San Juan Island Lodging WA Friday Harbor

e-newsletter September 2011
Featured Recipe
Friday Harbor Dining
Photo of the Month: Fall Wedding
Fleece Vests
Like Us - Facebook & Twitter
Stay for Free
News Around the Inns
Historical Home Tour
SJI Farmers Market
October Events
Featured Recipe

 Gluten-Free   

Oatmeal Cookies    

GF Oatmeal Cookies   

   

We've got a challenge for you:  

 

Bake up a batch of these chewy Gluten-Free Oatmeal cookies, pass them around to your friends and family, and see - just see - if anyone can tell they have no wheat!  

 

Go ahead - we dare ya!

 

 Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies 

 

 

 

 

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Coho Restaurant   

will host two spectacular feasts for Savor The San Juans month.

 

October 21 - San Juan Vineyards Wine Dinner

 

October 28 - San Juan Distillers Dinner 

featuring the products of Westcott Bay Cider Company and San Juan Distillery.  

 

For both special dinners,  

stay at Tucker House Inn and receive a special room rate  

of $99! Advance reservation required; some restrictions apply. Contact the Guest Services Coordinator for details. 

 

Call (360) 378-6330 to make your dinner reservations.      

    

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Photo of the Month
 
Fall Wedding   
Brad

  

Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons of the year, and weddings at the Inns are common.  Here's a snapshot from Brad & Joan's lovely event; the grounds were adorned with beautiful blooms from our Waldron Island vendor, Rolf Thorson.

 

        
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Gift Shop  

 

Fleece Vests

 

 

 

Just in time for the cooler weather, we've gotten in a new shipment of micro fibre fleece vests.

 

We've ordered them in a rich, go-with-anything black. They sport a small Coho fish logo on one side, and the new inns logo on the other; the San Juan Island embroidered lettering makes them a special reminder of your visit to the island.

 

Available in both men's and women's sizes, you can purchase them through our order page; please remember to specify size. 


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Enjoy "Fan" Specials

 

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"Like" Tucker House on Facebook!


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Stay for Free!

Spec

Earn a free stay!  Sounds too good to be true.  Find out about this and other Fans Only Specials on Facebook:

 

Harrison House Suites

 

Tucker House Inn

 

Harrison House Suites &
Tucker House Inn Newsletter

  

Greetings!   

 

The air is starting to feel a bit brisk, geese are flying low across the island, daylight hours are drawing short, and fall is just around the corner. 

 

It seems like yesterday we were scrambling to finish the last of our winter projects for summer. Now with summer behind us, we are enjoying the relaxed pace of this new season and sharpening our pencils to draft our lists for the upcoming winter season. But have no fear; there is a nice long Indian Summer still to come!

 

As we were reflecting on the summer season, we felt a sense of accomplishment with our laundry "Green" initiatives that we implemented.  Being a Certified Green Inn, we spent a lot of time figuring out ways to be more gentle to our precious eco-system. Last summer we reported on the difficulty we'd been experiencing with trying to match efficient laundry service with environmentally friendly practices. We loved our thick, terry towels, but here in the Pacific Northwest, there's just so much moisture in the air, the towels never really dried properly, which means they could quickly take on an unpleasant smell, especially if they've been left wet in a heap on the floor. We had been using high-efficiency, environmentally-friendly laundry soap and were happy with the clean results, but the problem was the drying process - they just never seemed to dry without the use of fabric softener. And we hated using fabric softener!

   

Well we are now happy to report that we've got the problem licked! We switched to eco-friendly white cotton towels that are a bit bulkier than traditional combed cotton towels, yet they require less water and detergent to clean, and they dry 30% faster! They're a bit pricey, but we feel they're worth the extra money to protect our environment. Our laundry soap is better too; it's a minimally-scented soap that we purchase through our local food coop. By replacing these towels every six months, we've been able to keep snuggle-fresh towels in the rooms, just waiting for you to step out of the bath.

 

Speaking of towels, did you notice our cute little black towels with the eyes embroidered on them? These simple make-up remover towels have spared numerous good quality hand towels from being tossed into the rag bin due to stains.

 

Most of the guest rooms and suites sport new bed coverings. We replace the bed linens annually, but always look for styles that have that "worn, cozy, old-fashioned" feel, to keep with the vintage d�cor of the homes. Our feather mattress toppers are still popular, with most of our guests commenting that it's like sleeping on a cloud.

 

With cozy beds, linens, towels, and robes, all you need to do is turn up the gas fireplace, open a bottle of some pleasant bubbly beverage or a glass of red, and curl up with a good book - or a good buddy - for a relaxing weekend at the inns. We hope you'll join us in October, our favorite month of the year!

 

Fondly,

 

Anna Maria & Dave

 

News Around the Inns 

 

Brett Haws Hard at Work

Last year, our grand old dame the 1898 Tucker House received a new paint job. This year it's our quiet work-horse, the middle Harrison House that's getting the attention. Local contractor Brett Haws has been touching up the trim on this simple home - no easy feat considering it's three stories high.

 

The bottom floor houses our Garden Room Caf�, where most of you have enjoyed our daily breakfasts. The middle floor - comprised of the Roche Harbor Cottage - is actually a separate cottage that once stood alone somewhere in the Roche Harbor area. True to the island's fierce adherence to Reduce/Reuse/Recycle, rather than suffering demolition, the charming cottage was trucked over here and plopped on top of the existing structure to create a two-story home. Decades later, the previous inn owners had the third story built into what we now affectionately call "the Penthouse," or Friday Harbor Suite, named after it's expansive view of the town's rooftops.

 

These old wooden homes are always in need of repairs, and at times prove to be a labor of love. Unfortunately, many of these repairs, such as exterior paint, cannot be done in the off-season because of rain and winds; summer is the only time we can paint. Though Brett tried hard not to inconvenience anyone, we are grateful to our guests who so graciously tolerated Brett's big lift and sander noise during the day.  

  

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Historical Home Tour

 

Friday Harbor is one of the few towns that was not engulfed by great fires in the 1800s; that's why you'll see most of our businesses are housed in old homes. Since Friday Harbor was a working man's town with very few wealthy residents, the homes are mostly modest structures, but still have historical significance and of course, still require extraordinary expenditures for upkeep.

 

San Juan Historical MuseumIf you haven't had the chance to see the inside of our beloved Tucker House, Saturday, October 1 is your opportunity to tour other "old island" centenarian homes. The tour - self guided at your own pace - runs from 11 am to 4 pm; the $25 ticket, which includes admission to all homes, the museum, and light refreshments, can be purchased at the Historical Museum, 323 Price Street; proceeds will be directed toward ongoing restoration projects.  

      

  

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San Juan Island Farmers Market

No longer an orphan in a parking lot, the San Juan Island Farmers Market has moved to a new permanent home at the Brickworks, on Nichols Street right next to Coho Restaurant. From Spring Street, head down Sunshine Alley - you'll see the booths on Saturday mornings, and will find their delicious produce, colorful bouquets, fresh seafood and meats, grass-fed burgers, hot sausages, baked goods, pizza, and more!

 

Follow Sunshine Alley to the Farmers Market; Photo Courtesy of Ian Buyington, San Juan Update

Inn guests can leave their car parked at the inn and walk down; locals know the usual places where they can park for more than a few hours.  Short-term parking is available at the Brickworks, and there is even a "Veggie Valet" for shoppers who wish to check their purchases at the market for pick-up later. Market hours are 10am-1pm, and the last one will be on October 29th.

 

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October Events

 

Examiner Seattle travel writer Whitney James describes October as "by far the most festive month of all in the San Juan Islands, .... fittingly described as a "feast for the senses." If you have never visited this rich destination, now is the time to do so!"

 

Throughout the month of October, coinciding with the 4th annual "Savor the San Juans - A Medley of Food, Art & Culture," the Island Fall Farm Festival will host a series of agritourism events on the island to celebrate our thriving farms and local food culture. The events are still being pulled together, but so far there's wine tasting and a harvest festival at San Juan Vineyards; a wine-maker's dinner and distiller's dinner at Coho Restaurant; an honor-system pumpkin patch at Sundstrom Pumpkin Patch; a parade with kids, farm animals, and tractors; old-time country dancing at Mullis Center; contra dancing at the Grange; an open farm tour at Sweet Water Farm, where rare Siberian horse breeds are raised; a talk on designing and maintaining a mixed fruit orchard; and more as events develop. One of the highlights will be a presentation by Percy Schmeiser, the Saskatchewan farmer who fought Monsanto in a classic David versus Goliath legal battle over GMO seeds - and won! For more information and updates on events, contact  Peggy Bill at the Agricultural Resources Committee, (360) 378-6621. 

 

The 5th annual Art Stock will be held on October 1st and 2nd. Visitors and locals alike love this unique self-guided art tour, which showcases local artists in their creative environment; you'll see really cool workshops, and get to go down island roads where you've probably never been before. Art galleries will be hosting events well into the evenings, so you can hit the outer island areas during the day, and the town galleries in the late afternoon and evenings. For maps of studio locations, gallery information, and event hours, all (360) 378-6550, or visit Artstock.com.

 

October 8th is the 17th anniversary of San Juan Island Oktoberfest. Traditional food, beverages, costumes, and live music all add to the fun of this - need we say it? - traditional event. How about a little ooomp-pah-pah, or even a chicken dance? Hosted at the fairgrounds from 5 to 10 pm by the Friday Harbor Chamber of Commerce and several service clubs, tickets are $8 and children under 12 are free. For more info, contact San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce, (360) 378-5240.  

 

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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 Blogand Coho Restaurant Blog

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 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

 

We appreciate your staying at Tucker House Inn & Harrison House Suites and want you to enjoy your experience long after your return home.

  

So as a token of our appreciation, please accept our gift of 10% off any photo from local photographer Mike Bertrand. 

 

To make your selection, visit Mike's website, www.michaelbertrandphotography.com or contact him before you come out to set up an appointment for a special viewing.  

Mike Bertrand, 360 317-6622, [email protected].  

 

Take the island home with you!  And again, thank you for visiting. 

Ferry Coming into Friday Harbor with Mt Baker in Background
Ferry and Mt Baker

 

This offer is valid up to one year from the date of your stay. Please provide Mike with your reservation confirmation number.