Carnation Tree Farm

After a long day in the sun on Saturday, Terry and I decided to head home from Monroe along Highway 203 thru Duvall and Carnation and then take highway 18 to 167 to our house. We like the drive thru the small towns and since we had the Jeep, it was nice to not have to drive it on the freeway. I am so glad we decided to take that way home, or we wouldn't have found the little gem I am about to describe.

Okay, let me start at the beginning. After the event and being in the sun for twelve hours, we found a cute Tap Room in Duvall for dinner. We both had a cold beer and some amazing sweet potato fries for an appetizer. Dinner was great as well. Terry said his blue cheese burger was the best he had ever had and I enjoyed the salmon special. We loved the small town charm of the bar and even ran into people from Operation Shore Patrol there. Recently, Terry and I have talked about the joys of moving to a small town and love to stop in them and relax.

So, after ordering, we asked the waitress, Shelly, if there were any lodging options around. We were both tired and the thought of driving just a couple minutes and finding a cute hotel would be better than driving another hour or two to get home. She didn't know anything in Duvall, but said that the owner of the Carnation Tree Farm, Roger, rents out the loft of his barn. She called Roger for us and it was available so we booked it for the night. We just couldn't resist at $65/night and only 10 minutes down the road.

We stopped at Safeway on the way and got some snacks (and aloe for my legs) and then continued the drive to Carnation. The barn was an old three story building and half of the top floor was turned into a cute loft. There was a full size kitchen, sauna, 3 small bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the tree farm. The building had a lot of charm and I know my description and pictures won't do it justice. We were both so excited about finding the place and plan on coming back for another visit. We were able to shower and relax the rest of the night, and didn't feel rushed to leave in the morning. We did head out slightly early to make church, but felt like we were able to take our time and enjoy the morning as well. It was such a unique place to spend the night and I am so glad we found it!