First snow in Sequim 2008

When we woke up yesterday morning and looked out of the window, we got a big surprise...Sequim was covered in a nice layer of white powder snow! The night before, some small hail had been coming down, which we did not like too much. This Sequim winter wonderland dream got displayed with beautiful sunshine and blue skies. Beautiful!

When we arrived at SARC for our workout at 9:45am, we found out that the gym was just opening at 10am, somewhat delayed (regular opening hour is 6am) through the snow. What was amazing today that despite of raising temperatures caused by a steady sunshine, the white beauty still kept in Carrie Blake Park. We had a wonderful walk! Enjoy snowy, sunny Sequim!

Tags: Sequim, travel, vacation

Sequim Town News January 2008

Dear Sequim town visitors,

In Hawaii we used to say when getting up in the morning "Another beautiful day in Paradise!'. Guess what for the entire week we have been saying another beautiful day in sunny Sequim! This wonderful weather is not just great for outdoor activities but is lifting our spirit and makes us happy. We never regretted one bit having moved to Sequim 2 years ago.

Tuesday this week, we decided this is just the perfect weather for a visit to Hurricane Ridge. So we called the Olympic Park Weather hotline but were disappointed to hear that the road to Hurricane Ridge was closed till yesterday. We might try our luck again tomorrow.

In the meantime, we are regularly working out at our wonderful gym with Olympic Pool SARC (I always call it one big reason to move to Sequim), go for great walks through Carrie Blake Park (all bundled up and with food for the ducks and really enjoy our views from the house over the snow-covered Olympic Mountains sparkling in the full sun. The morning sunrises are amazing!

Here are a few other tidbits from our life in Sequim, which might be of interest to Sequim residents and Sequim vacationers alike:

I've found this advertising in the Sequim Senior Center monthly for Sanctuary, a place where one can get facials, pedicure and manicure from students. As the price was right ($20 a facial), I tried a facial. It was wonderful. I was very impressed by the professional yet extremely comfortable setting. You feel good all the time through the treatment and feel happy afterwards to have done something for yourself. Try it out Mo - Fri 2 - 8pm. Call the Sanctuary 360-683-5911.

QFC, one of the big markets in Sequim took the initiative for offering a store coupon for a week to customers who'd bring in 10 plastic bags. They will get in return a reusable tote! I am so often disappointed why shoppers don't bring their own bags with them when going shopping in Sequim. I guess sometimes the human mind only will change under pressure. In Europe, people have to pay about 25 - 30 Euro cents for 1 shopping bag. If that would happen here, people would soon bring their own bags. Just make it your routine and keep your shopping bags in your car for your next shopping. It's for your planet!

The Superbowl is looking around the corner. The Senior Center in Sequim will be having its 3rd Annual Superbowl Party on Sunday February 3, 2008. Game kickoff is 3:18pm. The main room doors at the Senior Center open at 1:30pm. You will watch the game on a 60" big screen. Pizza, drinks (non-alcoholic) and snacks will be provided. Tickets for this Superbowl fun event are $5. With our favorite Seattle Seahawks out of the picture, it might be nice if the New England Patriots can go undefeated through the whole season in this game against the New York Giants.

We see you around in Sequim. Enjoy the sun as long as it lasts. Who knows when the snow will show up in Sequim. The Sequimers.

Tags: Snowshoeing on Hurricane Ridge, Sunny weather in Sequim

2nd Anniversary of Moving to Sequim

Today, it's exactly 2 years on the dot since our moving to Sequim from sunny, warm Hawaii to sunny, cold Sequim. Our moving strategy was quite involved as Keoki packed everything himself into a moving van - a huge garage sale in Hawaii helped to get rid of lots of stuff - which was shipped to Seattle just like our car. Thanks to Keoki's meticulous plan and efforts, our moving happened like clock work! Interestingly, we experienced the same 'warm' Sequim weather in January 2006 (around 50F) as we do have now.

Our 2nd Moving Anniversary actually coincides with the opening of Hurricane Ridge to winter activities. We considered a trip to the Ridge today, but postponed as we will have some fiends coming over tonight, had to do some shopping errands and of course, Keoki had to watch the football match of the Seahawks against Greenbay Wisconsin. I never watch football but could not resist to watch the battle with the huge white snow flakes. Unbelievable. Anyhow, we postponed our plans to visit Hurricane Ridge but it's definitely in our thoughts.

Hurricane Ridge already got its fair amount of snow on its rugged peaks. Unless, the Ridge is closed due to stormy weather, the Visitors Center, snack bar and ski shop with ski and snowshoe rentals will be open starting today. Snowshoeing seems like a fun activity to view the snow covered Olympic Mountains. There are even 90-minute guided snowshoe walks with Park rangers available over the weekends. Register at 1:30 pm at the Visitor Center. The National Park Service provides snowshoes and instructions.

If the weather looks decent tomorrow, we will check the 24-hr Olympic National Park Road and Weather information line at 360-565-3131 to make sure the weather is OK for a trip to Hurricane Ridge. We have our winter outfits with waterproof boots, mittens, warm caps, sun glasses and layered clothes ready. Snow or not, Hurricane Ridge is a great place to explore summers and winters but 1/her walk in the freezing cold might just do for our bodies used to Hawaii sun! We will be back with more adventures on our Sequim life 2008! The Sequimmers

Tags: Sequim, Vacation, Travel, Sequim vacation, Sequim weather

Happy New Year to our Sequim blog visitors and Sequim friends

Dear Sequim blog visitors and friends in Sequim and around the world,
The Christmas holidays are over and regular Sequim life has taken over again. Hope you all had a great New Year's Eve with family or friends. We had our Sun Meadow friends over for some games. Enjoyed the company and caught up with Sequim life during our vacation time in Mexico.

New Year's Eve midnight came fast and passed in Sequim without much ado. We had the best seats in town, overlooking Sequim town, Bell Hill, Emerald Heights but Sequim showed a sleepy and laid back attitude. Only a few fireworks were to be seen, which was fine with us. TV broadcasted the fireworks from the Space Needle in Seattle. It was amazing how many people had been gathering and waiting there in the cold - at least no rain! - for the big fireworks. The Spaceneedle fireworks had a few glitches but after a few minutes passed and TV reporters got a bit nervous, the fireworks finally took off and were nearly as impressive as the ones from Sydney or the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Well, here we are in the new year. Ready to roll and rumbo. I signed up again for SARC, our favorite gym and swimming indoor pool in Sequim. Keoki's Stretch Class at SARC started up again, with a number of new people, who made staying in good health and shape their new year's resolution. Keoki's Easy Stretch Routine is available on DVD + on Video.

I know that I repeat myself when I tell all these people who find our blog because of doing research about our small town retirement life in Sequim that there is hardly any day that we don't enjoy the famous Sequim blue hole in the skies. It's amazing to see the gray skies in both directions, to the east Seattle direction or the West of Port Angeles.

We get our blue hole in Sequim! Sequim weather is different! One thing though we have learnt by now. The blue hole does not last for ever, especially when it's days with weather forecasts predicting the worst weather for other areas. So when the sky shows the blue hole, don't hesitate. Bundle up and get out for your daily walk and catch of a few sun rays. After 2 hours it may be all be over. There is no better place than Carrie Blake Park, even in winter. Aaahhh the views of the snowcovered Olympic Mountains!

Anybody who wants to connect with us because they want to move to Sequim, please, feel free to leave a comment or write us an email. We even rent out our Sequim Vacation Apartment for a month in winter at a great discount rate. We will happily share our Sequim life experiences with anybody who is interested. So stay in touch with our Sequim blog and us. The Sequimmers

Tags: Sequim Town blog, Sequim blue hole