Quiet

Just a quick note from a worn and faded wooden deck that overlooks Cascade Bay, a marina of quiet boats, and a mansion that's well over a century old. Early morning fog blankets the horizon.

Earlier, a deer picked his way through a blackberry bush on the hillside below me. We're wrapping up our time here on the island -- about an hour away from breakfast, maybe five hours from the ferry's departure -- and while it's been extremely enjoyable (if not a little too damp) there's some unfortunate news associated with where we've been staying for the past couple of days.

The venerable Rosario Resort and Spa on Orcas Island will close Oct. 20, three weeks after it is scheduled to be sold at auction. What happens to the resort's 195 workers after that is very much up in the air.

The resort's present owner, Olympus Real Estate Partners, of Dallas, has filed a formal notice with the state Employment Security Department that Rosario's work force would be permanently laid off as of that date.

Seattle Times