Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Zen Island

We just wrapped up a wonderful weekend on San Juan Island. We came up with some friends to hang out, visit and cook/eat with another friend who lives there, a bit of a repeat of last year. I hope this tradition continues as it is a little slice of heaven for sure.

This year we stayed at the Dragonfly Inn which is about 6 miles from Friday Harbor. The gentleman who built the inn back in the 70's had lived in Japan and created a space that reminded him of his time there. Upon entering, the current owner Linda will ask you to remove your shoes as is the custom in Japan. She'll hand you a pair of slippers and show you around the four-room bed and breakfast.

The common living room is perfect for a small group with a comfortable sectional, huge selection of magazines and DVDs, zen garden and virtual fish tank. There is a small patio where you can sit and watch the hummingbirds and dragonflies. In the morning Linda serves breakfast at the communal table, the house special is a hash brown pancake with a poached egg, lox and wasabi creme fraiche.

The four rooms are all identical except for a different color kimono hanging above each headboard. They have small private patios, low beds, and beautiful bathrooms with soaking tubs that fill from the ceiling.

The grounds also have a very Japanese garden look with bonsai inspired plants, ceramic lanterns and small fountains.

I loved our stay at the Dragonfly Inn, it really reminded me both of our ryokan in Hakone and one of our apartments in Kyoto. It's a little spendy but if you're looking for a nice getaway I highly recommend it.

While on San Juan for the weekend, we also had a wonderful picnic at the American Camp, made a repeat visit to the lovely San Juan Distillery and shopped around Friday Harbor. All photos are here


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