Friday Harbor Lodging Showcases Photographer

After 10 years as staff photographer for the LA Times, Kathleen Ballard moved to San Juan Island where she has been creating special images for almost thirty years. Her work has appeared in Sunset Magazine and in island galleries.

Tucker House Inn is pleased to adorn our walls with Kathleen's work. You'll find her stunning photos of nature on the island in our great room.

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

Friday Harbor Lodging - San Juan Islands Washington

One of the most spectacular signs of spring is the flowering ornamental crabapple tree and fruit-producing pear tree. Both trees were in full bloom this week and as the wind blew it rained tiny pink petals.

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

Ecofriendly Hotels Friday Harbor, WA

The Tucker House is pleased to announced that it received a 3 Green Eco-Leaf Rating from istaygreen.

Very Good Rating 3 Green Eco-Leafs

Tucker House Inn Bed and Breakfast

Friday Harbor, WA Hotels

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

San Juan Island, WA News

The e-newsletters from Harrison House and Tucker House have really become popular. You can keep up with our latest news at http://www.harrisonhousesuites.com/newsletter.php and http://www.tuckerhouse.com/newsletter.php

If you prefer to receive our newsletters sign up on the archive pages above.

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

Friday Harbor Hotels; Washington - Tucker House

SanJuanIsland.com created the Tucker House's first video.
Check it out below!

Winter News at the Tucker House

Winter wouldn't be complete without a post about our lastest projects around the Inn. This winter we are focusing on two of the cottages - Log Cabin and Jennie's. We started with Log and are having fun with the color choices. This is the second phase of renovations. Last year we did the bathroom and kitchen floor and exterior deck. This year, its the kitchen countertop and great room floor and fire place. Renovations always gives us the opportunity to paint. We picked out a great color scheme with some bold but soothing colors that should go perfectly with the rustic 'moose' bedding.

Jennie's is going to be the polar opposite - a bit whimiscal and hip. The bedspread has blue and brown circles and poka dots. We will put in a hardwood floor and tile in the bath. We envisioning a hip uptown studio. We'll post pictures soon. I have a new computer so the picture thing is so much easier.

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!

Friday Harbor is Rockin' and so is the Tucker House!

This was another beautiful fall week and the Island was buzzing with visitors. Many locals are saying that this is the most spectacular fall in more than a dozen years. Last night, the movie theater was showing the new James Bond Movie, the community theater was featuring the Battlefield Band and the Grange was offering ballroom dancing - the fox trot. The full moon was huge and quite a contrast to the black starlit sky. Coho, the Inn's new addition, was also buzzing. We are continuing our 3 for $30 dinner - starter, entree and dessert. It is a fabulous deal and we had a dining room full of satiated guests! Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving when the Island will swell once again with family and friends. We will serve up holiday favorites for breakfast and a great 6 course dinner for Turkey Day!

New Happenings and Specials check'em out!

We have many new specials at the inn and at our Coho restaurant which if you havent tried is a must! With several Wine Dinners this month, Oct. 3rd (tonight!) 11th and 17th 7 courses for $100 and wine served with each, it truly is an experience. Its great especially if you pair it with a stay at our inn and include our Inn fall special for dinner at Coho gift certificate, wine, maple cookies, Washington grown apples and other treats for your room upon arrival. How about a nice picnic with water surrounding you and breathing fresh crisp air? Let us prepare you a wonderful lunch on our home-made sourdough bread, including a round trip taxi, bring your camara and hope to catch a glipse of our local Orcas! It will be a fun exciting adventure for anyone who needs a break from their daily lives and jobs-- have fun, relax and let us do the work for you!

Hi! Updates on the Inn

Hi Everyone my name is Shaylynn, some of you may have seen me around lately I just joined the team about a month ago, and wanted to blog to introduce myself. I am one of the innkeepers, I am here for you so let me know if there is anything I can do for you. I want you all to enjoy your stay on the San Juan Islands so I will be doing a lot of exploring myself so I can find the best spots for you to enjoy and explore. I recently went to Lime Kiln State Park, and watched the sunset which was truly beautiful, I just wanted to relax and read my book so I drove over and sat on one of the picnic tables and stayed for the day, sadly I have not seen the whales yet, but they are still around I just have to catch them at the right time. I hope to meet you all soon and help you make your stay unforgettable! If many of you haven't tried out the new restaurant definetly make a stop in and try the salmon (personal favorite), but we have many great dishes and specials - recently - we had a black cod served over soba noodles with a miso dressing and fresh vegetables.. mm..mm..mm. A must try. Stop by and see us and introduce yourself, hope to see you all soon!

Mollie, Harrison House & Tucker House San Juan Island Bed & Breakfast

Mollie our yellow lab hosted the editor of City Dog Magazine. Here is one of our favorite photos. She waits patiently for guests to come in a play with her.

News from San Juan Island's Bed and Breakfast - Tucker House

As the town is preparing for its Centennial next year, the Town of Friday Harbor is busy researching and inventorying all the old houses. Last week, I received a copy of the wedding picture of Clarence and Marie Tucker dated December 23, 1900. I am excited to track down the originals that are known to still be on the Island. I also received a close up photo of the Tucker House. I presume it was taken shortly after it was built - 1898. The photo shows a white pickett fence that circled the entire block. Looking up the hill, what is now the upper Tucker House is nothing but an empty field and across the property, where the Harrison House currently stands is also baron. The only other house shown in the photo which is still standing is the private residence on the corner of Harrison and Wabass. It is always interesting to learn more about these great old houses.....if these walls could only talk.

New Restaurant Friday Harbor - Coho San Juan Island

Dave and I will be expanding the culinary offerings of the Inns with a restaurant opening up in early April called Coho. It is 2 blocks from the Inn at 120 Nichols Street. We will feature local and regional ingredients from the Pacific Northwest with a bit of an international twist. Our wine list will cull the best wines from Oregon, California, Washington and British Columbia as well as the great wines of Europe, South America, South Africa, and Australia. We are really excited to provide our guests with an evening dining option so convenient to the Inns. Here is our cool new logo. Check out the Coho website starting early April to keep track of our seasonal offerings.

Spring Is Here Update - Lodging San Juan Islands, Washington

The Island is lovely this time of year. The grass is that bright spring green, the cherry trees have just popped their buds, and the tulips and daffodils are just beginning to open. Our first cut of the lawn is this weekend. This is a sign that we need to hurry up and finish our winter projects so we can play out in the gardens and begin to welcome all the guests that come to the Islands for spring break. We have just a few loose ends to finish up. We just completed a new bathroom renovation and outdoor deck for the Log Cabin Cottage. Our appliance delivery is Friday and then we can finish up our two kitchen projects. We have already started the seeds in the greenhouse for herbs, flowers, and vegetables for the Inn. Our guests this weekend are out on the water kayaking, bicycling to the vineyards, and hiking down at American Camp. Check our our spring specials and consider a trip to the Islands.

Tucker House Projects - San Juan Islands, WA

This week we started what seemed like a simple project - retiling the main Tucker House kitchen. Well it snowballed into a much larger kitchen renovation. We were designing on the fly. We kept asking each other what if? So we moved the vent. What if? We dry walled over a door that we no longer use. What if? We moved the range to another wall. What if? We took out the florescent lights and rewired for new lights. What if? We got rid of the wall paper . What if? We took out the byfold closet doors between the parlor which is now my office. We will finish the dry wall this week and will paint the walls a wonderful red called strawberry fields on Friday. The finished product is going to be so much more utilitarian for guests. We use the living room for receptions and formal dinners and the new kitchen is going to provide a much better flow. Here is a picture of the tiling in action.

Accommodations San Juan Island - Update

The new birch hardwood floors in Victoria's Flower Garden look great. Two rooms are complete and we are working on the flooring for the second bedroom and kitchen this week. We are in the process of designing the kitchen and selecting new tile for the back bathroom. Once we finish the floors, we will start installing the kitchen. This has been quite a transformation and we are looking forward to sharing the pictures soon.

Friday Harbor Hotels - Winter and Holiday Getaways

As the days begin to get colder and shorter, we are beginning to prepare for winter. One of our winter projects include a renovation to Victoria's Flower Garden. We are installing new hardwood floors and a kitchen in the suite in early November. This is a fabulous - 2 bedroom 2 bath suite with a living room that has all the architectural features of the 110 year old Victorian House. We will post new pictures of the suite by Thanksgiving. The Tucker House will remain open all winter to welcome guests. The guest rooms in the upper house with their 2 person jacuzzi tubs and fire places are perfect for retreat from cold winter days. We are offering several great specials. Check out our web site and we'll hope to see you soon.

Tucker House Neighborhood -1905

Here is a picture of Friday Harbor taken in 1905. You can see the historic Tucker House and the Harrison House.
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Tucker Family News!

In preparation for the Town of Friday Harbor's centennial in 2008, the historical committee is hard at work researching the Town's historic buildings. Today's Tucker House is comprised of two historic homes - the 1898 house owned by Clarence Tucker and the 1900-1910 house owned by the Joy family. We shared some news clippings with the historic committee and they located William Grant Tucker IV, Grandma Tucker’s great-great-grandson. He lives in Rhode Island. He says his father, about to turn 86, has visited Friday Harbor and went to the cemetery to visit Grandma Tucker. He also told the committee that one of the stained glass windows in the Valley Church was donated by Clarence Tucker and his wife (don’t know which wife yet – Marie Jensen or the one before her.) As the exciting history of these two houses and the families unfold, we will keep you posted.

Tucker House Gets New Color Scheme

The Tucker House received a new face lift this summer with a new exterior color scheme. We chose historical colors complementary to our neighbor Inn the Harrison House. After the major interior renovations that were undertaken during the winter of 2006-2007, the Tucker Houses have been restored to their century-old opulence.