We first discovered Samish Island and the little stone cottage on a Sunday drive in 2001. At that time the cottage was almost hidden by towering old growth firs. But it had a fairytale quality that captured our hearts.
A few years later we saw a “For Sale” sign out front which totally fueled our imaginations! We had just finished building a new home in the Skagit Valley. It seemed crazy to think about another move, especially to a tiny primitive cottage.
The following summer on a motorcycle trip to the California coast, as we wound along the highway past the cliffside homes of Carmel, a strong feeling swept over me and I said to Dave, “we’re going to go back and buy that little stone cottage!” He just smiled and nodded:) Life was busy and the impulse was soon forgotten.
Weeks later, and totally by chance we heard that the cottage had not sold the previous year, and that it had been off the market ever since. We decided to take a huge leap and called our real estate agent.
There was no sign posted out front yet, but renewed interest and several offers to purchase. Somehow, with perseverance, many prayers, (and possibly a little magic,) it became ours! We later learned that the former owner had signed the new listing agreement the very same day we were riding down the California coast.
There is a photograph in the cottage bookcase that I’d found in an old family album before we moved here. It’s of my grandmother Alice and her sisters in white Sunday dresses in the summer of 1914. The caption below the photo read, “Before the hike on Samish Island”. The setting is on a grassy bank about 100 yards from where the cottage stands now, long before there were any roads or houses on this part of the island. We didn’t recognize the exact location until after we moved here.
The cottage restoration was truly a labor of love and a result of our years together as a design-build team. Our desire was to honor its history, yet make everything fresh and new and comfortable enough to live in while we built another house on the two-acre property to hold us and all of our stuff!
Since 2009, we have enjoyed sharing it with travelers from near and far. We hope you will experience the same sense of magic about this place that we do. We hope that the awesome views, closeness to nature and quiet seclusion will bring you peace to last well beyond your stay.
Warm wishes from your hosts,
Debbie & Dave