Sequim, Washington -- Our 2006 Summer Home                              Aug 10, 2006

As the years pass -- it's been seven since we sold our house in Lafayette -- we (and our friends) wonder if and when we'll give up the nomadic lifestyle and buy another home -- one in the northern hemisphere.  Although the time has not yet come, we have considered where we might want to live if we were to purchase another house or condo.  Since we plan to "winter" in New Zealand for at least the next ten years (we do love it there!), we'd want a place to summer where it's sunny but temperate.  We definitely prefer temperatures in the 60's to those in the 90's.  Our preferences in the US or Canada were on the northern coasts or up in the mountains, even before taking note of this year's heat waves. 

With this in mind, we decided to check out Sequim (pronounced Squim), WA, for the summer.  Four years ago we stopped in Sequim to visit golf buddies, Jim and Cheryl.  We were immediately taken with the area and even looked at a few homes for sale.  Summers here are mild -- temperatures max out at about 85, but are usually in the low 70's.  Most surprisingly Sequim gets less rain than San Francisco and has a good deal of sunshine, even though it's not that far from cloudy, rainy Seattle.  The climate is perfect for summer golf, though "real" golfers can play year round.

Sequim is a small town (pop. 5,000, though 'greater Sequim' might be twice that size) on the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula.  It's a couple of miles to the Strait of Juan de Fuca --a shipping channel that leads to Seattle-- and across from the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island, BC.  Sequim is also less than 20 miles from the Olympic National Park's wonderful mountains.  The park's 900,000+ acre forest and coastal preserve beckons tourists, hikers and photographers alike.  So far, we've only done the scenic drive up to Hurricane Ridge and hiked the similarly named trail.  Along the way there's a visitor center and snack bar.  The trail wind along a ridge with views on both sides, and near alpine meadows, strewn with wild flowers in season  The snow-capped mountains and lush valleys were partly covered in morning mists the day we visited.  The deer on the right and some of his friends greeted us at the top of the  trail.

There are two 18-hole golf courses in Sequim, as well as a 9-hole links course.  The semi-private Dungeness Golf Club is rated 4-stars by Golf Digest. The private Sunland Golf and CC, a wonderfully walkable course with huge cedars and fir trees lining the fairways (though homes are often visible past the trees) has recently begun to offer 60-day trial memberships.  This was just what we needed to get us to summer here.  Jim and Cheryl helped us find a small furnished condo that's walking distance from the clubhouse.  Voila, here we are!

Sequim (like SO many places) is definitely growing and has been for the last few years.  Its cute downtown area is still full of (open) shops, but there's also a Costco (that's being replaced by a larger Costco!), a Home Depot, and a Wal-Mart at the town edges.  I heard a Trader Joe's may be coming too. 

Sequim has 26 churches at last count -- they seem to be everywhere! -- and thus appears to be a rather Christian community.  This might make it a little difficult for a nice Jewish girl from NY City to fit in, but we'll see.  The town "boasts" about 30 restaurants (including fast food), and has a great breakfast place, the Oak Table Cafe, where they serve yummy cheese blintzes with fresh berries.  Although I don't know what a "good" ratio of restaurants per churches is, I'd be surprised if "about 1:1" is it!

Cultural events are definitely limited in such a small town, but festivals, summer happenings and fairs are frequent and nearby.  In mid-July Sequim celebrated its big event.  The visitors' mat was out for 35,000 folks who came to the Sequim Lavender Festival.  This year's festival comprised about 100 little kiosks in town, along with some food and music.  Many residents dressed in lavender for the occasion.  Buses took visitors to open houses at eight of the town's lavender farms, where most had small bands playing, opportunities to make lavender wreathes or wands, more food, gift shops and a dozen additional kiosks selling crafts.  The rows of lavender were a treat to see and smell, and dozens of varieties were available to pick and photograph.  A large quilt show, with mostly traditional quilts, was piggy backed onto the festival.  

Aside from the lavender farms, there are also flower and berry farms, and cows grazing within the city limits.  Additionally, Sequim is home to the Olympic Game Farm, one of those places where you can see animals as you drive through.  There are Kodiak and black bears roaming not 10 feet away, across a seemingly "too low" electric fence.  Llamas, buffalo and elk come right up to your car window, and if you're not careful well into your car; they're looking for bread, which the farm sells to tourists.  The farm is a bit tired, but a fun place to take photos and quite close by.  I especially enjoyed the peacocks, which were courting as we watched. 

Other local attractions include the Seven Cedars Casino about 8 miles east of town, which hosts a free comedy show every Wednesday night; the picturesque Dungeness Lighthouse off the coast (see photo at top) and an Audubon birding center.  Nearby is Port Townsend, a Victorian port city with happenings most weekends, and the Black Ball / Coho Ferry in Port Angeles (just 17 miles west,) which sails to scenic Victoria, BC in 90 minutes five-times a day in the summer. 

It's clear there's plenty to do in the Sequim area aside from golf; I've already joined the library, a large gym with two racquetball courts, and a camera club.   Looks like this will be a great summer stopover.  If you tune in again in October, we'll likely have decided whether to put Sequim at the top of the list for our second hometown.

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