Why Even Go Off The Island?

Everything one would ever need seems to be on Vashon Island. The downtown is small but there are a dozen good restaurants, many art galleries, boutiques and shops. One of my favorite stores, The Pharmacy, is a drug store, yes, but so much more! You can purchase greeting cards, Vashon Island tee shirts, hats and hoodies, jewelry, board games, candy and a candy jar to store it. There are note cards, cookware, glasses, scarves, gloves and almost anything you need or want.

We ate several times at The Hardware Store, which USED to be a place to buy nails and hammers but now serves up a great burger and homemade fries, chowders and yummy breakfast. In fact, the pancake (picture shown above) is as big as a dinner plate.

There are antique, book and thrift stores, floral shop, dentist and doctors office, dry cleaners, a yoga center, great grocery stores, gyms and wonderful schools.

There are no hotel or motels on Vashon but there are houses to rent and over a dozen B & Bs and guesthouses.

The opera and stage plays come to Vashon as well as annual festivals, farmers markets, canoe and boating, horseback riding and boarding, swimming and hiking.

About the only big business these days is Pacific Research Laboratories but there are lots of farms producing fresh organic produce, milk and eggs. Most working people commute to either Seattle or Tacoma, Washington which are a short ferry boat ride away.