Learn programs, and additions to the library collection.  When you arrive on island by ferry, stop in the terminal and peruse the book shelf for that long-awaited vacation read you've been wanting. You'll be directly supporting the island's public library. 

 

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The Shot Gun Wedding
 

San Juan Island has a long history of working out differences as evidenced by the successful arbitration that fended off a potential war between Britain and the United States in 1872.  Roll the clocks forward 150 years.  No the Island was not on the brink of war.  This fall the Town of Friday Harbor's Fire Department was in an untenable position of not having adequate staff resources to provide fire protection for its 2,000 citizens.  This set the stage for some unprecedented negotiations.  San Juan County's Fire Department - District #3 and the Town of Friday Harbor began a series of discussions that ended with an agreement to merge the two departments - previously Islands to themselves.  After some 52 years operating as separate entities, the island's two fire agencies combined forces.  After two successful months of operation as a unified fire company, the plan was indeed a success.  There were a few bobbles along the way, but due to the trust, dedication and hard work of the two forces, challenges were quickly resolved. 


 

This past weekend was the annual Firefighter Dinner.  Chief Marler chose a wedding as the theme.  So we all dressed up in our formal
attire and piled into the University of Washington Marine Lab Commons, aka Wedding Chapel.  Ushers rolled down the red carpet (this is a fire fighter's wedding), and then a large 5 foot float of a cake arrived.  Out popped Elvis, the officiant.  The procession started and San Juan Island District #3 walked down the aisle with the Town of Friday Harbor in full fire fighting regalia.  There was even a white veil poking out from the firefighter hat!  The ceremony progressed with the typical wedding vows, Do you take San Juan District #3 to be your fire fighter?  After Elvis pronounced the union, each firefighter switched "regulators" in lieu of the traditional "kiss'.  There was dinner, dancing, awards and a "red velvet" wedding cake.  This joining together was history in the making and celebrated the resolve of the Island to pull together during difficult times, thus keeping an Island tradition alive.  

 

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If you would like to contribute an article or photograph, or have an idea of something we should include in our next edition, please let us know. 

You can also follow our news on our blogs: Harrison House Suites Blog,
Tucker House Inn Blog, Experience San Juan Blog and Coho Restaurant Blog.

 
 Contact us at:
 
Harrison House Suites 235 C Street  360.378.3587 800.407.7933

Tucker House Inn  275 C Street  360.378.2783  800.965.0123

Friday Harbor, WA, San Juan Island 98250

A Special Gift for Our Guests