Welcome to the Tucker House 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

J Pod Returns

Islanders and whale watch fans were all abuzz last Sunday with the return of our favorite, J-pod. Orca Network reports they were shuffling and frolicking while foraging along the west side of San Juan Island. Fortunate kayakers and land-based whale watchers had the thrill of their lives with the pod member’s antics – splashing around, [...]

I-5 Bridge Collapse – Alternative Routes

Here is an alternative way to get to the Washington State Ferry Terminal in Anacortes from Seattle due to the I-5 bridge collapse. I-5 is closed in both directions in Skagit County south of Burlington. By Car: If you are driving from Seattle, consider the suggested alternative route which happens to be one of our favorite [...]

Coal Battle Continues – Help Needed for Strategic Health Impact Assessment

Photo by Paul Anderson Friends of the San Juans reports that your help is needed to fund an important study regarding the health effects of diesel emissions and coal dust associated with coal trains transporting thermal coal from the Powder River Basin to the proposed Gateway Pacific Coal Terminal at Cherry Point. Please see the the [...]

Stuffed French Toast, Photo Stefan Scherperel

Stuffed French Toast Casserole Recipe

Stufffed French Toast Casserole Recipe Ingredients: 3 slices of Day Old Italian Bread sliced 4 apples sliced and spritzed with lemon juice 1 TBsp. Brown Sugar ½ tsp Cinnamon ½ tsp. Mace or Nutmeg 1 Tbsp. Butter Ricotta Cheese Filling: ½ cup ricotta cheese 1 tsp. lemon zest 1 ½ tsp. sugar Egg Mixture: 4 [...]

Cinnamon Walnut French Toast

Ingredients: Cinnamon Walnut French Toast 4 slices of cinnamon walnut bread 1/4 cup of toasted walnuts Egg Mixture: 2 Eggs 1/2 c. cream or half and half 1 tsp. vanilla, Amaretto, Frangelico, Nocino Liquor House made cinnamon swirl bread. Beat egg mixture. Dip and soak bread. Place on hot grill until golden brown. Flip. Garnish with [...]

Cream Cheese Encrusted French Toast Photos: Stefan Scherperel

Cream Cheese Encrusted French Toast Recipe

Cream Cheese-Encrusted French Toast Recipe Cream Cheese Filling: 8 oz cream cheese 1/8 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp maple syrup 1/2 tsp. orange zest Toasted Chopped Pecans Egg Mixture: Egg Cream Cinnamon Vanilla Extract Triple Sec Garnish: Berries or Caramelized Apples Whip cream cheese filling ingredients. Slice bread with slit so you can stuff cream [...]

Caramelized French Toast; Photo Stefan Scherperel

Caramelized French Toast with Cinnamon & Berries

Caramelized French Toast With Cinnamon & Berries Ingredients: 1 # cubed stale bread Custard: 1 ½ cups heavy cream ½ c. half and half Cinnamon stick ½ vanilla bean ¼ c. sugar 5 egg yolks ¼ cup maple syrup Berries Crème brulee custard. Steep cinnamon with cream and sugar and then strain. Place bread in a [...]

Raspberry Stuffed French Toast Photo: Stefan Scherperel

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Strawberry French Toast Casserole Ingredients: 1 # of Day Old Bread sliced 2 Pints Strawberries sliced Filling: 8 oz. cream cheese or marscapone cheese 1 tsp. lemon zest 1 ½ tsp. sugar Egg Mixture: 4 eggs 3 Tbsp. cream Splash triple sec Cinnamon Crisp Topping Caramel Sauce Layer Bread in bottom of a 8 x [...]

Raspberry Stuffed French Toast Photos: Stefan Scherperel

Raspberry Stuffed French Toast Casserole

Raspberry-Stuffed French Toast Ingredients: 1 # of Day Old Bread sliced 2 Pints Raspberries sliced Filling: 8 oz. cream cheese or marscapone cheese 1 tsp. lemon zest 1 ½ tsp. sugar Egg Mixture: 4 eggs 3 Tbsp. cream Splash triple sec Cinnamon Crisp Topping Caramel Sauce Layer Bread in bottom of a 8 x 10 [...]

Eggnog French Toast

Eggnog French Toast Recipe Ingredients: Challah, brioche or Portuguese Sweet Bread Juniper infused Maple Syrup (berries are the female pine cone) 4 cups milk 1 1/3 cups sugar 12 large egg yolks 1/2 cup bourbon, optional 1 cup chilled heavy cream Grated nutmeg Directions In medium saucepan, whisk milk and sugar over medium heat until [...]

Cranberry French Toast; Photographer Stefan Scherperel

Cranberry Maple French Toast

How to Bake a Cranberry Maple French Toast Ingredients: 4 slices Cranberry nut bread or your favorite nut and fruit bread Cranberry Maple syrup (fresh cranberries infused with maple syrup) 1 # fresh cranberries 1/4 c. dried cranberries 2 c. maple syrup 2 eggs 3 Tbsp. heavy cream Splash triple sec 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1. [...]

rench Toast with Raspberry Sauce; Photo: Stefan Scherperel

French Toast with Raspberry Orange Sauce

Ingredients: French Toast With Raspberry Orange Sauce 1 Blood Orange 4 pieces Multigrain Bread Pint raspberries Raspberry sauce 2 Eggs 1/2 c. Cream 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon 1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or triple sec Directions: 1. Supreme orange. 2. Combine eggs, cream, cinnamon and Grand Marnier. 3. Dip bread and soak in egg mixture until bread [...]

Kids French Toast: Photo: Stefan Scherperel

French Toast for Toddlers

How to Make French Toast for Toddlers Ingredients: 4 slices of texas toast or your favorite bread 2 eggs 1/3 c. pureed butternut squash or pumpkin Dash of cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla Texas Toast – cut off crusts into one inch slices Make egg mixture and add pureed butternut squash or pumpkin to sneak in [...]

Local Author Named in Top Five Fiction Debuts

Finalists for ForeWord Firsts’ Winter 2013 competition include Wild Nights, by Friday Harbor author MaryEllen Coutney. The award contest recognizes the brightest self-published and independently published works of debut fiction. The Winter 2013 Winner will be announced May 30, 2013. “Choosing the top finalists was a challenge this quarter,” said ForeWord Reviews Publisher Victoria Sutherland, [...]

John Darrah with Japanese fishnet float found at South Beach

Great Island Cleanup 2013

Occasionally visitors remark how clean the island looks. Indeed, drive down island roads this month and you’ll see very little roadside litter; that’s because over 200 volunteers participated in this year’s Great Island Cleanup on Earth Day weekend. Not including the town of Friday Harbor, they traversed about 45 miles of county roads and several [...]

Now deceased Southern Resident J2, AKA Granny, near an oil tanker

Power Past Coal Update

Public opposition against the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal/Custer Spur (GPT) at Cherry Point in Whatcom County, WA has been remarkable. It appears there are quite a few people who think that strip mining coal in the mid-west, sending it by rail across the country to Oregon and Washington, and shipping it to China is just [...]

Chief oikami pipe banger on the Sea Goose - safety aspects: hammer tied to his belt, ear protection, eye protection, life-vest. He was in view of the vessel operator.

IOSA Tries New Drill for Whale Protection

Volunteers for Islands Oil Spill Association (IOSA) have regularly been practicing maneuvers in the event of an oil spill in the San Juan Islands, but their latest endeavor targeted our beloved Southern Resident orcas as well. With the islands being so remote, it would take precious hours before rescue crews could arrive here to control [...]

San Juan Islands in the News

A decade ago, when someone mentioned San Juan Islands, people thought Puerto Rico. But that has changed. In recent months, our 172 island archipelago, located on the northwestern most corner of the continental US, has been in the international spotlight. We are very proud and wanted to share these accolades. We also are appreciative to all those [...]

Tips for a “Green Vacation”

Living on an island, we are constantly reminded of reduce, reuse, recycle. There is limited space, every chemical that goes into the ground anywhere on the island runs off into the surrounding waters, and there is no solid waste dump – all trash must be trucked and ferried off island. As a Green property, we go [...]

Trip Advisor Awards Tucker House GreenLeader

Trip Advisor awarded the Harrison House Suites & Tucker House Inn Bronze Level GreenLeaders, as part of their new GreenLeaders™ program. As GreenLeaders, the Harrison House and Tucker House Inns have met a set of environmental standards developed in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® program, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the United Nations Environment [...]