Whidbey Ferry from Port Townsend

I guess we could have included thoday's ferry update into our recent Sequim Town News from May 2008 but then this important news might have gone lost among others.

This is some important information when you stay in Sequim on vacation and plan to take the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island. We did that several times in the past not just to see our friends from Hawaii on Whidbey but also to get to know the island. Whidbey Island is beautiful and definitely worthwhile a visit, and so is Port Townsend.

Here is what happened. The two older ferries - already 80 years old - were taken out off service last year November for safety reasons. Now it's only the 325-passenger, 54-car Steilacoom II, which is replacing 2 ferries. To help dealing with traffic from Port Townsend to Whidbey a ferry reservation system has been started by the Washington State Ferries, which seems to be working, at least so far and proved valuable over busy Memorial Day weekend.

However, the busy vacation time on the Olympic Peninsula and surrounding areas has just started. Time will show whether the reservation system will hold up for the busy summer vacation time, when cars have been ling up in the past. Here is how you can make your ferry reservation from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island in order to save yourselves trouble and inconvenience waiting for a ferry you can get on.

You can go online to the Washington State Ferries Internet home page or by phoning 888-808-7977 (toll free), 206-464-6400 or 5-1-1 between 7am and 9pm daily to make sure to get on the ferry you have pllaned to take. I read on the Peninsula Daily News that the passengers who made the reservation received preferred boarding which makes sense when implementing this reservation system.

Tags: Port Townsend Ferry, Ferries Washington State

Sequim Town News May 2008

After we enjoyed hot summer weather for hiking in cooler mountains of the Olympic National Park and soaking in the hot springs at the Sol Duc Hot Spring Resort, Sequim and we got blessed with another hot spell with blue skies and sun all over this weekend. Just perfect for extended Memorial Day weekend and the festivals and events in Sequim and beyond!

Sequim had its Saturday Open Air Market in Cedar Street. The market with farm products, fine arts and high quality hand crafted products attracted a big crowd of residents and visitors alike. Live music and food stands make the visit to the market complete not only for those on a Sequim vacation.

The nice weather across the entire Olympic Peninsula was enjoyed by everybody who visited the Shrimp Festival in Brinnon. We really recommend to any visitor in the area to go visit Whitney Gardens & Nursery in Brinnon. It's right now an overwhelming view of colorful blooming rhodies, all styles and shapes and sizes, even tree size. We bought our 8 rhodies there. For the first year in bloom, they are doing quite well.

Port Angeles, which is just a short 25 min drive from our house, has its Juan De Fuca Festival of the Arts with lots of vendor booths, music and dancing. It will continue tomorrow with more happenings around the Vern Burton Center at 4th St and Peabody.

We took the sunny weather to do more gardening around the house plus continue on our project for adding real grass to the outdoor sitting area for our monthly 1Bd/1Ba 'Bell Hill View' vacation rental. It's getting together! Tomorrow, we will buy the grass and roll it out. We think that our visitors will enjoy nature more than tile or rocks. So, see for yourselves. We would love to have you as our guests when visiting Sequim on an extended vacation.

p.s.

Don't think we only worked on Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed bike rides each day and sitting outside on our balcony for lunch can't be beat. Great that we have this wonderful adjustable awning to give us just the right shade.

Tags: Sequim vacation, Sequim, vacation, travel

Hiking at Sol Duc Hot Springs

After our last post about our visit to the Sol Duc Hot Springs we wanted to add some valuable information for those who want to do the same right now. When in the area, most visitors also want to get some hiking done once they entered and paid the admission fee to the Olympic National Park.

We are lucky our Golden Eagle Pass - you got to obtain it at the Park's Visitors Center - allows us entrance to all the National Parks in the US. Some nice benefit for being older! For those, who want to read more about hiking and camping in the Olympic National Park, I found the Olympic Park National Camping Page most helpful. OK let's get to our recommendations when visiting the Sol Duc Hot Springs right now.

When you want to do the hike to the Sol Duc Falls right now, don't take the trail from the Campgrounds A Loop (A Loop just opened last weekend when we were there) and B Loop (was still closed last week). The trail needs a lot of work done to remove the fallen trees and winter debris. This is currently not a trail for family hiking. If you want to walk, take the street to the trailhead. There is no heavy traffic or just drive your car to the parking for Sol Duc Falls. It's a 0.8 mile walk from there. There was still one big tree laying across the trail when we went, which made it hard on those people who are not in athletic condition but one can walk around it.

This area is offering lots of longer hikes to mountain lakes. Overnight camping is possible. Be aware that the trails can be buried under snow which often lingers into late summer. Route finding skills may be necessary. When we asked at Solc Duc Hot Springs Resort about the access to Lover's Lane (6 mile loop) and Mink Lake (2.6 mile one way), we were seriously discouraged and advised not to do those hikes yet. You may want to call the Wilderness Information Center 360-565-3100 for trail conditions before you head out. We tried our cell phone at different locations in the Park and had no connection whatsoever. So, don't rely on your cell phone for emergency situations when visiting Olympic National Park.

The Sol Duc Hot Springs RV Park worked perfect for us. And the price was right at $25/nt. You got to have a self-contained unit. There are no showers or restrooms on the parking ground but water and electric plug-ins come with your lot. However, it's just a short walk to the hot springs with the cleanest showers and bathrooms - everything gets cleaned 4x a day! - we have ever seen.

Pool hours are 9am - 8pm at $11/ adult, children 4 - 12 yrs $8 and seniors (62 yrs and older) $8. You will get a wristband for the day, so you can walk in and out of the pool area at your convenience. For those who are not coming with an RV, cabins with kitchen $172 (2 pers.)/nt. and w/o kitchen $141 (2 pers.)/nt. can be rented. Not cheap but they are very nice. And remember you pay for a unique location! We will be back at the Sol Duc Hot Springs soon!

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Visit Sol Duc Hot Springs

Well we dusted off the motor-home from its long winter hibernation and took our first trip of 2008. Maybe motor-home is too strong of a description, its more a 19' camper van with all the conveniences of home just a bit more compact. We have had a long winter here in the Pacific Northwest, so spring is a bit late and the nights are cold, but last week the weather changed for the better and we got the urge to travel.

With the price of gas we didn't want to travel far and we only had 5 days. Of course on the Olympic Peninsula there are many beautiful places within a 2 hour drive too get away to and we chose the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, its located 50 miles west of Sequim and then 12 miles off Highway 101 in the heart of the Olympic National Forest.

We paid $25 per night with water and electric and $8.00 a day for us old guys to use the hot springs pools and facilities. We arrived late afternoon on Wednesday and after setting up the camper decided to take a walk, eat dinner and jump in the hot pools the next day. That night the electric came in handy as the night was a bit on the cold side and our heater from home keep us nice and toasty.

The next morning we went for a walk and then discovered the pleasure of relaxing in the hot mineral pools and then diving into a cold fresh water pool fed by the Sol Duc River. We spent the rest of that day except for a nap in the afternoon hanging out by the pools as the weather was warm and languid. We met quite an interesting group of people around the pools. Families from many east European countries on holiday found our neck of the woods as did many folks from around the state of Washington.

The next day we decided to first hit the hot springs pools and then take a hike up toward the Sol Duc Falls. There is a trail leading from our RV park through the forest that's about 2 miles and a 45min hike on a normal day. We started hiking and maybe got a fourth of the way there when the trail ran out crisscrossed by huge fallen trees and many patches of snow still 2 feet deep in spots. Lucky or unlucky for us, Brad the life guard from the Hot Springs Resort, came up behind us and talked us into continuing to climb trees and slough through snow to make it to the falls. There were a few times when I began to wonder if the trail still existed, though we finally made to the falls trail head and the falls were spectacular and the hike was an adventure to remember.

We could have driven to the falls trail head in 10 minutes and after that hike we were lucky to find a couple from Bainbridge Island who gave us a ride back to our home away from home. Thanks again, Janet and Larry. I tell you the hot pools never felt so go as after that hike, we spent the rest of the day lying around and relaxing. We headed home the next day, it's amazing how a short 3-day vacation close to home can make you feel. But of course we are lucky we live on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula with the most spectacular countryside and lots of fun festivals!
p.s.
Brad, the life guard from Sol Duc Resort, actually took a photo of us at the Sol Duc Waterfalls. We hope he will email it to us some day for including it here on our Sequim Town blog. Thanks Brad for guiding us through the bushes, over and under fallen trees and through the snow! We will hopefully see you at the Hot Springs on our next visit, which is planned for the near future.

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Tags: Sequim, Sequim vacation, vacation, travel, visit Sol Duc resort

Sequim Irrigation Festival 2008 Photos

Before starting our new post about our visit to the Sol Duc Hot Spring Resort, we have to show you our photos from this year's 2008 Sequim Irrigation Festival. The festival had been a big success as usual and even Sequim weather showed sunshine for the Grand Parade on Saturday.

We had the best seats for Friday night fireworks at Carrie Blake Park, right on our balcony. I took some photos but was always pushing the button too late. Too bad the firework photos did not come out the way I expected it but most important the firework itself was a great display of colors and shapes on the Sequim night sky. Hope I will be more experienced next year to take firework photos. Well, here is our display of photos of the Grand Parade of the 113th Sequim Irrigation Festival. Washington Street was all lined up with lots of chairs and families, old and yound, cheering to festival participants. We noticed the same enthusiasm and excitement by participants and spectators alike as we saw the last 2 years of our moving to Sequim. We love living at small town Sequim with big town amenities. Our premier location between water and Olympic National Park makes Sequim a top vacation destination for hiking, biking, berrie picking and just relaxing. Plan your Sequim Vacation today.

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Sequim Vacation for Irrigation Festival

For all those, who come from Seattle for celebrating with us our 113th Sequim Irrigation Festival, our fully equipped 1 Bd/1Ba vacation apartment at peaceful location, with walking distance to QFC and Carrie Blake Park, has still a vacancy for this weekend. Take a short weekend Sequim vacation for the Irrigation Festival.

We just received the May 2008 Senior Center News. It's amazing what trips and tours are available for this month. Here are a few dates which seem really fun to attend:
Tuesday May 13, Olympic National Park, Sol Duc Hot Springs $35/member, $50/non
Wednesday May 21, Tacoma's Three Museums, Glass, Art and Washington State Historical $50/member, $65/non
Friday May 23, Brinnon, Whitney Gardens $20/member, $35 non

Here are a few Sequim Senior Center Social Events you might want to plan your vacation around:
May 20: Parents' Lunch
July 3: 4th of July BBQ
July 16: Aloha Luau Dinner
More information from our our Sequim Town blog and of course the Sequim Senior Center website down the road.

Stay tuned for photos from this year's Sequim Irrigation Festival parade!

Tags: Sequim, Vacation, Travel, Sequim Events, Sequim Irrigation Festival 2008

Sequim Irrigation Festival -113 years old.

You may have missed the beginnings of the Sequim Irrigation Festival however there is much more to come.. On May 8th & 9th, the Funtastic carnival begins at 5pm on the Sequim High School green field.

On Friday May 9th you can attend the Crazy Days breakfast at the Elks Lodge on Port Williams Rd starting at 7am. Not sure of the cost on this one however businesses and individuals come in costume and perform skits so should be lots of fun and a breakfast to boot.

Friday May 9th also has the Logging Truck and Tractor Pull. This is an event for all ages featuring axe throwing,pole climbing, lawn mower races, tractor pull and more. Plus food stands.

Hang around after the logging show for the Fireworks display at 9:30pm

Saturday May 10 is the best Salmon Barbecue on the Olympic Peninsula, being served from 11am to 6pm at the Trinity United Church next to Carrie Blake Park.

May 10th also features the Super Cruzz Parade and Car Show. The parade starts at 11am down Washington St and the car show is in the Walmart parking lot.

Last but not least to round out the week is the 113th Irrigation Parade with entries from all over the Peninsula and beyond. Get your family together and find your best spot along Washington St, it starts at noon and is good fun.

Hopefully we will have some that fine weather I mention in my previous post.
Enjoy the festivities.....Keoki

Tags: Sequim Irrigation Festival, Sequim Events