Description, Philosophy and Staff Bios
We are located in Olympia, Washington. We offer comfortable accommodations at affordable rates, catering to travelers, visitors, and students. Chez Cascadia is run out of our home in the Northwest neighborhood. Just two blocks from major bus lines, there is easy walking, biking, and bus access to restaurants, grocery stores (9 blocks from the Olympia Food Co-op-- our favorite place to shop), video stores, bars, the Capitol, The Evergreen State College, and the historic downtown area.
PHILOSOPHY
We at Chez Cascadia feel strongly about the importance of providing accessible, fun, safe and affordable accommodations. Having traveled a fair amount internationally, and truly appreciating the network of hostels and guesthouses that facilitate cross-cultural exploration and the development of a community of passionate and quirky travelers, we are excited about being able to bring that opportunity to the area. We are happy to be filling a niche in the greater Olympia area. Olympia is a wonderful place that we are proud to call our home and we are thrilled to share it through Chez Cascadia with our wide range of guests.
The hostel serves as our home. As well as making logistical sense, this was in part an ideological decision. Based loosely on the kibbutz model, we feel that there is great value added to a commercial enterprise by making it a holistic part of a way of life. We hope that the care and investment that we put into our home is evident in your stay. In turn, we ask that you respect our private space and be mindful of the staff and facilities.
We are firmly committed to supporting and exploring sustainable lifestyles, low-impact building practices, minimizing our use of harmful energy, and using environmentally sensitive products. Our re-model two years ago utilized low-toxicity paints including clay-based interior paints, recycled materials, cotton insulation and cob. We participate in our utility's green power program, so they generate electricity from solar, wind, and biomass energy plants on our behalf.
STAFF BIOS
 |
July 2007-present (a member of the Chez Cartel) Stephanie is not afraid. Each intersection of time and space is pregnant with inspiration and possibility, and everyday she is less hesitant to repose this to whomever will listen. She has exeptional eyesight. She is your friend already. When Stephanie grows up, which may or may not be likely, she wants to be a dandelion that lives in a crack in the sidewalk. I dare you to tell her she can't. |
Past Staffpersons
[Day 1 to Sept 2007] (now part of the Chez Crew and Chez Cartel)
On a crisp Mother's Day night, the pregnant moon high above the tree tops, a slimy and purple child was born. His parents, already with a girl child and living on a small Jewish hippie commune outside of Cottage Grove, Oregon, decided to name him Jonah Roehe Hankin-Rappaport. After a couple of years, the commune dissipated and the Hankin-Rappaports moved into Eugene, the local metropole. It was here that Jonah
was raised, leading a happy childhood of school and sports, friends and
family. In his junior year of high school, Jonah spent a semester in
rural Chile living with a host family, attending the run-down public
high school, improving his Spanish, and opening his eyes to the
infinite possibilities of world travel and independence. After
graduating in 2002, Jonah spent the year traveling across the U.S.,
going to Israel and Mexico, living and working for a period of time in
the San Francisco Bay Area, and anxiously trying to figure out his
life. The next fall he attended Macalester College in St. Paul,
Minnesota, finding inspiration in his art and gender studies classes.
With mixed reviews, Jonah opted to complete the year but wasn't sure he
would return--not quite sold on the whole college thing. After a summer
of carpentry work in Portland, a last-minute decision was made to
attend the wild and radical Evergreen State College here in Olympia.
After two quarters, again with varying levels of satisfaction, Jonah
decided not to enroll for the spring, instead, working as an actor in
town. He then spent the summer in Eugene, working and hanging out and
keeping in touch with his Olympia associate, Jacob Rosenblum. As the
prospect of realizing their vision of an Olympia hostel came within
reach, Jonah returned to Olympia to persue that dream. He has
since been renovating and creating what is now the Chez Cascadia
experience! Thus far, he has thoroughly enjoyed his time as an
innkeeper, he cherishes his companionship with his dog, Kato, and he
has taken it upon himself to indulge his true inner-self as an artist
and craftsman. | April-July 2008 Emma Rose and Lucy the dog moved to Chez Cascadia in the Spring of 2008 after a couple years of traveling and exploring. Emma mostly enjoys digging in the dirt and talking with plants, making and eating food, riding bicycles and fixing cars (or anything else she has learned to fix), dancing in the streets, laughing and being subversive. Lucy likes cuddles and chasing squirrels, eating meat, walking in the woods, and playing with her friends. They would like to welcome you to Olympia. |
 |
[from Day 1 to February 2008] (now part of the Chez Crew and Chez Cartel) Jacob Aaron Rosenblum is a co-founder of Chez Cascadia. He grew up in Portland, OR, and moved to Olympia in September of 2002. He is 24 years old, almost always wears a hat in the winter, likes chess, is a technophile, and is super into being Jewish. He is a proud high school drop-out, attended Evergreen for about a year, and has spent several months in Israel/Palestine. He has been arrested only once, during a demonstration. He fairly regularly gets together with other people to cry and talk about his feelings. In January of 2005, he started Free Geek Olympia. His favorite colors are purple and green. The countries he has been to include: USA, Mexico, Canada, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Israel/Palestine and Jordan. Of all of the things that he likes, he likes people best. |
 |
May-Sept 2006, July 2007- April 2008 (a member of the Chez Cartel) Alexander would like to be your friend. you'll see me often around the cascady. I look forward to your visit. My general ish in life is to make it stellar. |
 | Sept 25, 2006 to March '07, February '07- February '08 (a member of the Chez Cartel) Eden Vardy was born in the quaint town of Tel- Aviv, Israel on January 23, 1776. He spent the first two years of his life picking flowers and trying on women’s clothing. It was evident from day one that one day;;; Eden would have the opportunity to be the caretaker of a youth hostel. He dreamt about it constantly, yearned for the day when he would be old enough to move out and hostelize his life. On September 25, 2006, that dream came true!!! Eden now spends his days writing music about hostel life and is an active participant in deep forest drum circles. Eden enjoys yellow submarines, and sharing experiences about playing backgammon. You might expect to see Eden at Chez Cascadia where he will be happy to be your friend!‽! |
Page updated July 2008.
