Sunday 10 Sep - Sequim, WA

Here it is, already 10 September, I have missed 3 days of blogging. You must be wondering what happened.

We had a successful departure from Olympia, WA, i.e., nothing fell off as we were leaving the campground! The drive along the west side (U.S. 101) of the Hood Canal went well even though it is a continuous series of curves and swoops around the various inlets and bays, through small fishing villages clinging to the side of the hill, usually straddling a stream running into the bay. We made the 115 mile trip in just over 2 hours.

We are now “camped” in the driveway of Shell and Lynn McGuire’s home in Sequim, WA. In case you’re not familiar with Sequim, it is a growing town, half-way between Port Angeles and Port Townsend at the north end of the Olympic Peninsula. We can see Vancouver Island and the San Juan Islands across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from our motor-home. I use the term “growing” because when the McGuire’s moved here from Los Angeles in the early 90’s, Sequim was small. But since then, everyone seems to be moving here! And the town is having growing pains like every small town that is “discovered”.

Friday, we went to the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend – about 40 miles east. Even though it had been cool and cloudy in Sequim, we figured the weather would clear as the day progressed. When we arrived in Port Townsend, it was foggy and quite cool. Naturally, I had “under-dressed” and was very uncomfortable (brrrrr….). So I contributed to the Festival’s economy and bought a $19 sweatshirt for $45. Within minutes, the sun had come out and the temperature was in the high 70’s! So I received credit and accolades for clearing the weather! You’re all welcome!

We were lucky in finding a parking place down-town. Unfortunately, it was limited to 2- hours, so we were unable to have lunch in any of the excellent restaurants in town. We found sustenance in the Chimicum Café (about 10 miles south of Port Townsend). Shell and Lynn said they first heard about this café in Gourmét magazine. Oysters are the specialty of the café, but Shell had a chocolate milkshake, onion rings, and blackberry pie with scoops of ice cream for lunch!

It rained Friday night – a rare occurrence for Sequim which averages less than 12 inches of rain per year. Still cool with lows in the 40’s with a strong breeze off the strait. Our heater ran pretty much all night. We decided we’d better “hook-up” to Shell’s house to keep our batteries charged, so we have 100+ feet of extension cord running to an outlet. (If we tried to run both air conditioners and microwave, we’d blow every fuse in his house! Lucky it’s cool here!) We also ran out of water, so we cobbled together various hoses to fill our tank – still wouldn’t reach, so I closed up shop (i.e., pulled in the slides and levelers) and drove 50 feet closer to the house. We’re all set now – if he only cable TV hook-ups (but he does have wi-fi so we can communicate with the outside world).

It’s quiet here on the north shore of the USA. We watch DVD’s at night (RV was quite a hit), have good conversation, eat – and eat – and eat, and of course daytime naps! Great fun. We’ll go exploring today (Sunday) to what kind of shopping trouble we can get into.

The photo of Shell and Lynn is from the Wooden Boat Festival. Lots of boats; mostly sail models with a few power boats thrown in. A number of “home-made” boats, lovingly hand-crafted and finished with countless coats of varnish. Beautiful creations, even if they never get wet!

Margaret continues to make progress and is now nearly back to full fighting strength.