Retreats in Washington State

The following isn’t included in the cost of the retreat:

• Airfare
• Transportation to and from Skagit Valley
• Transport between activities (we can help set up carpools)
• Travel or medical insurance (recommended)
• Any additional food or drinks you decide to purchase
• Any souvenirs or gifts you’d like to bring home

The cost included accommodations for 2 nights, all meals, and all planned activities.

The Skagit Valley is in an area of Washington state about 1.5 hours north of Seattle and about 1.5 hours south of Vancouver, BC. It’s made up of a bunch of small towns. Our home base will be the Katy’s Inn Bed & Breakfast in La Connor, WA, which you can plug into Google Maps to get directions.

We’ll meet at the Katy’s Inn Bed & Breakfast in La Connor, WA on Friday. Check-in is at 4 pm, but you can arrive anytime after that. If you’d like to attend the kickoff dinner, we’ll meet in Katy’s Inn’s living room at 6:30 pm.

For the most part, yes. We can make accommodations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you give us at least 2 weeks notice. However, the activities on this retreat in Washington state will include oysters, grains, and other ingredients typically found in beer, cider, and wine. Accommodations can’t be made in these cases, so please ensure you can eat these items or are ok not partaking in tastings. No discounts or refunds are provided if you decide to skip any of the tastings or meals during the group retreat.

No. You are responsible for getting to the group retreat in Washington state’s Skagit Valley and for all transportation between activities. Since this is a rural part of Washington state, a car is required. I can help arrange carpools with other guests. Just let me know when you register!

Yes. Katy’s Inn Bed & Breakfast has ample off-street parking. Most of the activities do as well, but there may be a few stops with limited street parking.

This group retreat in Washington state doesn’t require any advanced athletic or endurance abilities. However, there can be a fair amount of walking on mostly flat roads and surfaces. For example, we’ll drive ourselves between activities, but some of us may choose to walk to the restaurants that are within a 1/2 mile of the bed and breakfast. In addition, tours will require standing for up to about an hour and may include walking on uneven surfaces (such as in the case of the oyster farm).

There are stairs leading up to the bed and breakfast and most of the rooms require stairs to access. However, there is a 3-person bedroom on the main floor that only has one step to enter. People with a wheelchair can use this room, but it requires leaving the chair to get over this step and to enter the bathroom because of a tight corner.

Please contact me if you have additional questions or require physical assistance. I’ll do my best to accommodate!

The Katy’s Inn has 4 rooms, all with their own private bathrooms. Most of the rooms have the bathroom inside the room, but the Rose Room has its bathroom down the hall. We’ll have the whole bed and breakfast to ourselves during this group retreat, but the guest rooms don’t have locks. While La Connor is a quiet neighborhood and the inn will be locked when we’re out and in the evenings, to be safe, I encourage you to leave valuables at home.

Here is more information about each room, including the bed configuration:

• Captain’s Suite – Sleeps 3 with a queen bed & single bed
  The Captain’s Room is located on the main floor with a private entrance and views of the expansive gardens from its porch. Entering from the main floor dining room, the hallway leads to a queen-sized brass bed, day bed, spacious seating area, private bathroom with tub/shower, television, and porcelain gas stove.
• Garden Suite – Sleeps 4 with a queen bed, single bed, & trundle
  The Garden Suite is located on the second floor and features two rooms with lovely views of the Swinomish Channel, the hills, and the surrounding neighborhood. A small entryway leads to a sitting room to your left with a trundle bed and porcelain gas stove. The sitting room sleeps two and the French doors open to the wrap-around balcony. The second room to the right of the entrance features a queen-sized bed with two sets of French doors leading to the wrap-around balcony where you will find seating to enjoy the afternoon breeze and evening sunsets. The private bathroom with shower is located in the room to the right of the entrance.
• Rose Room – Sleeps 2 with a queen bed
  The Rose Room is located on the second floor at the top of the stairs. This bedroom features a queen-size sleigh bed, beautiful armoire, and electric fireplace. Two sets of French doors open to the wrap-around balcony where you will find seating to enjoy the views of the neighborhood and local tree-lined hills. The private bathroom is located just down the hall and features a claw-foot soaking tub with shower, and a high-tank water closet.
• Lilac Room – Sleeps 2 with a queen bed
  The Lilac Room is located on the second floor and comfortably sleeps two guests. This room features a large entry way, gabled ceiling, a queen-sized four posted bed, and armoire. This quiet room, perfect for long afternoon naps, has views of the tree tops. A private door opens to the wrap-around balcony with seating and access to the waterfront views. The bathroom is located in the room with pedestal sink and shower.

I can try to make accommodations for specific room requests, but I can’t guarantee you’ll get the room you’d like because the final room assignment will be based on our group’s needs.

Katy’s Inn Bed & Breakfast provides the following amenities: off-street parking, wifi, bedding, towels, hairdryers, and toiletries. They also provide a 2-course breakfast each morning, including goodies like scones, fruit, eggs, potatoes, and more. They can accommodate dietary restrictions, too!

Unfortunately, no. Due to the nature of the activities we’ll be doing on this tour, people under 21 years old are not permitted on this retreat in Washington state.

Unfortunately, no. However, please contact me if you need to make arrangements for service animals.

Fall and spring have cooler weather, more clouds, and possible rain to the Skagit Valley. For example, temperatures can still be in the low 60s in October, but can go as low as the low 40s at night. Spring is similar with more rain.

The summer is typically mild with little rain. Temperatures in the 70s to low 80s are common, with temperatures around the 50s at night.

Since we'll be traveling in the spring or fall, I encourage you to bring layers, including a rain coat. You’ll especially want rain boots or shoes you don’t mind getting dirty for the oyster farm.

You can cancel your trip within 7 days of purchase. After that, your payment is non-refundable. However, you can find someone to replace you or get a credit for a future retreat. Read the retreat terms & conditions for more information.

Plan to arrive by 6:30 pm on Friday if you’d like to attend the kickoff dinner. Otherwise, anytime after 4 pm that day works.

Plan to leave Sunday evening. We have programming planned until about 6 pm that night. Unfortunately I can’t provide discounts or refunds if you can’t make the whole retreat or some activities.

For privacy reasons, I can’t provide you advance details on your travel companions. However, my retreats appeal to a wide range of travelers, most of whom share an adventurous spirit and love food. I plan to create a Facebook group for attendees a few weeks before the trip. If you’re interested in meeting others, I invite you to introduce yourself to the group there.

Yes! If you’ll be departing and/or returning to Seattle, I offer self-guided food tours you may be interested in. I also offer custom travel planning services starting at $250. Contact me to learn more about how I can help make the most of your travels to this group retreat in Washington state!

See the full terms & conditions here. Here’s an abridged version you’ll need to accept in order to register for this Washington state retreat

Payment Policy

All prices on EP’s website are listed per person in USD. Your spot on the retreat isn’t reserved until your registration is confirmed.

If you register before the early bird end date, a minimum deposit per person is required to reserve your spot. The remaining balance will be due on the early bird end date. If you register after this date, full payment is due at registration to reserve your spot.

If you don’t pay the remaining balance by the early bird end date, EP reserves the right to release your spot. If you haven’t completed payment, you’ll received email reminders before and when final payment is due. If you don’t submit full payment, cancel your registration, or respond to EP’s communication, EP has the right to release your spot to other guests. In the case that your spot was given to another guest, you will no longer be entitled to attend the retreat or receive a refund.

Cancellation Policy

Purchaser’s right to cancel: You may cancel your retreat registration without any cancellation fee or other penalty by sending an email within 7 days of registering. The notice must be timestamped in EP’s inbox by midnight PST of the 7th calendar day following the day on which you register for a retreat or the day an email confirming your registration is received by you, whichever is later. Cancellations are effective once EP confirms receiving your email.

After 7 days, you will not get a refund if you need to cancel. However, you’re welcome to find a guest to take your place. If you do this, you’ll be responsible for obtaining payment directly from this individual to cover what you paid for the retreat. If you need to cancel before you complete final payment and you find a guest to take your place, email EP with them CC’ed to discuss transferring your spot.

If you choose not to find a guest to take your spot but still need to cancel, you may receive a non-transferable credit for the amount you paid for a future EP retreat, less the $250 per person deposit, valid for a year after cancellation.

If EP cancels the trip, you will be issued a full refund. EP reserves the right to cancel the retreat or make changes to the retreat itinerary at any time, for any reason. For example, the retreat may be canceled if the minimum number of guests isn’t reached 30 days prior to the trip, or due to unforeseen circumstances, such as severe weather, death, etc.

If EP cancels the trip, you will be issued a full refund. However, you will not be entitled to claim any additional amounts or seek any compensation for any injury, loss, expenses or damage that may result from such cancellation. To protect yourself from this, it’s recommended you avoid purchasing non-refundable travel and/or get travel insurance.

Please make sure you can attend the retreat and have read both this retreat description and the full terms & conditions thoroughly before you register.

If you have any questions, please contact me. You can also look up my business through my seller of travel number: 603-549-254.