Sequim Lavender, originally uploaded by ePut.
This is one of the most popular Sequim-tagged photos on Flickr and you can see why, as it captures the wide-open spaces, towering mountains, and gorgeous lavender fields of Sequim and the surrounding Dungeness Valley. You can almost smell the lavender, but to actually smell it, you need to make it out to Sequim this weekend, July 17-19, for the annual Sequim Lavender Festival.
The marriage between lavender and wine is going strong. Beginning at 11 am on July 11, 2009 and lasting through July 19, the public is invited to take self-guided tours of six award winning artisan wineries on the scenic North Olympic Peninsula. A $25 ticket (available at the wineries) buys you tastings at each winery and a commemorative wine glass to help you remember your day. Children are allowed in tasting rooms, accompanied by an adult, but of course may not taste the wine. If you enjoy wine and lavender, you won’t want to miss this Lavender Celebration Tour of Wineries.
The week of wine tasting culminates with the Sequim Lavender Festival on July 17, 18 and 19. The lovely fragrance of lavender permeates the fields and streets of Sequim during this time, when the lavender is at its peak. Many great lavender products, food and live music will be at the downtown Street Fair, along with activities for the whole family. You may leave your car in town and hop on a bus for tours of eight participating lavender farms, or tour the farms at your own pace. Tickets are $15 per person, and children under 12 are free.
The farmland around Sequim is some of the most stunning land in the state. As you stroll through Sequim lavender farms and breathe in the scent of that wonderful plant, you may comtemplate the beauty of the Olympic mountains soaring alongside of you and feel cooling breezes from the Salish Sea to the north. Ah.
Sequim has garnered quite a reputation for its abundant lavender, and with good reason. Our warm, dry and sunny summers are reminiscent of Provence, France, where lavender flourishes. The Olympic Peninsula also produces several excellent wines. It was only a matter of time before someone thought to put the two together, in Lavender Wine.
Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, join Olympic Cellars and Angel Farm in a celebration of their Mueller Thurgau Lavender Wine. From 11 – 6, there will be music, wine specials and tastings of the following new releases: 2008 Mueller Thurgau Lavender Wine, 2007 Dungeness Red (Gold Medal Winner), and 2006 Cabernet Franc, Handyman Red.
Come on out to sunny Sequim WA this weekend and be among the first to try this creative combination of lavender and wine.
Summer means warm nights (well, warmer, anyway) and when nights are warm, music and movies head out of doors. This summer, as in past years, there is live music weekly and an outdoor film once a month at the James Center for the Performing Arts, at Carrie Blake Park, 202 North Blake Ave. Live music starts at 6pm every Tuesday evening through September 8, 2009. The last Tuesday of each month adds a movie at dusk.
Hotel for Dogs plays on June 30. Fly Me to the Moon plays July 28, and August 25 presents The Final Season. Bring your blankets, chairs, sofas and snacks, and watch the sky darken overhead as the screen lights up in front of you.
The music line-up is as follows:
June 30: Soul Shakers
July 7: Testify
July 14: Dixi-Blu Jazz Band
July 21: Late Bloomers
July 28: Westerly
August 4: Holden Young Trio
August 11: Keven Magner and M’Elange
August 18: Deadwood Revival
August 25: African All Stars
September 1: Stardust Big Band
September 8: Big Fine Daddies
It is said that John Wayne truly enjoyed being aboard his family yacht, the Wild Goose. It is true that he sailed more than once into Sequim Bay, and that he dreamt of creating a marina there. Eventually, his dream came true on 22 acres along the northwestern edge of Sequim Bay donated by the Wayne Family.
The marina has been in business since 1985. It is an easy cruise from Seattle, Victoria, Port Angeles, Port Ludlow, and the San Juan Islands. Guest moorage is usually available, and the marina is a beautiful place to spend a night or a few days. There is an excellent restaurant at the marina, the Dockside Grill on Sequim Bay. It is an ideal place to enjoy a delicious northwest cuisine, inside or out on one of the decks.
If you enjoy kayaking, the peaceful waters of Sequim Bay provide an excellent opportunity for that. Check out the John Wayne Marina the next time you sail or drive to Sequim. You’ll be happy you did.
Much of western Washington is hilly, which is one of the reasons the state is so beautiful and provides such amazing panoramic views. This is all well and good, but sometimes it is fun to ride a bike without constantly struggling up massive inclines. I mean, really.
Olympic Discovery Trail, Port Angeles
That’s what is so nice about the Olympic Discovery Trail on the Olympic Peninsula. Sure, there are still hills, but there are also long stretches of virtually flat trails through fields and along the water. So bring your bikes to Sequim, stay at an Olympic Peninsula bed and breakfast, and spend a few days riding in the sunshine.
Olympic Discovery Trail, Sequim
The Olympic Discovery Trail is slated to one day go from Port Townsend, on the tip of the Quimper Peninsula, to the Pacific Coast – over one hundred miles. Currently there are a few completed segment. In Port Angeles, the western most section of completed trail starts at the base of Edis Hook on the west end of town, follows the coast through town, and then runs bewteen the coast and the Highway 101 until it meets up with the Sequim segment. The trail meanders through Sequim until it reaches Sequim Bay, and it follows the bay from there.
There are thirty miles of trail completed, and thirty more miles have funding. The rest will have to wait for a while, but eventually the Olympic Discovery Trail will lead bikers from Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean on a nice, smooth path.
Sequim’s Open Aire Market is in full swing these days. If you happen to be in Sequim on a Saturday between 9 am and 3 pm, be sure to stop by Cedar Street, in the heart of the town. There you will find a market that has been slowly and steadily growing over the years, and now offers a respectable selection of locally grown produce and locally made crafts. Sequim has long been home to delicious berry grower Graysmarsh, and Nash’s, a certified organic farm; products from both of these businesses can be found in Coop Markets from Sequim to Port Townsend to Seattle. They are now joined at the Sequim Market by certified organic farm, Lazy J. We are just thrilled. With land so fertile and an abundance of sunshine, it is a crime not to grow organic fruits and vegetables here. Don’t forget that Sequim is on the Olympic Peninsula, and the peninsula is surrounded by water. Water means seafood, and the Sequim Market is a good place to find it. Tuna Dan provides local fish, while QuillBay offers live oysters and clams. It is easy to eat your way through the Sequim Market as you shop for a picnic or a week’s worth of groceries. While you do so, you will be serenaded by a variety of excellent and diverse musicians. No matter what else you do in Sequim, be sure to visit the Sequim Open Aire Market.
Totem Pole, originally uploaded by grampaflowers.
Jamestown is a thriving Native American community on the southern tip of Sequim Bay, featuring a Tribal Center, Native Art Gallery, and wonderful views of tides, birds and shellfish of Sequim Bay. Oh yeah, and some great totem poles.
Sequim, Washington, originally uploaded by SarahO44.
Downtown Sequim is pleasantly walkable, with cafes, restaurants and quirky shops linked by wide sidewalks and pedestrian walkways.
Dungeness Spit Lighthouse
Everyone should visit the Dungeness Spit – the world’s longest natural sand spit – at least once in their lives. When you walk out along this narrow stretch of land, you feel like you are walking on water. Stretching almost five miles out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Dungeness Spit affords jaw-dropping views of the Olympic Mountains, which tower thousands of feet above sea level. The southern half of the Spit is a National Wildlife Refuge; sheltered from the rough waves and wind, its quiet bay and tide flats are a sanctuary for migrating shorebirds and a nursery for young salmon and steelhead.
Visitors must hike about a half a mile through peaceful woods to access the beach. Once there, you may settle down among the driftwood or head out towards the Lighthouse. Should you decide to walk the 4.5 miles out to the point, you will not be disappointed. The New Dungeness Light Station is one of the oldest lighthouses in the Northwest and has been in continuous operation since its completion in 1857.
As told in the Dungeness Spit website, “The Light Station is maintained and operated by the New Dungeness Light Station Association.” People from all over the country have become members, which grants them the opportunity to become lighthouse keepers. Keepers spend a week in the cottage by the lighthouse, help with maintenance, and give tours to the hardy few who make the trek out to it.
The Refuge is open daily from sunrise to sunset. It is a great place to visit any time of year, during the blustery days of winter or the sunny Sequim summer days.