WELCOME HOME—A napkin named Nelson was accidentally kidnapped from the Deer Harbor Inn on Orcas Island off Washington state. Matt and Ryan Carpenter, co-owners of the restaurant, far left and right, graciously accepted the return of their napkin in June. Lisa Cordes, Jeanne Armstrong and Pam Robertson, in the center, discovered too late that the napkin had stowed away with them after they’d dined at the restaurant last year. Halibut, salmon, Alaskan crab legs, tiger prawns, salad, soup and homemade bread made up a delicious dinner, served familystyle. A group from Thousand Oaks left the Deer Harbor Inn restaurant on Orcas Island so full and happy that nobody noticed one of the diners was still wearing her dinner napkin.

Jeanne Armstrong had tucked her napkin into her slacks to keep it from falling onto the floor. It also kept it nice and snug until she and her traveling companions were far away from the restaurant.

That was April 2009, when Armstrong and her friends Pam Robertson, Peggy Fenger, Deyanne Nesh and Lisa Cordes, all from Thousand Oaks, got together for five days on Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands of Washington state.

The women met 25 years ago through their children. They bonded and have since gathered at least monthly for bunco, a dice game played in rounds. Now that their children have grown up, the women have been traveling together, Nesh said.

The great napkin snatch occurred on the last night of their island stay. They hadn’t noticed the napkin had hitched a ride home with them until they returned to their cabin.

The happy travelers had a good laugh about it and planned to return the napkin the next day before getting on the ferry to begin their journey home. But the crunch to board the ferry didn’t leave them enough time.

By the time they got to the Seattle Airport, the napkin had been named Nelson and had become part of their group.

They decided to keep him as a companion until they returned to the restaurant the following year.

Nelson’s journey continued as he traveled by foot, plane, jeep and motorcycle. His photo was snapped on numerous occasions.

“Some of his adventures included falling in love in Italy; touring Sedona, Ariz., by Jeep; running a marathon in Colorado; and camping in a yurt in Cali- fornia,” Nesh said.

A photo journal of Nelson’s adventures was created and presented to the Deer Harbor Inn owners on June 23 this year, when three of the original travelers returned to Orcas Island.

Nelson and the photo album are now on display at the restaurant.

“We do miss him. We had a good time with him. I know it sounds stupid, but everybody really got into it,” Nesh said.