suggestions for solo getaway?

[jeliza]

My birthday present for the year is that I get to take off for a few days and go to a spa/art workshop/etc someplace that's fun and where a massive bathtub is available to relax and recharge and get my introvert-artist on. However, I haven't really found any workshops that are matching up well with my inclinations and/or available times to be away.

My restrictions:

• Within a 4 hour drive of Seattle, 5 maybe. Probably not much south or Portland or north of Vancouver/Victoria


• Soaking-class bathtub required (not necessarily jetted, just deep, hot tub is acceptable substitute) which probably means bnb or vrbo, not big chain hotel, and inns quaint enough to be bathroom-down-the-hall are out. (My pinboard for this trip has all the bnbs pinned with their bathroom images, instead of bedrooms or whatever. Priorities.)


• a few fun things to look around at/do that are accessible even if I am having a need-a-cane day -- art galleries, museums, funky artsy neighborhoods, quaint boardwalk, etc.


• Reasonably short distance (driving okay) to some nature I can hang out and sketch in. Forest, beach, etc.


• I like the off-season, but it isn't a deal-breaker; I'd like to go sometime between now and October.


• not Long Beach.

Probably some of these are negotiable if a cool art workshop can be substituted, but .... I'm finding very little that is my cup of tea out there, in the land that is neither Somerset Studio-esque nor Intermediate/Advanced Realistic Painting.

I've already done a bit of looking at Coupeville, Port Townsend, Port Angeles, and Whidbey Island, though most of those becuase of associated art workshops that didn't work out, and a teeeny bit at Portland.

Comments

[boonedog.livejournal.com]

Vashon Island. It's close but it fits all your criteria. The Artists Loft B&B would be perfect. http://vashonbedandbreakfast.com/

Otherwise I'd say Victoria, Canada. Anywhere in Victoria. That's where I want to go for a getaway! (seeing as I live on Vashon it's not a getaway at all for me ... :)

[loree.livejournal.com]

How about Orcas Island? I've stayed at the Outlook Inn in Eastsound a couple of times when Marty's employer did some all-hands meetings up there, and their bayview suites fit the bill. There are artsy shops and several good restaurants there -- I particularly recommend Rose's and Hogstone's. The ferry ride from Anacortes is lovely in winter, so I imagine it's spectacular in the summer. And there's a state park nearby, with a resident flock of swans if I recall correctly.