Probably the most important reason to take one of my tours is the length of time I have been on the island. That, and my fascination with the islands’ history. Check out a few examples below.

Here’s a portrait of me and my old buddy George Vancouver (we went to middle school together.) I was here when he made contact with the island in 1792. In fact, he named the island, not its first name, of course, after his old boss in the Royal Navy, James Vashon.

Here I am with the Grand Army of the Republic reunion picture in 1885. In the late 19th century many Vashon settlers were Civil War veterans. The vast majority fought for the Union. There were a few Confederate veterans on the islands but most “Rebels” tended to aggregate a bit north in Darrington, WA. This photo was supposed to be on our first album cover. We had plans to be Vashon’s first boy band.

No history of the islands would be complete without mentioning the myriad of wildlife that abound on the land and in the sea. Here I am swimming with our resident orcas known as J-pod. Not to be confused with I-pod, which is a whole different deal. Well, if you’ve made it this far, you might wonder how true my tour will be. It will all be true. While I try to make it light-hearted and fun, when it’s over you will leave with a broad knowledge of these gorgeous, unique, and very weird islands.