Mea Culpa! ....... I am sorry!

I fooled some people on April Fool’s Day. If you didn’t read the April 1st Doe Bay newsletter, here it is, <<just click. I felt badly when several loyal Doe Bay Fans reacted to the joke by saying that they would not support a place that allowed Sarah Palin to visit. I must say that it made me reflect on tolerance and being open to listening to people with whom we truly, even virulently, disagree. In any event, most people saw the humor in the newsletter and my favorites were people who reacted strongly but then laughed heartily when they understood that it was a ruse. I learned and I laughed and I hope you did both of those as well!

***********************************************

There is so much going on at Doe Bay:

We had a killer Work Weekend. This is a tradition we started 7 years ago as we took over Doe Bay Resort. The property had fallen on what you might call "hard times" but I was sure that “there was a pony in there somewhere.” It was a time when we were buried in projects and our staff was truly overwhelmed. So we invited 40 or 50 friends and family to come up for an Easter party and the small print mentioned that we could work for two days to help us catch up. It involves building cleaning repairing gardening, painting and lots of fun. It was aptly named the Tom Sawyer Weekend and has been an annual tradition.

...

The biggest change this year is that, while the list of projects is still long, we have reached the “Tipping Point.” Pliny Keep and our team are ahead of the game thanks to their hard work and organization and the fact that in the last seven years, we have enjoyed and benefited from the work of over 200 of the greatest employees in the Northwest. I met somebody yesterday at a garage sale here on Orcas who said she used to work for us. She then added that virtually everyone on this side of the island and half the people on the west side have worked at Doe Bay!

The Trees of Doe Bay – We take our trees seriously (at least as seriously as I take anything). We have evaluated all the trees on our property with the expertise of our general manager, Pliny Keep who is a bona fide tree expert and orhardist. In addition we have used the services of one of the finest arborists on the West Coast, Mr. Scott Baker from TreeSolutions. Scott has trimmed and maintained many of the oldest and finest trees on the property with an eye toward safety and sustainability. If you own a tree (or a forest), you should talk to Scott. You may even be able to see him in the tree below on the right.

...

*********************************************

We are updating our domes. Special thanks to Matthew at www. DomeGuys.com. Special thanks to Buckminster Fuller as well!

Why do I love Doe Bay, # 187? I might as well be in Switzerland (without all that neutrality and bank secrecy.) I can walk from Doe Bay and be on mountain trails in about 10 minutes. They go for miles and miles. Because we have the advantage of entering Moran State Park on the South Boundary Trails, it isn’t unusual to hike every day of the week and never encounter another hiker.

Why does everyone else love Doe Bay? Lots of reasons but one is that according to a statewide survey, Doe Bay is among the top three places in the State to rent a cabin. Check it out and don’t forget to read the comments that our voters put in about Doe Bay. http://best.king5.com/doe-bay-resort-and-retreat/biz/133970

*********************************************

I am leaving for Russia in the morning so, even though I have much more to say, I will end it now. Dos Vadanya !

Joe
The Proprietor
Joe@DoeBay.com

Post-script -

Even many of our regular guests don't know about Retreat House so check it out by clicking here. It is one of the best places at Doe Bay because you can gather a group of 5 to 20 in a huge house next to the garden. So, we are offering a Retreat House special –30% discount off any night of the week in April, excluding holidays. (2 night minimum applies). Just mention this newsletter special when you check in.

*********************************************

Thanks for Saying Thanks!

Just before closing on the purchase of Doe Bay, I was in the spa and overheard some disturbing comments about how Doe Bay had gone downhill. These were from some old time guests and several local neighbors. It didn’t scare me away, but it was clear that this was going to be one of the toughest “repair and revive” projects I had ever undertaken. I now can seldom go two days at Doe Bay without a guest raving about how cool it is. Especially the old time guests who came here during good times and bad thank us for bringing it back to life. This weekend, two of my favorite Orcas Islanders shared their unsolicited thoughts. On Thursday night, after an exceptional open mic night, Fabrice said, “Thanks for making this place a home for music.” Then on Friday night, after eating her supper in the café and listening to Anna Cleveland sing, Raenya hugged me and said, “Thanks for making Doe Bay the center of the Universe.” If I had any doubts, they are extinguished!

JOEBay

You are the first to know that the Third Annual Doe Bay Fest is scheduled for the weekend of Friday the 13th of August and Tickets are on sale on May 10th. They are $45.00 but you are the only ones to know that you may buy them in person at Doe Bay for $40.00 and you can do that as soon as you read this. No need to wait. Isn't this just one more reason that you are glad to be a Doe Bay Newsletter Subscriber!

Doe Bay Fest Update!!!
We are rolling forward with Doe Bay Fest. Our Artist Selection Committee was on the site this weekend and the excitement is mounting. It will be a weekend of music, camping, eating, drinking and FUN, in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We are under pressure to grow and we have resisted. The effect of that is that DOE BAY FEST will sell out. I suspect all tickets will be gone in June. Even with the tickets limited, we will charge only $45.00 per ticket for the entire event. (Note – the entire festival grounds will be fenced this year with entry gates. This was largely driven by liquor control regulations. There will be no admission without a ticket and no outside alcohol in the music areas. Thank you for your understanding.)

Read what the world is saying already!!!!

Now 4 months and counting... Sound on the Sound

The Weekly Says.. Doe Bay to Out Sasquatch, Sasquatch!!!

Join us on Facebook...

Also, readers of this newsletter will be the first to be offered Doe Bay Fest tickets. THE FESTIVAL WILL SELL OUT!

Watch for our '10 logo soon!

Artsmith Salon Series is Happening every Monday night!

Experience These Before We Take our Summer Hiatus!

There are only a couple weeks of the Artsmith Salon Series, Monday nights at Doe Bay, left, so come and experience this. We will take June July and August off, returning in September. But the May lineup is great!

May 3 poet and essayist John Olson May 10 father-son poets Willis and Tony Barnstone May 17 poet scholar Paisley Rekdal and Artsmith executive director Jill McCabe Johnson May 24 nonfiction by Latin American journalist John Enders and poet John Sangster.

Writers' open mic every week. Mondays, 7pm, Doe Bay Resort. See you in the wall of mirrors (for which, by the Way, we thank Carl!

Join Artsmith and the Doe Bay Cafe for a weekly Salon series featuring guest writers from around the country. The Cafe features special tapas/small plates and wine specials on these special Monday evenings throughout the winter/spring. Following the guest author, local writers and Doe Bay guests have an opportunity to read their own works each week in a special Writer's Open Mic. All lovers of food, wine and words are welcome! Reading begins at 7pm. Reserve a table for dinner by calling 360-376-8059.

Artsmith Salon Special – Join us for the Salon on Monday evening and stay for FREE! With two paid nights, add on Monday to your stay for FREE!!!

****************************************************************

Another Knockout Meal and a Night of Great Music at the Doe Bay Cafe!

I need to insert this right here because I just came from Friday night dinner at the Doe Bay Café. Veronica’s halibut teriyaki over homemade yaki soba noodles was as good as it gets. The soup was a Caribbean Fish Stew and the rhubarb berry tart was equally incredible. Oops, I got distracted because I meant to tell you about the music. It was typical Friday night at Doe Bay. Lonesome Shack followed a solo set by Anna Cleveland. The Gallus Brothers (minus one… I guess the Gallus brother… or maybe just Mr. Gallus) played a great acoustical set. You can find some videos of the evening on Youtube. Just search for JoeJoeBrother's videos.

****************************************************************

The Sweet Spot yurt at Doe Bay. The yurt is a simple portable structure most often used by nomads in Central Asia. Photo by Kathryn Brady

Thanks to Cameron, we now have beautiful and detailed photos of every place to stay at Doe Bay. Just click on this link to get to the map. Then click on any site and you will see the photos.

CLICK HERE TO SEE

DOE BAY MAP

If you were one of the lucky ones to be at open mic last Thursday at the Doe Bay Cafe, you saw the recently reunited Indian Valley Mile perform

Check it out right here! I was able to bootleg a video out and get it published on youtube before the lawyers could shut it down! Enjoy!

New to the Newsletter? Or just can't get enough, click on the following links to see some of our recent dispatches. Some of the contests in old newsletters are still open and the prizes are piling up, so please take advantage of us

{Click here to read recent newsletters}

Staff Party – We used to have a staff appreciation party in September as the “season” was ending. This year we are solidly booked and will be busy through September and October, so Maureen and I invited the Doe Bay Team to our house for a Thank you in arrears and in advance party. It included prizes as shown above... a Game of Life with real $50. bills!

We barbecued and laughed a lot. A woman I didn’t know approached the front door looking a little lost. I said, “you are in the right place, come in and have a drink and eat with us.” She said, her husband was parking and I said, “no problem, he is in too!” It turns out that her husband was/is David Ossman, one of the Founders of The Firesign Theater. Judith Walcutt and David were a great addition to our party and participated in work weekend and David put on a great show Friday night in the Café!