About Us ~ Chez Cascadia

About Us

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 holistically connected to the broad and interesting lives of the innkeepers. 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

Current Innkeepers

Aisling has been rocking the Chez scene since January,
and Jacob and David just joined on in June.
Timothy became official starting in July!

Click here for past staff bios.

[This space intentionally left blank] Timothy (mostly)
From July 2009 to Present

Timothy is mostly an innkeeper (mostly) but does other things as well

Jacob Aaron Rosenblum
From Day 1 to Feb 2008, from June 1 2009 to Present (a member of the 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 25 years old, almost always wears a kipah, 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, England, Jordan, Egypt, Uganda, Holland, Germany and Iran. Of all of the things that he likes, he likes people best.

Aisling Badger
From January 2009 to Present

Many years ago, in the middle of a sweltering august night, a hard rain came upon the beautiful state of New Hampshire. A man and a woman, drove along the winding back roads, in a small red Toyota pick up truck. Miss Aisling who was in quite a hurry to get to planet earth, was born, in the deepest part of the woods, in the front seat of the tiny truck. She was birthed to life, and with that kindled a fire. I have a passion for getting my hands in the earth, growing food , and making plant medicine. I enjoy good food, eaten with good people. and particularly enjoy the taste of curry. I like treats, and treats like me. I like to create. I like mad people,..people who are mad to live, and talk, and dance. I am learning to acquire few needs, and enjoy carrying my home on my back through the back woods, and mountain peaks of any place. Adventures and exploration through other cultures, and languages, inspire me to make positive change in my community and others.

david is hot
David Zenaty
From June 2009 to Present

It's a well known fact that most beetles share the planet with other species that are not beetles and I am one of those non-beetle species. I'm of the ilk that invented institutions and robots; which is to say, I am human. I was born in Burlington, Vermont to a Jewish mother from Long Island and a Czech-heritage father from Upstate New York. I identify as a Jew coming out of assimilation into the long-projected promise land (perhaps the present moment), with my freshest human intelligence in-tact. I am a teacher by trade and am currently in the design-stages of building a Jewish intentional community on the west coast with my friend and fellow innkeeper Jacob Rosenblum. And so, the voices are clear. The beetles sing it most clearly. Look out!

The Chez Four

Page updated September 2009.

[This space intentionally left blank]	Timothy (mostly) From July 2009 to Present Timothy is mostly an innkeeper (mostly) but does other things as well
	Jacob Aaron Rosenblum From Day 1 to Feb 2008, from June 1 2009 to Present (a member of the 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 25 years old, almost always wears a kipah, 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, England, Jordan, Egypt, Uganda, Holland, Germany and Iran. Of all of the things that he likes, he likes people best.
	Aisling Badger From January 2009 to Present Many years ago, in the middle of a sweltering august night, a hard rain came upon the beautiful state of New Hampshire. A man and a woman, drove along the winding back roads, in a small red Toyota pick up truck. Miss Aisling who was in quite a hurry to get to planet earth, was born, in the deepest part of the woods, in the front seat of the tiny truck. She was birthed to life, and with that kindled a fire. I have a passion for getting my hands in the earth, growing food , and making plant medicine. I enjoy good food, eaten with good people. and particularly enjoy the taste of curry. I like treats, and treats like me. I like to create. I like mad people,..people who are mad to live, and talk, and dance. I am learning to acquire few needs, and enjoy carrying my home on my back through the back woods, and mountain peaks of any place. Adventures and exploration through other cultures, and languages, inspire me to make positive change in my community and others.
	David Zenaty From June 2009 to Present It's a well known fact that most beetles share the planet with other species that are not beetles and I am one of those non-beetle species. I'm of the ilk that invented institutions and robots; which is to say, I am human. I was born in Burlington, Vermont to a Jewish mother from Long Island and a Czech-heritage father from Upstate New York. I identify as a Jew coming out of assimilation into the long-projected promise land (perhaps the present moment), with my freshest human intelligence in-tact. I am a teacher by trade and am currently in the design-stages of building a Jewish intentional community on the west coast with my friend and fellow innkeeper Jacob Rosenblum. And so, the voices are clear. The beetles sing it most clearly. Look out!