Welcome to the Harrison House Suites Blog!

Feel free to share your impressions of your stay with us and your time on the Islands - your favorite hike, best dining experience (you can even mention your favorite breakfast or cookie), and most memorable moment. We will do our best to keep you apprised of not-to-miss events on the Islands and news from the Inn. Stay tuned and we are looking forward to your thoughts...

Accommodations in Friday Harbor, the Tucker House Inn

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 [...]

Washington Cherries For Breakfast Desserts

From the keyboard of Stephanie Prima-Sarantopulos: The first of the Washington cherry crops arrived last week – to the delight of Anna Maria and me. We both sat with bowls of cherries in front of us, gorging like black bears on the glossy, merlot-colored fruit. From our local co-op we obtained boxes of Tieton Cherries, [...]

Parking Pass Now Required for Lime Kiln State Park

Travel Alert: As of July 1, visitors wishing to park a vehicle in WA state parks and recreations lands will need to purchase a Discover Pass. The fee is $10 for a one-day pass, or $30 annually. You will need this vehicle pass in order to visit Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island. [...]

Down South Eggs Benedict

Makes 4 Servings Our chef Paul la Valley likes to get creative in the mornings. One day he came up with a Southern-style Eggs Benedict which he served with roasted new potatoes. It was really different, and guests enjoyed his new twist on an old favorite.

Keep Up the Great Island Cleanup

Now that we’re all spending more time outdoors with this glorious weather, let’s remember to keep up the momentum of the Great Island Clean-up. If you see litter along the road, it only takes a moment to pick it up. Pack your picnic meal in reusable containers. Bring your reusable shopping bags. Once you put [...]

What to Do with Jerusalem Artichokes

They’re known as Jerusalem Artichokes, though some people call them sunroots or sunchokes or earth apples or (as in France) topinambur. Most of us don’t call them anything because we can’t figure out what the heck to do with those gnarly-looking things, so why bother?

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New Chef at Harrison House Suites

People come and people go, and our inn is no exception to the movement of personalities.

Innkeeper Moves On

Innkeeper John Hamilton has left us to further his career with the newly formed Cask and Schooner in Friday Harbor. Acting as the Head Chef and Kitchen Manager of the restaurant portion of the tavern, John will apply his love of locally grown foods to the menu he’s creating for the new venture. Focusing primarily [...]

Onward Winter Projects!

A lot of inns on San Juan Island close for the winter months, but that’s the only time we find to work on our “Winter Projects” lists. After collecting suggestions from all the staff members, Anna Maria set up prioritized lists for everyone. We’ve been slowly whittling away, crossing off, lining out. So far, Erin [...]

Classic Doggie Loves

Our four-legged friends give us so much love, they deserve to have special treats on Valentine’s day too. We bake cookies every day for our two-legged guests, and developed these wholesome treats for our many canine guests. They are delivered to the guest rooms along with people-cookies, and the heart shape makes them perfect for [...]

Holiday Greetings from the Harrison House Suites

‘Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch The pond was froze over & so was the branch. The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule. The kids were all home on vacation from school, And happier young folks you never did see- Just all sprawled around a-watchin’ TV. Then suddenly, some [...]

Friday Harbor Inn Drowning in Eggnog

From the Keyboard of Stephanie Prima-Sarantopulos: We ordered 2 quarts. We received 2 cases! There they were, stacked like soldiers in tidy rows on the bottom shelf of the reach-in refrigerator. Whaddaya do with 24 bottles of eggnog? Short of bathing in it, we had to figure out creative ways to use it up before [...]

Custom Tours for Winter San Juan Island Visitors

Just because the temperature has dropped some and there may be a bit more precipitation or wind, doesn’t mean the island has shut down for tourism. We’re happy to introduce Suzie and Hawk Pingree at Westcott Bay Cider Company, who have offered customs tours for our inn guests. The Pingrees bought into the company in [...]

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Friday Harbor Farmers Market Moves Indoors

Even though the temperatures are dropping, our hard-working farmers are still at it. The crops may not be as prolific as in the warmer months, but we islanders still have locally-grown produce available to us, including carrots, cabbage, potatoes, other root vegetables and more. The farmer’s market moves indoors to the Friday Harbor High School [...]

OCT 26: Charles Moore To Speak Again in Friday Harbor, WA

OCT 26: Charles Moore To Speak Again in Friday Harbor Note Correction: Talk is at 7:30 pm, (not 7 pm as originally noted.) Noted marine researcher Charles Moore will give a talk on “Combating the Oceans’ Plastic Plague,” at the San Juan Community Theater on Tuesday, October 26, at 7:30 pm. Two years ago Doris [...]

Feather Top Mattress Wins Favor at Friday Harbor Inn

Thank you for the follow up! We loved our stay in the Friday Harbor Suite! The only downside is that we had only planned to be there one night! We know for the future and next time will plan to stay a bit longer! What a lovely place! We felt very at home and a [...]

Fresh From the Comb Honey on San Juan Island

No doubt you’ve heard that saying, “Make hay while the sun shines.” Here on San Juan Isl and we can add “Make HONEY while the sun shines.” The marine climate here is just cool enough to keep the flower nectar from flowing easily, so poor little honey bees have a very short window in which [...]

Birthday Cakes Galore in Friday Harbor

July 24th was a busy day for Anna Maria. She was in her element, away from the drudge of the computer and behind the counter in the kitchen. Her task: whip up four extraordinary cakes for guests, catered events, staff birthday, and the local Relay For Life auction. With her typical top-notch style, the Relay [...]