My Weekly Valley Pick – Favorite Place To Take Away My Gray Winter Blahs

My answer?  Secret Sun Tanning Salon.  Yes, in a time when tanning gets bad press I am saying it out loud.  At times I go tanning.  Washington winters are long and gray.  Stretches of sunny weather are far and few between – from around November through March.  At a certain point “gray day monotony” drives me crazy.  I believe my body needs UV rays – even if it’s in artificial form.  So in moderation, I go tanning.  I am guessing there are more of you out there like me?  Raise your hand if you are a closet tanner!

I have also battled low vitamin D levels for the last couple years.  My aunt is a breast cancer survivor and was a nurse for 30 years.  She’s told me of vitamin D’s importance to my body – and the lack of it correlating to high breast cancer rates in our state.   Even my own doctor says 15 – 20 minutes of summer sun before lathering on the sunscreen – so your body gets the vitamin D but isn’t put at serious skin cancer risk by burning.   A healthy medium I like to call it.

In the winter around here that a healthy medium is hard to find.  If we’re lucky and the sun shines, our distance from the it makes it that much harder to absorb the vitamins.  So I tan moderately.  Don’t worry, I still use sunscreen on my face.  No lady wants to wrinkle early!  Remember, I said “moderate.”  Even Oprah’s magazine now touts the importance of vitamin D to our bodies.   Its benefits include cancer prevention, depression fighter and strong bones.

One of my favorite businesses has become Secret Sun Tanning – and my vitamin D high!   The owner, Erik, is fabulous and friendly.  The interior is stylish and inviting – making it clear Erik takes pride in his business.  It’s a comfortable place to enter – especially when Henry the dog greets you.  And in my opinion, Secret Sun has just about the best retail bathroom around.  Multiple framed photos of bathroom-related images cover the walls.  Everything from old outhouse photos to toilet paper rolls to good old toilet photos.  This may sound strange because it’s a bathroom, but it’s really stylish.  You need to see it to believe it.  Erik designed it himself.

The salon has three levels of tanning beds.  I use the higher-end bed with less burning rays which you stay in for a short time.   There’s also spray tans.  Haven’t tried them, but have heard good things.  And believe it or not, you can get your teeth whitened, too.

So when the short, gray days of winter get to me, I head to my favorite “let’s pretend we’re in the tropics place,” Secret Sun.  Thanks to Erik for keeping my D levels and winter moods up and adding a very cool business to the Ridge!