San Juan Island Lodging WA Friday Harbor

e-newsletter April 2012
Featured Recipe
Friday Harbor Dining
Photo of the Month
Wild Mint & Ivy Shampoo
Inn Special
Recycling News
Island Events
An Island Character
Meet The Innkeeper
San Juan's Historic Feminine Farmer
A Day At The Inn
National Historic Preservation Month
Featured Recipe

 Italian Grain Pie  

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 Everyone has their traditional favorites for the Easter table, and for those of Sicilian descent, a grain pie is almost always present. It's pretty hearty, but leftovers are especially good in the morning with a cup of espresso!

.Tuscan Bean Soup     

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Whatever's on the menu, we're always cookin'
up fun!


Like proud parents, we love to celebrate the birth of our "baby," Coho Restaurant. Stop in and we'll pour you a glass of something bubbly to go with your meal, in honor of our fourth year. Here is our new spring menu.

In May, the island will be filled with The Sound of Music - or at least the Whittier stage will be. San Juan Community Theatre and Coho Restaurant will be cheering on the Von Trapp family with a special pre-theatre Viennese dinner package. 

 

Join Coho Thursdays through Saturdays, May 10 through 19 for a three course dinner, starting with one of Dave's savory libations - Edelweiss Spritzer, anyone??  

 

Book your table today, 360.378.6330

    

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 Photo of the Month

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Actually an original acrylic, Teresa Smith's work captures the vivid colors of the San Juan Landscape.  

 

This and other pieces are on display at the Upper Tucker House, and you'll find more at Island Studios on Spring Street. 

 

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 Gift Shop  

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 Wild Mint & Ivy Shampoo  

   

This is a salon grade shampoo that works well with all hair types and provides shine and manageability. It contains Aloe Vera and Vegetable Glycerin which add body, strength and retains moisture, while Vitamins and Chamomile correct damage and stimulate the scalp.  

 

The fragrance has notes of spearmint, frosty peppermint, lavender and citrus with base notes of woods, moss and barely a dash of patchouli. It's a unisex, spa-like fragrance that's fresh and clean, just like your hair will be when you're done shampooing.  

 

You can order yours through our Gift Shop

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Inns Special 
This Earth Day weekend, will you consider helping us protect this rare natural resource called San Juan Island? Inn guests who participate in the Great Island Clean-Up will receive half off their second night at our Certified Green Hotel. (Valid on new reservations only.) Contact [email protected] for details.

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Recycling News

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Since we're focusing on Earth Day, check out our list of 20 Plastic Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle on our blog.

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Island Events

April 5 - 29"Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" is the spring production by Island Stage Left. Plan to catch a performance of this powerful show that celebrates (Read more...)

 

April 7: The San Juan Island Farmer's Market begins Saturday, April 7th at the Brickworks, right next to Coho Restaurant. (Read more...)   

 

April 14: Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian volunteer, Erwin Vermeulen and Sea Shepherd's Director of Intelligence and Investigations campaign leader Scott West will speak regarding (Read more...)  

 

April 21: The Great Island Clean-up organizers are mustering up volunteers to pick up litter on beaches and roads. Don't for a moment think (Read more...) 

 

April 22:  "Rabbit Tales" A fireside chat about the history of rabbits on San Juan Island from the 1930s to the 1970s. This will be a casual and entertaining gathering (Read more...)  

 

May 19: The annual Friday Harbor Labs Open House is where kids (and adults) tour the Labs, meet the scientists and students, and check out the research facilities. Get excited about marine life and the study of marine eco-systems. (Read more...) 

 
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Harrison House Suites &
Tucker House Inn Newsletter

  

Greetings!    

 

As we smell the spring flowers that are popping up in our gardens, I note a flurry of activity around the Inns. Our new innkeeper Virginia is working in our Chef's garden, Erin is touching up the paint on one of the cottage doors, other crews are tearing off a roof, and Elsa is preparing our new cottage. Sometimes our week could be an episode in a television makeover show. As soon as guests check out on Sunday, we begin tearing things out and before you know it, Friday rolls around and we are putting on the finishing touches before the curtain goes up to welcome the next set of guests. This month we makeover our Orcas and Shaw Suites and the Log Cabin Cottage, which will be re-named for an historical Friday Harbor figure, Lizzie Lawson.

 

In reading about Lizzie, we began to wonder what this island was like 150+ years ago: when the never-married Lizzie farmed land on her own; when British and American troops occupied opposite sides of the island; when the primary source of income on the island was fishing and agriculture.

 

With May being National Historic Preservation Month, we cannot help but compare the island of today with yesteryear. The population growth was almost inevitable as waves of Americans and immigrants moved further and further west in search of land and freedom. But could the economic shift from an agricultural community to one dependent on tourism have been prevented? We think not. 

 

It is still freedom that people seek when they come to our island - freedom from noise, congestion, and stress of modern life. The very quaintness of our town's old wooden buildings, the pastoral scenes in the valley, the clean air free from industrial waste, and the natural wonders of the surrounding seas draw people to the island. So while the early settlers may be astounded at the changes if they had the opportunity to look upon us now, we hope they would appreciate the islanders' efforts to preserve at least a portion of the life they knew. The sense of community - neighbors helping and taking care of neighbors and the land - is still very much alive.

 

We hope the value of preserving our precious island is recognized for generations to come, and we are ever grateful to live here and share the Island with those who visit us. We hope to see you again soon.

 

Fondly,

 

Anna Maria & Dave 

An Island Character   

 

Sometimes small communities can produce some pretty outlandish "characters," and like them or not, they become a part of the "flavor" of the island. But there's one character here that casts a spell on pretty much everyone who meets her - she's our beloved dromedary, Mona.
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Mona. Photo Courtesy Kathleen Ballard 
 
Actually, she doesn't belong to us, she belongs to islander Steve King, who bought her after seeing an ad in Little Nickel, but she's become a favorite of every island resident and visitor alike. And there's the problem:  (Read more...)

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Meet the Innkeeper

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Virginia Dean 

If our innkeeper greets you with a smudge of dirt on her nose or mud on her boots, you'll have the pleasure of meeting Virginia Dean, the newest addition to our team. Being a former landscaper, Virginia saw so much potential in our winterized gardens, she couldn't wait to get cracking at them. In fact, we could barely get her to pause long enough for a photo! This industrious little power house also has plans for filling the greenhouse outside the Garden Room Caf� with flowers and plants.   

 

But digging in the flower beds is not her only passion. (Read more...)   

 

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Cottage Named for San Juan's Historic Feminine Farmer

 

With 17 rooms, suites and cottages in historic wooden buildings, we have to pick and choose which accommodations will get a "face lift" each winter. This year it's our rugged little Log Cabin. By the time we're finished, it will be wearing a new roof, walls, shower, wainscoting, paint, and a new name, Lizzie's Cottage. 

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Lizzie Lawson with her Dog Sanka. Photo Courtesy of San Juan Historical Museum 

 

Lizzie Lawson was a pioneering farm woman on the island, and though this of course is not her original cottage, (Read more...)

 

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A Day At the Inn
 
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Maron Resur 

The clean air and gorgeous surroundings of the islands beg visitors to get out and enjoy nature while they're here. That may include whale watching, kayaking, bicycling, hiking, or even a leisurely sail. But one of our recent guests took that a bit further by (Read more...)

 

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National Historic Preservation Month
 
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Lime Kiln Lighthouse. Photo Courtesy of
Maya's Westside Charters

May is the month when the entire nation celebrates history, architecture, and culture of the past. Communities share significant historic sites and buildings that tell the stories of the past, and celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country's cities and towns.

 

We are fortunate that Friday Harbor was one of the few towns to escape devastating fires in the 1800s, which is why you'll see so many businesses in town housed in charming old wooden buildings. But there is more to the history of the island than a few blocks of architecture, and the San Juan Historical Museum has a full line-up of events for you to learn about the history of this captivating island. (Read more...)

 

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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.