It has never happened before. A guest merely emerges from their bedroom for breakfast and the innkeepers are speechless and their eyes fill with tears. These tears were of surprise and joy. With almost a child-like wonder–our eyes must have been huge–two adults became children once again. On December 25, 2011, our only guests at Boreas Inn for Christmas morning were Lindley and Charlotte Mixon from Raymond, WA. When they came in the front door, it did occur to us that he was a lovely older gentleman with a white beard and how ironic that it wasChristmas Eve. Being polite, we said not a word about the resemblance. We were sure he’d heard it before.
But only when he emerged from his room on Christmas morning for breakfast, did we truly hold our breath and respond with actual childhood glee that we were in the presence of Santa and Mrs. Claus. Lindley was dressed in a red shirt, with suspenders holding up his trousers, and had a red hat on his head trimmed with white fur. My first words to him were, “My goodness, Santa, you must be exhausted and very hungry! Did you have a busy night?” Yes, this Jewish girl did say that…couldn’t help it. Lindley responded that yes, it was a tiring night but he had a good rest and was very hungry indeed. We posed in front of the Boreas Inn tree with Mrs. Claus, Charlotte, and I couldn’t resist a shot giving Santa a kiss. Lindley has never played Santa professionally! Bill and I were truly moved by Lindley and Charlotte. Lindley is an artist, a warm, loving man with phenomenal talent for throwing big pots and painting. He is currently recovering nicely from open heart surgery. So, sadly, Santa and Mrs. Claus won’t be with us this Christmas. We will miss them and keep in touch on Facebook. We will forever remember the wonderful holiday gift they gave to us a year ago. The richness of life in our 16 years as innkeepers never fails to reward, surprise and enrich us. Thank you, Lindley and Charlotte, for your friendship. Take it easy this Christmas, Lindley! Get healthy and come back soon.
On Christmas morning, 2011, Lindley Mixon and his wife Charlotte, emerged from The Dunes Suite at Boreas Inn and really, truly Susie and Bill were with Santa and Mrs. Claus!
Our dear friend, and treasured Boreas Inn guest, Kate Elliott, sits on the Chinook Indian Nation Council. She sent me a press release about this amazing ancestral canoe journey that will take place next week, from June 12-15, the Chinook Indian Nation Council will travel down the Lower Columbia River Water Trail in traditional canoes. The route, starting from Cathlapotle at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge will include stops in Kalama, Mayger Dock/Clatskanie, Cathlamet, Elliott Point/Pillar Rock and Chinook Point/Fort Columbia.
There are still some seats available to paddle and spots on the ground crew available. The Chinook Indian Tribal Council is extending an invitation to every member of the Tribe and friends of the Tribe to their to join them on this historical canoe trip either in part or for the entire journey.
The decendants of Captain William Clark gave the Chinook Nation the canoe, Klmin (keth-min), pictured above, in September of 2011. This beautiful canoe replaced one of the Chinook Nation’s canoes that was used by the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. Following the gifting of Klmin, http://www.chinooknation.org/press.html, the Chinook Council agreed to honor its maiden voyage with a journey on their traditional waterways. The Chinook Council consists of eight members: Chairman Ray Gardner, Vice-Chairman Sam Robinson, Secretary/Treasurer Peggy Disney and Representatives Phil Hawks, Charlie Funk, Lisa Elliott, Jeremy Wekell and Kate Elliott.
Accompanied by other Chinooks and friends, the Chinook Council will spend three days and three nights traveling down the Lower Columbia River Water Trail. This will be a celebration of the generous gift they received this past Fall and the great river that is still home to many Chinooks today. In addition to Klmin, this journey will include the Chairman’s family canoe, Itsxut (its-woot), and the Snohomish tribal canoe, Blue Heron. After spending Tuesday night in the Cathlapotle plankhouse, the Chinook Council and People will take Klmin out for a solitary introduction to the waterway early Wednesday morning. They will then place all the canoes in the water and begin the journey. The canoes will have a sendoff by the Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
As the canoes travel down the river, Chinook families will host dinner and provide shelter for the travelers, much in the way of their Ancestors. This week of sharing and commemoration will culminate in paddling down to Chinook Point on Friday morning to participate in the private Annual Chinook Nation First Salmon Ceremony. For many years, Chinook have been working with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Washington State Historical Society and other partners to promote the Lower Columbia River Water Trail. To honor this partnership, the National Park Service and the Port of Ilwaco will be joining the last day of the journey in their own motorized boat.
This is an important and unique regional cultural event–one that is important for all of us living in this area to understand, and to participate in, if we can! It is a deeply moving event for those of us living where the Chinook Tribe flourished (in paradise!). Now once again our friends, the Chinooks, can share with us their gifts of centuries-old knowledge, culture, understanding and joy. They are a national treasure and we are hoping and praying that they will again, soon, achieve the federal tribal recognition that by virtue of their history and influence for centuries, they so rightly deserve.
For more information on media relations and coordination, please contact Kate Elliott, Councilwoman Chinook Indian Nation, Chair, Communications Committee, (425) 945-6744 kate.chinook@gmail.com.
For more information on the sendoff by the Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, please contact: Katie Harrison, Cathlapotle Plankhouse Coordinator.
It is the unexpected brilliant sunny days when the forecast is semi-dreary that make living on the Long Beach Washington Peninsula so interesting and wonderful. We chose today to have a Puppy and Pizza Celebration at Cape Disappointment State Park at Waikiki Beach’s Serious Pizza with our friend and long-time guest Odell Hathaway, who has a new therapy/assistance dog, Phoenix. Boreas Inn welcomes assistance dogs and we are getting to know Phoenix, the puppy, who will within two years, be a fully trained assistance dog. Odell has a couple of health issues that have the potential to require Phoenix’s help. In the meanwhile, this puppy, who Odell found through Oregon Assistance Dogs, is a gem of a baby golden retriever. At 15 pounds, she is a bundle of love and she is oh so soft and sweet. Odell is very lucky to have found her and for a dog, you could do far worse than have Odell as a parent! Phoenix will have all the best of everything, including fine parenting! We invited Skyler and Allen from Tangly Cottage Gardening and Jessica and Chris Miller to the celebration. They are our dear friends who know Odell from his many trips to Boreas. We ate world-class pizza at Serious Pizza–many pizza’s as a matter of fact! Jim and Chi make the best cherry and apple wood-fired pizza on the planet and we sampled four different pizza’s at the park. So it was a perfect day at the best park in Washington State, eating the best pizza at Serious Pizza with some of the best folks we know!
A Pooped Puppy at our Serious Pizza Party on June 2
Personally, New Years’ Eve isn’t my favorite holiday. I think of doing taxes, of what I haven’t accomplished this year, what I need to accomplish next year… but every year, our guests jolly me into appreciating the holiday more than I would were we not innkeepers. After all, 2012 sounds more well-rounded than 2011. I like even numbers. THERE WILL BE FIREWORKS at the beach, in view from Boreas, on New Years Eve!! I almost forgot!
The Christmas tree is still fresh and lovely for some reason (Bill takes good care of the tree!) and we haven’t tired of the decorations so prettily placed by our decorating crew the first weekend in December. We had a great time decorating this year. This year was extra special with a sweet blend of family and beloved guests who are now family too. We are hoping that we fill up for New Years’ weekend. We are always filled up after Christmas but not this year! Groupon and Living Social may be the reason—people shopping for bargains. Frankly, for what Boreas offers, we are a bargain! But we’re offering the Carpe Diem, Walk-in Special rate starting today. $150 for luxury and pampering! Even the cottage is open this weekend.
Our guest list so far is a fun one and Odell will be here to help us dismantle the decorations if we can work around our desire to watch football…at Mark and Helen’s Lost Roo, of course! Go DUCKS! Everyone is invited to take DOWN the decorations with us and go to The Roo!
Fresh Dungeness Crabcakes and Champagne on Sunday morning, New Years’ Day, sounds pretty perfect for one of our FOUR courses, and Bill will do beautiful work on the crab cakes as always and I will bake pastries, whip up sauces and make the fruit entrée glow so that consuming all that vitamin C seems very sexy. Well…it is! But I hope that if it’s going to be cloudy this week end, that it is also stormy so we can feel comforted by the fireplaces. But I also hope that there is a break in the weather so we can go for a fresh walk to start the New Year. We have been fortunate with fine weather this fall.
Come stay with us this weekend at the prettiest inn on the Long Beach Peninsula—featherbeds, down comforters, fireplaces, fine and fancy breakfast fare, freshly baked brownies, and the incredibly-wonderful-almost-brand-new hot tub for two with a little aromatherapy—mint and eucylptus, to soften your skin. Boreas Bed & Breakfast Inn is posh but hip, fun, but mellow and very food-crazy with a great location on the beach in Long Beach Washington. Relaxation is the best way to start the next banner year—2012! Happy New Year!
Odell Hathaway, our guest/friend/budding videographer likes to take pics and video of me doing the “Food Tour” at breakfast time. You might be able to focus on the food in the video while I am focusing on my ever-drooping face! Both are entertaining. In this video, I have prepared breakfast for a small group of returning guests a couple of weekends ago. Bill was in Eugene for the weekend and I had our guests/friends all to myself! The baked apple french toast I am describing is an adapted recipe originally from The Shelburne Inn, our dear friends, David and Laurie. I love making this dish–something you can put together the night before and bake in the morning. Thanks to Odell for posting this video to YouTube! Come to Boreas Inn–we have availability over Memorial Day weekend—which is NEXT weekend. We promise to make you very happy indeed at our Long Beach Washington Bed and Breakfast. Boreas inn is upscale, but never pretentious!
Soak your troubles away in our new hot tub, located with a view to the dunes and ocean….there are eagles, osprey, deer and invisible bears (at least I’ve never seen them, but apparently they are around)! So I finally remembered how to upload a YouTube video to the Blog! Odell Hathaway produced this darling little video and added very auspicious music. This spa makes going to Boreas Inn, our Bed and Breakfast on the Southwest Washington even more wonderful. We are looking for guests this weekend…great weather, fabulous gourmet breakfast, local dining that exceeds anyone’s wildest dreams…we can make it happen for you!
We also have availability over Memorial Day weekend (3 days will make you very happy). So come visit us and have very private time in our new spa. Remember, there is a single key that assures you total privacy in the spa. Light the candle and put it in the window…and make time just for you!
It’s blowing sideways tonight. We awoke to the same intensity of wind and are going to bed to a different storm. In between, we had sunshine and rainbows. Pre-spring weather is ever-changing. Who would have thought we would have a glorious weekend with lots of sun?
Weather forecasters can really affect tourism on the Long Beach Peninsula when they forecast bad weather on the beach when we are actually experiencing sunny days instead! If you like storms, however, tonight is the night! The inn is empty, except for Bill, who is painting the living room.
We have plenty of availability this weekend, so come sleep in our dreamy beds, dine on our perfectly plated breakfast feasts, dream in the new hot tub, and plan on some great weather, perhaps between the storms. So romantic…. Perhaps we will have mountains of foam after this storm too!
Can you tell the sea foam from the cumulus cloud after a great storm?
Boreas Inn can be ALL YOURS, decorated with love for the 2010 Holiday. Rent one room or all five for $595 plus tax per night for a three-night minimum. This is a $320 per night savings!! Boreas Inn’s ready-made holiday removes the stress and will let you relax and enjoy the Holiday–invite the people you want to be with and let Susie and Bill do the rest of the arranging. Just bring your gifts for under the tree! This price includes our signature breakfasts and champagne on Christmas morning! Starting December 21 and ending December 27, you can rent Boreas for a grand and luxurious escape for you, your family and friends. You pick the three nights you’d like to stay, and we will supply an inn full of warmth and wonder and of course, breakfasts to die for! Susie and Bill will arrange your Christmas dinner at one of our fine restaurants open for Christmas (and Christmas Eve of course)!
We ask for a maximum of 10 people and no children under 10. Wander the beautiful beaches, sleep in fine linens under down and on top of our feather beds. Maybe you will be held captive by a big Pacific storm by one of the fireplaces or maybe the weather will be warm and sunny! Wander the Discover Trail and look for whales from the North Head Lighthouse or the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, dine out in our fabulous restaurants, take naps and soak in our brand new hot tub! Before somebody else grabs the chance, make your reservation now! If you book online, just request all of the Inn’s guest rooms, put in the three nights you would like to request and mention the Ready-Made Christmas Special and we will adjust the cost! Or feel free to call us at 888-842-8069. www.boreasinn.com This offer is not valid with gift certificates and there is a 30-day cancellation policy. We will hold the first night (plus tax) as deposit. Make your request soon!!!
Odell Hathaway, one of our most devoted friends and fans of Boreas Inn took this video of our brand new spa at dawn on the 3rd of September! So this is truly the Dawn of Boreas Inn’s New Hot Tub. Odell is so clever! The Space Odyssey music just fits!
Our Brand New Spa--Come Bubble Your Troubles Away!
The tub new spa is a bit smaller than our older one and very roomy for our “couples” only soaking. There are three seats, including two side-by-side recliners, 36 jets (!) and beautiful revolving underwater colors, if you like a little light. It’s hard to get a good picture of the new spa unless you dangled from the gazebo ceiling! The tub is made by Cal Spa’s division “OC Hot Tubs”. I thought Orange County motorcycles were gorgeous, but this spa is pretty lush! Bill and I tried it out on Thursday night and it was just perfect. The operations and materials are quite “green” and so far, our guests say they love the new spa. So in addition to fine regional cuisine, the most comfortable beds, and extra special whatever we can think of for our guests, we now have a new spa with a beautiful view. The ex-spa works fine–and we’re looking for a home for it. It sprung a leak around a seal (we think) but other than that, it works fine. So if one of our former guests would like it, we can arrange for that to happen. You will have to haul it away! It was very sad to see it leave the gazebo (and quite a project to get it out of there!)
Our favorite shot of the Dec. 19, 2008 snowfall from the Garden Suite.
Kitties are Angels with Attitude is our favorite decorating party gift given by Cindy (Zikes) and Robert Davis.
The Boreas Hearth glows with warmth and holiday lights!
We have hosted over a dozen holiday open houses for our locals each year.
We will be having a full house at Boreas Inn this weekend. The inn will be bustling full of Santa’s helpers! Each year, our loyal guests come to Boreas on the first weekend of December to work and eat (and get a free night!) and make the Inn beautiful for the holidays. We drag out the decorations and make the tree (this year a perfect Noble Fir) beautiful. We call it a Hanukkah Bush/Christmas Tree to be inclusive! We will not be holding our traditional Open House on the second weekend of the year, but will be open for informal tours and will hopefully be finding a time when the Long Beach Peninsula Visitor’s Bureau volunteers can come to Boreas for a Open House to thank them for their work! Cindy and Robert Davis, Walter and Tracey Voll, Fred Humphrey, Odell Hathaway, Su and Ray Benson are among long-time Boreas friends and loved ones. Jessica and Chris Miller will also be helping out. Chris is the new school district psychologist and Jessica is a teacher who helped us out over the summertime. They moved here in June from Colorado and we have adopted them. We are looking forward to the decorating, the potluck and the company. So come see Boreas Inn decorated for the holidays. We have rooms open for Christmas and for our New Years three day holiday weekend. Take advantage of our “Walk-in” Special rate for all of December and January, except for one night over New Years’ when you will pay our regular price for that night. We have included our Annual Dungeness Crab Cake and Champagne Breakfast for New Years’ Day! Make your reservations now! We would love to see you!
