Holiday Greetings from the Harrison House Suites

Bicycle Adventures on San Juan Island

World-renowned cycling operators annually sponsor cycling adventures around the islands.  In fact, “Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2010” ranked the San Juan Islands on its list of “World’s Top 10 Cycling Routes” and both Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn play host to these energetic gatherings.  But you don’t have to join a cycling group to enjoy the island on two wheels.  One of the perks of staying at inns is the complimentary use of our bicycles.

As with all equipment, routine maintenance is a must, and our bicycles were recently overhauled by a local repairman, Micail Denker.  With checking brake pads, oiling or replacing chains and gear shifts, inspection of tires of the entire fleet, it was an all-day job.  Some of the bikes were taken back to his shop on Lopez for additional work, and while picking them up, innkeepers Erin and Kelly, scored on the purchase of a few more really nice bikes for the stable.  So they’re ready and waiting for guests to use.

Micail Denker Checks Works on the Bicycle Fleet

Our bikes are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so you’ll want to check them out early.  Among the popular cycling routes near the inns are the nine-mile ride out on Roche Harbor Road; the seven-mile run on Cattle Point Road to South Beach is do-able for most novice cyclists; and for those with families, try the half-mile Airport Trail, between Skagit Valley College and Shelter Road.  For the more experienced cyclists, a ride around lovely Turn Point / Pear Point Roads loop and out to Jackson Beach, a local hang-out, rewards you with beautiful water views and scenic private properties.  Of course, the serious cyclists will want to explore the island, either on one of the two loops and circumnavigating the island, about 35 miles.

One difficulty with riding the island is the lack of shoulders on most of the roads.  Local drivers familiar with the roads are generally respectful of cyclists, but it is imperative that cyclists obey all traffic laws and take utmost precaution when riding, particularly during summer months when there are so many visitors to the island; they may be paying more attention to the scenery than to the road.  Use bike turnouts; pull off the road when you can safely do so to allow cars to pass; do not stop and rest on the road pavement, especially if you can’t be seen from both sides of oncoming traffic; ride defensively, anticipating problem curves and difficulties with passing cars; wear colorful clothing; use hand signals and follow all traffic laws; and absolutely wear a helmet.

Mountain bikers love the Roche Harbor Trails, over six miles of mowed trails through meadows and woodlands.  Roche Harbor Highlands and Mitchell Hill DNR, though situated in pristine, dense forests, are a rabbit’s warren of unmarked trails that may be best to ride with experienced cyclists familiar with the locales.

You can find great information on road and trail cycling routes at http://sanjuanislandtrails.org/biking/bicycle-routes/.  No doubt after your bike ride, you’ll have worked up an appetite; check out http://cohorestaurant.com/dining/ for samples of the daily-changing menus.  For news on what’s happening at our sister inn and around the island, go to http://www.tuckerhouse.com/blog/ and http://www.experiencesanjuanisland.com/blog/.

Four-legged Friends in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA

We always say that we have the best doggie guests. We had the pleasure of hosting the cutest 3 1/2 month litter mates last weekend – Makena and Daisy. They were so lovable and couldn’t get enough attention. They played hard each day exploring every inch of the Island and crashed at night. We look forward to watching them grow up. Mom and Dad shared a few of their favorites with us.

San Juan Island Deals, Washington

For our guests:

Friday Harbor Bed and Breakfast Washington

These are the sailor sentry bears that great guests in the Shaw Suite. The Shaw Suite is decorated as a boat so they are so appropriate. Last week’s guests were so enchanted by them that they renamed them Gaye and Carlton, their own names.

San Juan Island Destination Weddings Washington – Harrison House Suites

We host many weddings at the Harrison House Suites each season. Here are some photos from a wedding this fall in our San Juan Suite.

The table settings. In the background, the dessert table is the backdrop for the wedding cake.

Favors for the Guests.

The San Juan Suite can comfortably seat up to 35 guests for dinner.

Our Garden Room Cafe is a perfect setting for appetizers.

San Juan Islands Bed & Breakfast; Friday Harbor, WA – Tucker House

Most of our guests do not take the time to post their impressions of their stay on travel sites and blogs. We thought we would use this space to share the written entries from our guest books or the electronic entries we receive via email. Here is an email we received last week:

you really couldn’t have done anything better for us!!!!!!! we had a great time and have told everyone we see and work with about your place!!!!! we will be out there every year if we get the chance. thank you again for everything to you guys and your entire staff!!!!! we haven’t been that relaxed in a long time. i was actually depressed at work (tulalip casino) for a couple of days after we got back. LOL. great place and keep it up!!

george and misty, marysville, WA

San Juan Island Vacations – Friday Harbor Washington

Thanks for the Memories!

We receive so many wonderful photos from our guests that we can’t include them all in our newsletter. We will post our favorites here on our blog.

Paul from Zimmerman Minnesota stayed with us this July. He received our newsletter and wanted to share these three stunning sunsets of his vacation on San Juan Island. We are sorry Paul that you were upstaged by Gizmo, but you have to admit that he was really cute!

Please send us your favorite photos to share!

San Juan Island Washington Photographs

San Juan Island Lodging WA e-newsletter

Hi!

We launched our first e-newsletter last night. This morning when I checked my email, I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of responses from those of you who have stayed with us over our 5 year journey as innkeepers. Thank you so much. It is so heartening to hear how your stay on San Juan Island touched you. We are thrilled to reconnect and hear where life has taken you. We were saddened to hear that several of our guests who visited for repose from life threatening illnesses have relapsed, others have lost their jobs while others have moved to the area and are almost neighbors. We have learned over the years, that this business is not about the money, but about people and friendships that you forge over the years. Our door is always open! am

Wedding Bells at the Harrison House Suites

We were thrilled to be able to prepare a local wedding feast for Adam and Shannon yesterday at the Harrison House Suites. We served a butternut squash soup with coconut milk and roasted pepitas, smoked lamb satay with Brazil nuts, Smoked Synergy Farms chicken with rosemary and roasted garlic, homemade manicotti, Blue Moon Farms broccoli, stuffed roasted acorn squash with wild rice, currents, and pepitas, and a wonderful salad from three local farms. The couple chose a cheesecake as their wedding cake so we tiered it and decorated it with fresh edible flowers from Waldron Island. One cheesecake was a traditional New York style and the second a bit lighter was an Italian Cheesecake made with Ricotta Cheese. Blue Moon provided three huge buckets of flowers and the family transformed the San Juan Suite with vases of flowers, flower pedals and floating candles. It was a lovely celebration for their new life together and we were so happy to have been a part of it. Shaylynn was busy photographing and will post some photos shortly.

Friday Harbor Accommodations – Fly to the Islands

Flying is quite a popular hobby on the Island – almost a necessity for Island life. Dave fulfilled his dream and got his private pilots license this past April. This winter he is going to work on his instrument rating. This past summer, Dave made good use of his new hobby. He flew off weekly and sometimes twice a week to pick up supplies and produce. The most important part of his shopping were the trips to the local farms for fresh berries and stone fruit. Now that the summer fruit season is over – his shopping is less exiting. He still goes to the Fairhaven Flour Mill to pick up our fresh ground organic flours.

Talking about flying, this morning we hosted a group of pilots who flew in from Payne Field – a local airport outside of Seattle. They flew in two Cessnas and a Moonie. We enjoyed a relaxing breakfast and talked about flying and food. Breakfast consisted of homemade granola, fresh season fruit, homemade sour dough everything bagels, lox, cream cheese and salmon and Crème brulée for dessert.

Wedding at Harrison House Suites

Candia & Dale and their extended family celebrated their wedding day on San Juan Island. They were married on the Odyssey (one of the whale watching boats) and the Harrison House Suites staff prepared a wedding feast upon their return – a fall harvest meal from the Islands. Thousand Flower Farm & Nootka Rose Farm from Waldron Island and Synergy Farms from San Juan Island provided lots of great fresh produce. Their guests enjoyed Columbia River King Salmon, roasted new potatoes, broccoli, fresh greens, and home made blueberry and apple pie (the apples were picked from the Harrison House Suites). What could be better than vanilla and cinnamon ice cream from Lopez Island Creamery to top things off!

Harrison House Suites Hosts Two for the Road Cyclists

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting Naomi and Paul who are biking from Alaska to South America. You can check out their adventures at www.twofortheroad.info.
Naomi and Paul fell in love with our granola and they bought some to keep them fueled on their journey. We sent them our recipe so when they get home next summer they can make it for themselves. In the meantime, we offered to send our granola to their next stop.