Road Trip to Sequim

A few days ago I asked Lois if there was anywhere she wanted to go to get away for a few days before the radiation/chemo therapies commence. She didn't hesitate to say, "I'd like to go to Sequim." For those of you who don't know about Sequim (it's pronounced Skwim), it's where I was once the high school principal and where we lived from 1989 until 2003 when we returned to eastern Washington.

It's rather odd how we feel our friends are mostly in Sequim, while here in the Tri-Cities, we have mostly family. We thought if we could get everyone to move, say to Yakima, or Ellensburg, we could have both worlds in the same town. Hmmmm, we'll see, eh?

We drove over to Sequim late Thursday evening, and returned on Sunday about 10:30 pm. We had a wonderful time while there. The weather was the best Sequim has to offer in the summer time, about 70 degrees, blue skies and the annual Lavender Festival was happening. This festival has become a "big deal" in Sequim with over 35,000 visitors in 2005. There are 8 or 9 lavender farms and they are beautiful to visit this time of year. The biggest of the farms is the Purple Haze Farm. Mike Reichner is the owner and the ex-husband of a former teacher at the high school in Sequim. I remember one day Mike came into the office and told me that he had found what he had been looking for. I asked him what it was and he said, "Lavender." See the magazines Mike's farm has been featured in here.

On Saturday, Randy and Deanna W., owners of Tarcisio's Restaurant (pronounced "tar cheese ee ohs"), graciously reserved an area for members of Lois' sorority group in Sequim to get together. (Our daughter Brooke, babysat-nannied for Randy's and Deanna's children when they were little, they are in high school now.) We have missed these folks and being able to sit with them and enjoy a wonderful Italian meal was special. So special in fact, that I'm going to post some pictures of those who were there.


Betty and Rick G. Rick is a chef, previous owner of his own restaurant in Port Angeles and provider of some great meals at our socials in Sequim with the ladies.

Betty is one of our great inspirations; a three year survivor of the same type of breast cancer as Lois. You may have read her message to Lois in an earlier post.

This is Don and Claudia. Don is a retired professor of astronomy, and Claudia is one of the sorority sisters.




These gracious folks gave us a place to sleep while in Sequim. I once hired Lorena to work in the high school office; and we've enjoyed George's stories for many years now, especially the one about the knife in the tree . . . right, George?


Leon and Lindy moved to Sequim from the Tri-Cities some years ago. The sorority group she left is now the one Lois belongs to here in Richland. The small world continues to shrink.

Charlotte is another special friend to Lois. I remember her most as the sister who drove with Lois to all the meetings. I don't know what it is, but I know these two have a special connect.







On Friday evening we visited with our dear friends Carlos and Mardell in Port Angeles. Carlos is a multi-talented man who plays the flute in a number of venues around the Sequim/Pt. Angeles, he also plays the piano, and is a story-teller in the elementary schools, an artist and wood carver. We met in an art class and have been friends since. Mardell is Carlos' lovely wife; she loves STRONG coffee and is a most gracious hostess.

Also on Saturday, I visited with my artist buddy, Chris M. He and I, and another Sequim artist, George Z., went clamming on Indian Island. We had our limit of 40 clams each in about an hour and were they ever delicious! In this picture George Z. is digging with a garden tool while Chris M. digs in the background. I was the last one to "limit-out," perhaps you can see why.


Chris and I used to find interesting places and things to sit down and draw. We've drawn barns, the grain elevator, cows, sunflowers, and a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember right now. In honor of our many pleasant hours spent as such, we went over to Pt. Angeles on Saturday and sketched this huge oil tanker sitting in the bay. These are the Alaska tankers coming down from Prudhoe Bay. They anchor in this harbor and change captains; the open ocean captain brings them this far, then the inland waterway captain takes over and pilots the tanker to the refineries in Anacortes and somewhere over around Everett.

We went to church on Sunday morning at the Dungeness Community Church. We've always enjoyed Neal Smith's sermons, and he did not disappoint us this morning. We were especially surprised when he introduced us to the congregation as returnees and then prayed for Lois prior to the sermon. After church we visited with Jenny and Dave H. When we moved to Sequim in 1989, we bought their house. Dave is a builder and he built that house. Jenny, like so many other women we know, is a breast cancer survivor. They invited us to their beautiful home after church and we spent a wonderful hour on their deck overlooking the Dungeness River delta where we spotted three bald eagles flying over a small herd of cattle. Jenny is an inspirational woman, courageous and so very helpful.

We've been gone from Sequim for 2.5 years. I never missed it until these few days we spent there. I think we'll go back for many visits. We can't afford to move back, the price of homes has surpassed our ability to get back in, so we'll just visit.

On our way home Sunday, we stopped in Gig Harbor to visit with April and Jim O. The four of us all went to Kennewick High School in the '60's. April has visited with us a number of times since we moved to Richland and has become a dear friend. Jim and I talked about old times while April and Lois talked of family and grandchildren. We had a great time with them and wished we could have stayed longer. We left Gig Harbor about 5 pm and got home about 5 hours later.

Hope this long post hasn't bored you to tears. It was an important trip for us, and we decided we wanted to make it part of our journey.

Tomorrow: We will go to the cancer center and get some blood work done prior to the meeting with the chemo therapist on Thursday.

Later.