Google Celebrates PacMan's 30th Anniversary - and so do we, in an unexpected way

So, this is a little more random than some of the other posts...forgive me. And, as usual, forgive it being 2 months since my last post (good marketing, huh?).

On Google's homepage Friday and Saturday, the Google logo came up as the game of PacMan. Kind of cute and nostalgic and if you waited about 10 seconds the logo would become an actual game you could play - pretty cool ...but, so what? Where are you going with this, you may ask?

Some of the characters in PacMan are these little blob things that chase PacMan - named Pinky, Blinky, Stinky etc. Blinky is the red blob. Hang in just a little longer . . .

Here at the Lovejoy Inn, we've been serving up alot of strawberries lately - seems like the season in California has begun, and we use them in our yogurt/fruit/granola parfaits. Yesterday we pulled one out that we decided we couldn't serve a guest - and that we didn't want to chop up.

IT WAS THE SPITTING IMAGE OF BLINKY! It was the freakiest little strawberry I've ever seen.

We let the girls inspect it and say how weird it was - then each got to nibble off one of "Blinky's" legs and then he was gone. Thank you for your patience.

Mussel Festival Weekend – March 5, 6 & 7 on Whidbey Island

Next weekend is one of Coupeville’s most Coupeville of festivals – the Penn Cove Mussel Festival. Coupeville is located on the shores of Penn Cove. Mussels grow all over the place in the cove. Mussels are “farmed” in Penn Cove about a mile from the heart of downtown Coupeville. I’ve found myself saying to our guests, “you can’t get a bad mussel in Coupeville.” Honestly, I’ve never had a bad mussel here - mainly because they incredibly fresh – they are harvested daily and delivered to the restaurants daily. Toby’s Tavern probably sells 25 lbs a day on slow days – I can’t imagine in the summer.

I’m not a big mussel guy (or muscle guy), but after living in Coupeville for 12 years and having these fresh ones – I do enjoy them and I suggest you try them if you aren’t sure if you’d like them. For a video story about the mussel fest and Penn Cove Mussels-click here.

So, next weekend is the Mussel Festival – fresh mussels cooked in wondrous ways; mussel chowder competition, mussel art, Mussel Hussel (a scavenger hunt), Mussel Mania antique sale at the Masonic Lodge, live music during the day and music, dancing and more mussels in the beer garden set up by Penn Cove Shellfish. This is really a fun event!

The Lovejoy Inn is in the heart of Mussel Festival. Sit on the front porch and listen to the band in the beer garden. Walk 150 yards to Mussel Headquarters.
We have availability next weekend. Call or email us or make a reservation online and mention “Mussels” and we’ll take 10% of your rate.

Last year, our 7 year old daughter competed in the Mussel Eating Contest – I think she placed 4th and was the crowd favorite. See the video below of this firece little competitor. She’s getting ready for next weekend and plans to go for the gold!

(top photo - mussels on pilings at Coupeville Wharf; photo before mussel eating; our daughter at the end of the table-sizing up the competition, and last pic after eating a pound)

Christmas in Coupeville! Coupeville Greening Parade and Tree lighting!

We live in a very charming small town. Last Saturday was our Christmas Parade – fire trucks, tractors, vintage cars, our little high school marching band, scouts, church groups the Lions club – perfect to start the season. All the historic waterfront merchants stayed open – all decorated with evergreens and lights. The Lovejoy Inn is 60 yards from the parade route. Location, location, location.

Highlight of the parade – councilman Bob Clay on his riding mower lit with Christmas lights. His wife Marilyn, an excellent local realtor, is so proud!

After the parade, the crowds gather in front of the park on Main St., drink hot cider, sing carols and then the countdown to lighting the tree. Our guests from Yachats, OR expected just the tallest evergreen to be lit – they were wowed when the entire park lit up. It is beautiful and fun to have lit each evening during December.

Blogging takes persistence - and not being distracted

whoa - it's foggy this morning....what was I saying...

Hi - I've been bad. Months since my last blog. I make a resolution every few months to really get in there and blog. Here I go again - there will be more posts - fun, interesting, special offers, local finds, local Whidbey Island recommendations, and observations - plus the goings on at the Lovejoy Inn.

School started so we got a little distracted. 3 girls, 2 schools, 3 music lessons, 1 sport, 2 clubs, homework, reading, etc. I know we are in the minority of innkeepers - having children who are still in school. What's great about it is that our girls get to see us at work. And, they are learning about work and will be starting to help around the inn.

We live on "our side." The Lovejoy Inn is the "guest side" of the house. It works out nice - our guests get privacy and don't feel like the middle of our home, and our kids can be kids and not have to tiptoe when they walk through the house. And, we are right in the middle of this super charming town and can walk to the beach.

Another blog tomorrow! I promise.

(top pic - 1st day of school Fall 2009; bottom pic - our girls and friends walking back after digging at the beach)

“24” – Town of Coupeville Style

The following events take place between 3:22 and 4:45pm

3:22pm – Lynda and Mitch notice the asphalt breaking up and water starting to trickle down Grace St. in front of the Lovejoy Inn
3:24pm – Lynda walks to Town Hall and reports what she witnessed to Public Works Director Malcolm Bishop.
3:29pm – A white Ford Ranger pickup drives up and parks in front of the suspect damage to the street. Director Bishop exits the truck and secures the area.
3:33pm – Director Bishop calls for backup from CTU (Coupeville Town Utilities).
3:40pm – Just leaving their previous assignment, the backup arrives and within minutes. Five members of the CTU response team assess the situation.

3:45pm – Agent Walker, oops, I mean Kelly, departs the scene and returns with a large backhoe perfect for the situation.

3:58pm – Excavation team begins. With precision, Kelly controls the backhoe and digs to within inches of the water break. The rest of the team clears the debris.
4:10pm – Suspect leak is located and contained and re-covered.
4:25pm – The mission complete, the CTU team departs for headquarters, ready for what the next 24 hours will hold.
4:35pm – Director Bishop clears the road block, calls all clear, and drives by for one last inspection of another job well done.

Many thanks to the CTU/Town of Coupeville Public Works for their incredible service and expertise – the best on Whidbey Island!

Coupeville Farmer's Market and Cookies!

The Lovejoy Inn is in the perfect location (I know I say that alot). This time the reason is that our weekly farmer's market happens every Saturday about a 1 minute walk away (I can see it from my window as I write this). The Coupeville Farmer's Market has gotten bigger over the years and has now quite a few farmers. Maybe five years ago, not many farmers and more crafts. Now there is an abundance of fresh produce from Whidbey Island organic farms, backyard farms, dairy farms and animal farms.

We get produce from Georgie Smith's Willowood Farm and Rose Hip Farm both here in Coupeville. Bell's Farm has the best strawberries. Mile Post 19 farm has incredible raspberries. Grass fed local beef from 3 Sisters Cattle Co. and fresh butter, cheese and milk from Golden Glen Creamery. There's amazing fresh alaskan salmon-smoked, lox and fresh- pedaled over from Port Townsend, fresh and aromatic kettle corn (our girls favorite), and plants, flowers, more berries, Mr. Mobley's sauces (the tahini is abundantly useful), crafts, artists, and bakers.

Speaking of bakers - today Lynda came back from the market with two cookies-for me. From a baker, new to our market. I had the best cookies I've had in a long time - caramel cream shortbread. Two shortbread with a thick layer of buttery caramel cream filling. Yow! I think I told 6 strangers that they had to get a cookie from the "cookie lady." At the end of the market today, we came home with local onions, greens, potatoes . . . and half a dozen cookies. I love to eat local.

History Invasion

Yesterday at 1:30pm, 5 vehicles and 25 people pulled in front of the Lovejoy Inn. They were not expected.

They knocked on the door and started to come in before we answered. They walked up to the house, looking at every detail, taking pictures, pointing. If I had been alone, I would probably have hid, but since Lynda was here we greeted them.

We soon found out that this was the Vradenburg clan and that their great grandparents were the second owners of our house. Elias and Isabelle Vradenburg came out west to Whidbey Island around 1904 and purchased the house here at 5 NW 8th St. It remained in the family until 1948.

One of Elias and Belle’s grandchildren, now in her 80’s was part of the crowd that visited. Before we knew it there was a swarm of people examining every nook and cranny of the house. Little children we’d never seen before came running down the stairs and out from the back porch. Memories of the dining room, the blackberries, the cistern, and the barn were shared as well as all the collected memories passed down to the great and great great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. They were a lovely bunch of people and so appreciative of the chance to look around the house and the barn. It was obviously very meaningful.

We’re hoping to receive some of the old family photos that show when the Vradenburgs lived here. Here’s the picture from yesterday with all the direct relations sitting on the old porch.

There was another large crowd that never came in – these are the spouses of the Vradenburgs. They tried to remain patient while their loved ones took the tour. We recognized their type right away.
In our family (ie: Lynda’s family – The Austins) the spouses are called “the married into’s” meaning we married into the Austin family. We have developed our own support group and quietly smile as we hear once again the story of Grandpa Roy using his 80 year old wife, Edel, as ballast in the old Ford truck so he could get traction going up the driveway. She fell out at some point, much to Roy’s surprise, but she survived.

Lynda kept saying that what happened today would not be unusual in her family…in fact she remembers traipsing through family homes in Oregon and Minnesota without an invitation or without batting an eye. “It’s just what we do”. I guess the Vradenburgs have some of the same genes and I’m glad they felt as free as the Austin’s to “just drop by”.

Roy & Edel Austin with son Chuck and grandson David