If you’ve been to the inn, you know the Tucker House is a fairly prominent sight: two beautiful old homes nestled amidst lovingly tended gardens and magnificent old trees in a residential area of town.  Perhaps because it looks so inviting, or maybe because of our reputation for friendly staff, all kinds of people stop by to visit.

Josh Spiegel Has a Unique Blended Style of Music

Recently we were serenaded by a strolling accordion player – no, I am NOT making this up!  His name is Josh Spiegel, and his music was absolutely mesmerizing – a unique blended style unlike anything I’ve ever heard.  We’re not talking polkas here, folks; I don’t know exactly how to describe it but it seemed like a fusion of Balkan-Latin-Gypsy-Folk Rock.  I know, it sounds atrocious, but I assure it, it was refreshingly unique.  If he had a CD I would have bought it on the spot.

Josh has been playing piano, organ and accordion since he was a kid growing up in eastern Washington, his favorite being Latin piano.  “I couldn’t fit a piano in the Subaru so I brought my accordion” he quips.  Josh and his long-time island friend Kels Boreen, both multi-instrumentalists and multi-stylist musicians, have spent the last two years developing a “collective music label.”  According to Josh, “Good music wilts with money.”  The premise of their label is that every artist owns their own material and pays it forward.  They are “an alternative and collective record label created with the intention to help grow, nourish and sustain great independent music.”  They are just launching their website, www.onetreerecords.org.

In the meantime, Josh plays private and public musical gigs where he can find them, and works as a handyman and networking engineer to make ends meet.  Connect with him through the Kels Boreen Project on Facebook.

To follow news on our restaurant, sister inn and around the island, check out cohorestaurant.com, www.harrisonhousesuites.com, and www.experiencesanjuanisland.com.  Or connect with us on Facebook.

If you’ve stayed at the inn, you already know that our innkeeper Erin is a real dog-lover.  Besides her own two, she day-sits little Cooper, a black and white Blue Heeler.   On sunny days, she likes to put them in the grassy, fenced pen between the Harrison House and the Tucker House.  The girls, Maya and Lily, don’t mind, but little Cooper has different ideas, and sometimes barks incessantly to let Erin know he doesn’t like being left there.

One day Stephanie, Guest Services Coordinator, loaned a bark collar to Erin, the type that releases a spray of citronella when the dog barks.  Her husband had used it successfully with their own dog (big Cooper, a yellow lab).  Erin dutifully tried it on little Cooper – no results; Cooper continued to bark.  Erin brought the collar into the business office where Anna Maria and Stephanie were working.

“This collar isn’t working!  What am I doing wrong?”

“Hmm, it shouldn’t need new batteries; maybe we have to switch it on somewhere; let’s press this button and test it.  Here – try it out.”

“You mean, bark into it???!?!  Uh-uh, not me! YOU test it!”

The phone happened to ring right as Stephanie was attempting to imitate a deep, loud bark into the unit.  Anna Maria picked up the phone and totally missed her opportunity to proclaim “Hold please while I ask my assistant to stop barking!”

We all busted up laughing!

Though sometimes days can be stressful, there’s always joy when dogs are around.