Fridays Island Hotel will reopen this spring with a fresh look and cool new amenities. We are looking for an experienced, energetic, self-motivated individual to run the place, supervise staff and coordinate with the owners. This position requires a fierce commitment to outstanding customer experiences, impeccable attention to detail and a superb eye for the big picture. Friday’s will reopen as one of the preeminent lodging establishments in the San Juan Islands, and we are looking for a personality that can “represent .” Competitive compensation and benefits based on experience. Please email resume and cover letter to adam@friday-harbor.com.

I got online today and offset a years worth of hotel emissions at Carbonfund.org. It’s always best to eliminate your impact first, but carbon offsetting is a great way to get a jump on shrinking your carbon footprint, and it’s easy. Essentially, you estimate the carbon impact of any endeavor you have not yet learned to eliminate, then make a tax-deductible contribution to fund an equal amount of some carbon-reducing endeavor like reforestation or zero-emission energy projects.

I hope to work with Carbonfund to create an interface that will allow you to accurately estimate the carbon impact of your specific travels and help you discover ways to first minimize your travel emissions, then offset the balance and create a 100% carbon-neutral vacation.  At ELEMENTS hotel & spa we believe that the low-impact sharing of pristine places with visitors from all over the world fosters a preservation instinct that can help save the world.  Offsetting your travel carbons is just another way of expressing this instinct. Peace.

San Juan Island is a far off the mainstream as it is off the mainland; not so far that it feels like a different planet, just far enough that is feels like a different country. Chef Madden’s creative menus are a case in point at Steps Wine Bar and Cafe. If you’re coming out to the island this turkey day, you’re in for a real treat at Steps.

In other island foodie news, Chef Gretchen Allison of Duck Soup Inn is getting ready to launch her winter cooking classes. Her joint is closed for the winter, so this is a great way to sample some of the things she has on her mind.

What we said to each other through January 08.