Anna Maria & Dave

Before moving to the Islands in 2005, Dave worked as a software engineer and Anna Maria in public broadcasting. They worked and played hard. What drew them to the life as innkeepers was their love of entertaining, cooking, and sharing fine cooked meals and the fruits of their garden with family and friends.

Both Anna Maria and Dave are certified scuba instructors and enjoy many other outdoor activities including golfing, hiking, gardening and downhill skiing. Anna Maria is a classically trained flutist. Since moving to the Islands, Dave has taken up flying. He puts his hobby to good use year round by flying off island regularly to select the freshest seasonal produce from neighboring farms for our breakfast table.

Harrison House Suites Granola

We get so many requests for our house-made granola recipe, I thought it was time to post it again. We make buckets of this yummy treat each week, not only offering it at our breakfast table to guests, but also sending it out to our local San Juan Food Coop, and to previous guests who prefer to order it rather than taking time to make it. The procedure is simple, but it does take a bit of time and attention.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

So many gluten-free baked goods are overly sweet.  These cookies are just lightly sweetened, and the delicate sweetness of the golden raisins really shines through. We usually under-bake our cookies just a tad, so the centers stay chewy.

Salted Caramel Mousse

Yield: 6 servings

At the inns, we occasionally host luncheon meetings or garden parties for community groups or guests. This ethereal dessert is an intriguing gustatory surprise that is becoming an oft requested favorite.

Innkeeper Plays with Abbey Road

Eleanor Rigby has special significance for Sally Browne.  The classic Beatles tune features a cello solo, and our summer-time innkeeper, Sally, was thrilled to play the solo in her first appearance with a rock/pop band last Saturday evening at the San Juan Community Theatre.

The Band was Abbey Road, a Beatles tribute band.  For their repeat appearance in Friday Harbor, they employed six islanders to sit in with them on stage.  Their drummer was flanked by locals playing sax, trumpet and flute, and on the opposite side, what the band director dubbed “the lonely heart strings” – two violins and Sally’s cello.

With barely more than an hour’s rehearsal, the ensemble plunged into the familiar tunes of that famous album, while audience members, dressed in tie-dyed ‘60’s garb and groovy glasses, jumped out of their seats and boogied all night.

Sally quips she’s been playing cello “since it was bigger than me,” which puts it about 4^th grade.  Her professional music career spans decades of performing chamber music and in string quartets in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as teaching private music instruction. Since moving on island, she founded the local Performing Arts Society and has been teaching cello to private students as a sideline.

But even with written charts, going from the intimate environment of chamber music to the electronic blast of pop was quite an adjustment for Sally.  It was disconcerting for her not to be able to hear the other musicians – and even herself, since she discovered after-the-fact that her monitor was not properly adjusted.  She noted the band members were very gracious and patient, and enjoyed the evening immensely, but “chamber music is my heart and soul.”

We hope we have the opportunity to hear Sally perform her to heart’s content soon.