Do you need a lift? There’s a new option for those living on Vashon. A decade-plus employee of Washington State has recently left his job and moved onto Vashon to help his ailing mother. Meet Jonathan, who’s decided to also start a business providing taxi-type services to Islanders. The cost? On-Island trips are between $15…
By Andy Valencia After the night of packing, the car was already racing along as the first rays of sun woke Tom up. They were going very fast, and there were countless cars around them. As Tom watched the world go by, he wondered Just how big IS the world? The answer was: very, very…
By Andy Valencia Tom woke on the second day and got busy fortifying his position. He looked at how much energy and materials remained, and decided to push his shoot up just a bit more, and then thicken the stalk to make it stronger. If it snapped off, he didn’t have enough energy left over…
By Andy Valencia There is a weed named Tomtomtidimiddletom who lives on our property. How did he get that name? That’s a long story, and won’t fit here. But he – and all his friends – shortened the name to “Tom.” But having a name, and a shortened name, is not what makes Tom amazing….
By Andy Valencia Unless otherwise noted, all photos courtesy of CAL FIRE I was in Cafe Luna and overhead a discussion about prison inmates being forced into firefighting in California. It’s a small world, as I have a nephew – I’ll call him “Ben” because that’s his name – who was in the California state…
This might seem like a charming local story: Vashon has a practitioner whose advanced studies in psychiatric nursing are a great benefit to Islanders. But the old saying, “if you want to change the world, start locally” could not be more applicable. Just recently, Dr. Marli Parobek APRN DNP FNP PMHNP, was recognized by her…
Vashon Island, WA Weslie Rodgers, maker of smile dispensers Weslie Ann Rodgers passed away on June 23rd, 2025. Perhaps best known for her “Please do not eat animal” sign campaign, her touch can be found almost anywhere you look on Vashon. She and her husband Saul first reached Vashon in 1979, and have been permanent…
By Andy Valencia What happens when a place to digitally detox meets a museum? That would be a great description of the Den of Pin, the latest Vashon hangout. Pay a small cover charge, then step away from the relentless world of 5G, AI, and social media. In their place, enjoy playing vintage pinball machines….
By Andy Valencia Some wonders of Vashon keep forever, like KVI beach. Others come and go – I still mourn what’s left of the original bike in the tree. Have you seen one of our newer attractions? The Door Fence is located in the alley running alongside “The Village Green” right in Uptown Vashon. And…
By Andy Valencia The Russia-Ukraine war has touched millions of lives. Who can make sense of lives being disrupted at such a scale? But the Loop had an opportunity to interview a remarkable young woman from Ukraine who literally heard the first shots of the war. Currently living on Vashon, she gave us a peek…