AndyO Blog

I actually woke up before 10:00 a.m., which is a record for me on the weekend. In fact, we were out the door and sitting in Mia's Cafe in Eastsound before 10:00. The food was excellent, made with top-quality ingredients and imagination.

After breakfast, I headed to Darvill's bookstore and Brenda went to Moon Glow arts and crafts. It was such a luxury to be able to browse a bookstore without kids. However, unlike some of the smaller "Independent" bookstores that I love so much -- like Cannon Beach Books -- Darvill's didn't seem to have the selection of books that a smaller bookstore can really highlight -- or at least not ones I was interested in.

The two books I was looking for weren't there, and the person working at the front didn't really want to help me look (she was distracted by a family situation, which I totally understand). I still ended up buying three books.

After that, we wandered around the shops in Eastsound. One of the galleries had the most realistic dolls I'd ever seen -- bordering on creepy.

There was also a farmer's market going on that day, with arts, crafts, and food, but we didn't have an appetite for any of it having just eaten breakfast. Still, it was fun to look (and smell).

The real destination for us that morning was Orcas Island Pottery, a short drive from Eastsound, and one of Brenda's favorite shops in the entire world.

Orcas Island Pottery has a vibe all its own, with pottery placed throughout the property, as well as in a few rooms.

One side of the property has a spectacular view across the water to Waldron Island.

In the main house, I found the nicest cat. I wasn't sure if he wanted to be petted, but his loud purring telling me to just go ahead. 

Something new at Orcas Island Pottery was the best tree house I'd ever seen. Just look at the way this thing is constructed. Inside there was a playroom for kids, with a play oven and kitchen. There was another room above this one that I didn't look in.

Brenda was debating whether she should replace a set of beautiful blue bowls which had broken over time with new ones. I told her to do it. The bowls ended up being designed by the owner of Orcas Island Pottery.

Hanging out

After our shopping expedition, Brenda went off to a kayak excursion, and I lay around in peaceful bliss. I know that it might not sound that exciting, but reading, working on the computer, and admiring the view was the best thing I could do at that time. I think Brenda felt the same way about what she was doing.

Olga Cafe

For dinner, we went to the famous Olga Cafe in, you guessed it, the town of Olga. Our server was a spirited young woman, who had a lot of tables but seemed to be doing fine.

I ordered steak, and Brenda ordered Chicken Marsalis.

One thing I considered ordering was the famous cashew nut and chicken salad sandwich. But they were out of it. Actually, they seemed to be out of a lot of things. We heard people asking about certain items, and the server would say, "Sorry, we're out of that."

Fortunately, the steak was good. As was the pie.

Unavoidable Eavesdropping

That night, I was back on the computer, and Brenda was working on home made jewelry. As we relaxed, we couldn't help overhearing the conversation the people were having on the deck above us. It seemed like such a banal conversation for two people who were sharing a hotel room -- the kinds of things you think you'd already know.

We heard all about his college. And more about his college (he really liked it, I guess). I could only make out words here and there, and we finally closed our sliding glass door so we didn't have to hear any more about his school.

Brenda said something to the effect of, "Just go ahead and do it already!" as if all this talk about his school was some kind of foreplay.

And if you're wondering, curious reader, we didn't hear anything upstairs after they shut their door and went to bed.

Labels: Orcas Island, Travels, Vacation, Washington State

After eating dinner, we walked over and toured Rosario mansion, which has a fascinating story. The mansion was built by a man named Robert Moran as his retirement home. Before that, Robert Moran had been one of Seattle's great industrialists.

Robert Moran - Shipbuilder, Mayor, Businessman

In 1875, Moran came to Seattle by way of New York City, with only 10 cents in his pocket. Soon he found a job as a ship's engineer, and through hard work built a marine repair business on the Seattle wharf with his brothers.

Moran also experienced success in politics, becoming mayor of Seattle in 1888. In 1889, with just a month left in his mayoral term (mayors served only one year at this time), the "Great Seattle Fire" destroyed much of Seattle's downtown business district. Moran's leadership helped Seattle recover -- and even prosper -- from the disaster and helped win his re-election. A sign in the mansion reads, "Over a six-month period after the fire, with businesses operating out of tents, the population of Seattle doubled."

The fire had also destroyed Moran's own company, but he used it as an opportunity to move his business location. The Moran Brothers were back in business quickly and helped in the rebuilding of Seattle.

In the mid-1890s, the Moran Brothers branched out into shipbuilding, and built many ships for the Klondike Gold Rush. But their greatest achievement was the U.S.S. Nebraska, the flagship of the U.S. Navy's "Great White Fleet."

All the years of hard work and stress took their toll, and Moran collapsed from exhaustion. The prognosis wasn't good. He was told by his doctors he only had a year or so to live. Hearing this news, he sold his ship building company and retired to Orcas Island.

This is when Moran's true life's work began. He would live not one or two more years -- but another 38, defying his doctors' predictions. (If he'd kept running his shipbuilding company, he probably would have proved his doctors right.)

A new beginning

When Moran arrived on Orcas Island, he set out to build a mansion equal to any ship he'd ever built. The design of the mansion was based on The Arts and Crafts movement, which, according to the Rosario Resort website:

… had emerged as a revolt to the industrial revolution from a humanist perspective. The shift of labor from man to machine had robbed craftsmen of the pleasure of seeing their work through from conception to completion, as the traditional values of quality and beauty were being replaced by economy and profit.    

Walking through the second floor, and the spa downstairs, reminded me of pictures I'd seen of the Titanic's interior -- with all the beautiful woodwork, stained glass, and attention to detail.

Again, from the Rosario website:

Moran's dedication to the Arts and Crafts mindset is evident throughout the mansion with its rich mahogany paneling, earthen tone tiles, stain glass lighting, and unique fireplace hearths. Centerpiece of the mansion is the Music Room, featuring a two story 1913 Aeolian pipe organ, 1900 Steinway grand piano, a Belgian stain-glass window picturing the harbor at Antwerp, and two mezzanine libraries overlooking a Tiffany chandelier, which depicts various performing arts.

As I walked through the rooms, I could feel Moran's presence everywhere. Here was a man dreamed big, who cared about every detail -- and who obviously spared no expense.

Panoramic view of the music room:

Panoramic view from the piano, looking back:

Close-up of the stained glass in the music room depicting the harbor in Antwerp, Belgium:

Close up of tile work above the mantle depicting sailing ships:

I even read that Moran designed and built a new hinge for the doors that wouldn't squeak. I tried a few of them, and they still worked without a sound.

After we returned to our room, I looked across the bay to the mansion; I was eerily reminded of the Titanic plying the Atlantic waters on that calm night long ago. While the Titanic, as well as the ships that Moran built, was gone, the Rosario Mansion remains.

For more about Robert Moran, see the following links, which I used to write this entry:

Rosario Resort website

Wikipedia Article on Robert Moran

Washington State History: a biographical sketch of Robert Moran

Labels: History, Orcas Island, Travels, Vacation, Washington State