Happy 2009! from the Tucker House, San Juan Island

Wow it is the second week of the year already! The last 2 weeks of December were a blur as the Pacific Northwest was covered with an unusally deep blanket of snow. While the Island enjoyed a white Christmas for the first time in several years, it made getting to and around the Island very difficult for the last few weeks. Since we normally do not get snowfalls of any consequence, we do not have the proper equipment to clear the roads.

We happened to be on vacation during the storm. We returned to a winter wonderland. We were lucky to find a small break in the weather and made the hair raising drive from Seatac to Anacortes to catch the ferry back to Friday Harbor. (With this kind of welcome, we were ready to turn back and head back to our Carribean vacation). We eventually made it to Anacortes in a bit over 3 hours - normally a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive. I know Shay (our innkeeper) was really glad we made it back. She did an amazing job holding down the fort, taking care of guests while shoveling all the white stuff when we were gone.

The Christmas holiday around the Inns was a bit more quiet than usual. We had many guests stranded in airports around the country who couldn't make it to the Island to spend the holidays with families. Locals who were driving to the Island from Washington, Oregon and northern California were unable to get here due to the icy road conditions. We did have a houseful(Innful) for New Year's weekend. We were happy that our guests who had been snow bound and were suffering from cabin fever decided to escape to Friday Harbor to ring in 2009!