It all began last April, when five friends – Pam, Peggy, Deyanne, Jeanne and Lisa – from Thousand Oaks, Calif got together for five days on Orcas Island.

It was the last night of their stay on the island and they decided to have dinner at the Deer Harbor Inn. After their meal, Jeanne inadvertently left the restaurant with one of their cloth napkins tucked in her slacks. Upon arrival back at their cabin, the stowaway was discovered. The girls laughed and vowed to return the napkin the next day before getting on the ferry.

As fate would have it, in their haste to get to the ferry on time, the napkin was not returned. Once at the Seattle Airport, the napkin was named Nelson and it was decided that he would be given back the following year, when the girls returned to Orcas Island. In the meantime, “Nelson the Napkin” would travel with the girls. Numerous pictures were taken as he traveled by foot, plane, jeep and motorcycle. 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 California.

So a photo journal of all of Nelson’s adventures was created. On June 23, 2010, three of the original five girls returned to Orcas Island to bring Nelson back to his home at the Deer Harbor Inn. To the surprise of the proprietors, Matt and Ryan Carpenter, Nelson was returned along with a photo journal of his adventures, which is now on display at the restaurant.

Matt and Ryan enthusiastically welcomed him back to the fold. However, as in life, not every story has a fairy tale ending.After a year of being absent, Nelson found he was orphaned – his entire family was turned into rags. A new napkin family is now adorning the tables at the Deer Harbor Inn.

Still, Nelson’s story does have a happy ending. Today, instead of sitting at a table waiting for the next customer to use him, Nelson sits at his own designated area ready to share his story and photo album with all the patrons of the Deer Harbor Inn.