Spring is HERE!

The tulips are gorgeous this year at Willowbrook Manor.

Mom and Me ~

For those of you who are new to The Willowbrook Word, I’m Terry, owner and caretaker of Willowbrook Manor English Teahouse and Farm Stay. My mother, author Liz Adair, lives here as well. Mom has her own corner of this newsletter. We always have a giveaway, so make sure to read to the end. (If any pictures are sideways, click on the link at the top to view in your browser.)

Red Falcon Road is Launching!

Mom and I have been busy creating Red Falcon Road, a YouTube channel that showcases the small businesses and destinations that make Skagit Valley a wonderful place to visit.

We are going to have a launch party! I would love for you to come and celebrate the debut of Red Falcon Road. I will tell you where and when in a minute. But first, here are the businesses we are featuring at the launch party:

• From Concrete: Sauk Mountain Pottery, Ovenell’s Heritage Inn, and 5B’s Bakery
• From Sedro Woolley: Shelly’s Shack, Skagit Burgers, and Willowbrook Manor
• From Burlington: Azusa Garden Center, Cocusa Motel, and Tacos Tecalitlan

Celebrating at Concrete!

The launch will be held at the historic Concrete Theatre on Thursday, May 29th at 7:00 PM. Seating is limited so get your tickets early.

There will be prizes for the best-dressed Red-Falcon-Roaders, so come dressed in your best ’60s attire. We will take pictures of you in front of the Falcon to remember when my little old mom and I debuted our tourism videos! (Gotta love it.)

What’s New At Willowbrook ~

Mom is sporting a sweet new ride! She and I went in together to purchase an E-trike for her. It is such a feel-good thing that she can join me on my walks down the Cascade Trail. My lovely sister Ruth came for a visit and agreed that Squidge makes the best bike-basket-hood-ornament.

On the topic of bike rides. . . I have some big news.

Tea and Tour is moving!

Since 2018 I have been hosting Tea and Tour. This consists of summer bike rides along the Cascade Trail, beginning with tea and scones under the tea tent. However, you might remember that last fall I wrote that I was selling my bike tour business. There were lots of good reasons to sell, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized a better solution would be to move the bike tours to downtown Sedro Woolley!

Announcing the Woolley to Willowbrook Bike Ride ~

There is a vacant lot in downtown Sedro Woolley where the Video West store was before it burnt down. Each Friday and Saturday this summer, that lot will be graced with a Willowbrook tea tent and twenty-four bikes. The Woolley to Willowbrook Bike Ride will begin there and includes a picnic basket of tea and scones. This tour takes you four and a half miles down the Cascade Trail to Willowbrook Manor. It is a scenic (and flat) gravel path that goes through forest and farmland, with quaint bridges that go over salmon spawning creeks. In other words, it is good for the soul.

When you reach Willowbrook, you can park your bike and wander the gardens and grounds. Many guests commune with the chickens and then open picnic baskets to enjoy tea and scones (unless they were devoured on the way). The Woolley to Willowbrook Bike Ride is 9 miles round trip. It makes for a wonderful summer morning experience.

Add-On: Lyman Lunch History Ride ~

You can make it a day by adding the Lyman Lunch History Tour. This additional four miles to the Lyman Tavern offers spectacular views and fascinating history. Lunch is included in the price of the tour. E-bikes are strongly encouraged because the Lyman Lunch add on makes the day a 17-mile bike tour.

The Chicken Condo!

Jim, (on the right) took three days off work to make sure our chickens could move out of their brooding pen and into our super-groovy chicken coop (click HERE to read the story). He invited Mike (our dear in-law) to participate. It was SO exciting to watch our chicken run and chicken coop come to fruition.

The chickens are nestled in the orchard, an easy walk for mom and a nice way for me to keep tabs on them from the front door of the manor. They are a popular attraction for guests who come for tea. I put seating out there for chicken watchers.

A Month of Tea and Tulips ~

This year I added seating in the English Thyme Room on the second floor of the manor. The views are spectacular; the ambiance is warm and inviting. My long-time friend Sue brought her long-time friend for tea. We reminisced about my family’s journey on the property, from camping in a tent trailer while building the garage, then living in the garage while we built the manor.

How I relish welcoming guests into my home for a high tea experience.

Time for Liz ~

This is where I turn the pen over to my mom, author Liz Adair.

Liz Sez:

I got my first bike when I was eight years old. We were living in Riverton, Wyoming, a sleepy little town where people didn’t lock their houses or their garages. That made it simple, one summer day, for my brother Ron and I to cadge our friends’ bikes and go riding around the neighborhood. I still remember, our reasoning: After all, they let us borrow the bikes when they’re home. Why wouldn’t they let us borrow them when they’re not home? Mother was appalled when she found out what we had done.

She realized that it would curb our larcenous tendencies if we had bikes of our own, so Ron got a bike for his birthday at the end of July. They were going to try to wait until my birthday in November to get me a bike, but I, uncurbed, kept taking Ron’s without permission. They finally bought me my own just to keep peace.

It was a blue Schwin girl’s bike, which nowadays would be called a “step-through.” A boy’s version—with the cross bar—was tough to ride in a dress. At that time females, large or small, seldom wore pants, even for leisure or play.

The bikes traveled up the Alcan Highway to Alaska with us, strapped to the top of a 1949 Hudson Commadore. Ron and I put hundreds of miles on those single-speed bikes before we outgrew them.

I didn’t get on a bicycle again until I was an empty nester, and Derrill and I began riding for exercise. Zipping down country roads was more fun in the idea than in the reality. Though my bike had fifteen speeds, I never got the hang of shifting at the right time, and I had to exert more energy to make up for lost momentum. I always rode behind Derrill, and I could see his legs working at a constant speed as he scrolled through the gears. When we stopped, he never had to drape himself over his handlebars, gasping for air, the way I did.

After watching a well-muscled, spandexed couple sail by on a tandem bicycle, I developed the theory that this was the answer to our riding inequity. With me seated behind him on the same apparatus, Derrill could operate the gears and provide the majority of the muscle. I would provide some muscle, commentary on the scenery, and the lunches. I could visualize how great we would look pedaling in unison, and I dropped some heavy hints.

What a sweetheart! One day he came home with a tandem bicycle.
I need to say that we had weathered long absences, remodeling a house, tough financial times—all the biggies in relationship issues. But that tandem bike nearly destroyed our union.

True, his operation of the gears was flawless. His muscle contribution was probably about seventy-five percent. The biggest problem was balance. Who is responsible for keeping the bicycle upright? It would frustrate Derrill no end when he would lean into a curve and I, in the back, would lean the other way to right the ship. Also, forget commenting on the scenery. I couldn’t see a thing because of Derrill’s height and broad shoulders. It was very claustrophobic.

We had the tandem about a month before we gave up and passed it on to our son. After that my cycling petered out.

But, I am back in the saddle! Willowbrook sits alongside the Cascade Trail, a repurposed railroad bed. Terry tries to take Penny for a daily walk there, and with my new E-trike I can now accompany them. Sometimes, on tea days, I take the dogs out by myself. Penny runs ahead, and Squidge goes as far as she can and then rides in the rear basket. She’s as old as I am in dog years. There we are, a couple of old ladies tooling along, thinking life is pretty fine.

-Liz

Now for the giveaway!

This Month’s Winners ~

Our four winners of Feeling Good Flower Tea are:

• Natasha G from Salt Lake City, UT
• Debbie H from Burlington, WA
• Treva B from Draper, UT
• Amy J from Sheridan, IN

I always notify the winners before I send out the newsletter, so if your name looks like one of these but you haven’t gotten a notification, then just know that you have a twin in your home town. (It has happened before.) Regardless, keep entering to win. We had a repeat winner once. It’s all a lot of fun!

This Month’s Giveaway ~

Thirty years ago I was a member of a gleaners organization that gathered crops, produce, and baked goods from farmers and food suppliers. It was a wonderful way to cut grocery costs while going to college. These salt and pepper shakers were from a bulk purchase that I participated in way back then. Though I have given them as gifts and as giveaways through my newsletter, I still have a fair amount of them left in a large box. So five lucky winners will receive a vintage set of Ball salt and pepper shakers. Enter for the drawing HERE. Don’t forget to include a little note to let Mom and me know how you are doing. We love hearing from you!

That’s All For This Month ~

A special thank you if you have read to the end. I’m grateful for your support of my newsletter. If you are local, don’t forget to get tickets for the Red Falcon Road launch on May 29th. It’s gonna be SO FUN! (Here’s the link again.)

Sending lots-n-lots-a luv from Skagit Valley (picture from Tulip Valley Farm).
-t

P.S.
Here are a couple more upcoming events at Willowbrook Manor (click on each picture for more information):