Vegan Score Reviewed 08.31.11

I am not sure why it took me almost a year to finally visit Someday Farm Vegan Bed & Breakfast up on Whidbey Island. (Well, actually, it's because B&Bs makes me think of dirty lace curtains, flowery old rooms, and bullshitting with strangers in the parlor.)

I had no idea Someday Farm has so many animal friends to get to know, no BS, dirty lace, or dusty rooms in sight, and is run by incredible, dedicated, and genuinely cool vegan proprietors. Had I known what I know now, I would not have delayed one minute in going. So let me tell you about this slice of heaven
First, meet Jill and Dave: vegan for ~11 years, they run Island Recycling in Freeland and collect some of the coolest old metal Americana you've ever seen. Fences practically made of vintage cars and (by my estimation) the worlds largest collection of aluminum coffee pots greet you around every corner. They work hard during the day at the recycling center, own a towing company, and aren't what you might imagine the typical B&B hosts to be. Kind of two of my role models now.

Next, meet the animal friends that fill the farm. Near the entrance you'll find miniature horses living happily with a full sized donkey. Then closer to the house you'll discover a family of miniature donkeys living with goats and sheep, two ducks, and a very noisy gaggle of geese. The donkeys and goats want nothing more in this world than to be pet and loved. The second you go into their yard, they come right up to nuzzle and will poke you if you stop! Then next to that you'll find a hen house full of happy red and white chickens just doing their chicken thing. On the other side of the house you'll see that there is a large rescued bird aviary inside a beautiful, bountiful vegetable garden with three bunnies living below the birds. And if you hear barking, that would be the two adopted chihuahua sized pooches that live with Jill and Dave and their three cats in their house.
With that many animals around, who has time to think about going inside? Well, once you do, the B&B is more of a private apartment, completely separate from Jill and Dave's house. The room has a huge kitchen stocked with vintage dishes, spices, home made teas, and vegan goodies in the fridge. You'll also find a giant bed and comfy living room, with a TV for watching movies, and wi-fi for computing (who doesn't love to compute)? The whole place is carefully designed - from custom wood carvings, to a retro phone for calling Jill and Dave up at their house, to the beautiful windows that open up on one side to view the garden and the other side to view the animals. I spent an hour just looking over Jill's collections on the shelves and the amazing library of used (almost recycled) books. There are slippers for wearing around the house (so you don't bring animal poo in on your shoes) and binoculars hanging in the mud room so you can view the farm from above.
Once you leave the apartment again, there is a trail walk around the whole farm that goes between the natural wetlands and the forest, with another walking trail that will take you to a swimming lake beach. And if you decide to leave the farm, there is plenty to do in Langley just 20 minutes away, including wicked rad record shopping at Good Cheer Thrift store and super yummy vegan wraps and bowls at Living Green Natural Food and Apothecary. There is a great market in Langley with tons of vegan, natural, and organic food - and Jill let us pick extra green beans she had growing in the garden to cook up dinner.
Oh wait! I almost forgot about the 'breakfast' part of the Vegan Bed and Breakfast. Jill made us a FEAST of goodness. Two kinds of muffins, fresh cut mango with lime, roasted root veggies, and an entire mushroom and broccoli quiche. We made a hot pot of coffee and stuffed ourselves before heading out to spend a few more hours with the animals. (Check out isn't until noon!)