Tag Archives: Sequim

Fields and Sprigs of Lavender…

“here’s your sweet lavender
sixteen sprigs a penny
that you’ll find my ladies
will smell as sweet as any”

Lavender Sellers’s Cry, London England CA 1900

 “lavender, sweet lavender;
come and buy my lavender,
hide it in your trousseau, lady fair.
Let its flovely fragrance flow
Over your from head to toe,
lightening on your eyes, your cheek, your hair.”

Cumberkand Clark Flower Song Book 1929

While we were on the Olympic Peninsula we visited two lavender farms on our way back home. The first one we visited was Jardin du Soleill which is always one of our favorites.

The second farm we stopped at was Purple Haze, another favorite.

We were in Sequim the day before the annual lavender festival began. I always enjoy beating the crowds for these kind of events. The Sequim Lavender Festival is held every full third weekend in July.

Today is the last day of July…my goodness the month has melted away in this heat we are having. Watering and trying to stay cool here in the great Northwest. It’s also fun to hear the Blue Angels practicing for our SeaFair weekend.

Olympic Peninsula Barns

For the Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveller I’m showing barns from the back roads of the Northern Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

On Dear and my road trip to the westernmost tip of the contiguous United States on July 15th & 16th we drove by these barns.

How about a barn converted into a winery?

On a personal kind of farming note of the orchard variety…on Saturday I had to pick apples off our apple tree because they had started falling off the tree on their own in huge numbers. Since I had given my pricey fruit picker to our son for a Christmas stocking gift, no it didn’t fit into his stocking technically but it did fit in the back of his pick-up, I was without an implement that would make reaching the apples on the upper branches easily. I stepped into our newly cleaned out and re-organized garage, the product of my husband’s extra time on his hands since being without a job right now. I looked around and spotted the two 4 paks of bamboo tiki torches that have been waiting for an occasion for many years now. I thought to myself…that could work for picking apples off my tree. I took the lighter out of the top and proceeded to the tree. This new farm implement worked like a charm! I could even snatch two apples with one going down into the reservoir before having to empty them into my apple basket! I was quite proud of myself and my easy apple picking venture!

Have a great last week of July!

Signs, signs!

Signs encountered in the month of July traveling and taking company sight seeing in Seattle!

From the Bill and Melinda Gates visitor center in Seattle.

Tourist happenings in downtown Seattle.

A classic car wash in downtown Seattle!

And then outside of Seattle to the very northwestern edge of the contiguous United States, Dear and I had a little getaway to the Olympic Peninsula.

At the Cape Flattery Trail head.

Later this week or early next week I’ll share the beautiful views of Cape Flattery and the lighthouse.

While on the Olympic Peninsula we also stopped at some beautiful lavender farms in Sequim, Washington. This Grosso lavender is a full fluffy variety. I’ll be sharing a post of the lavender farms we visited later, too.

Sequim 089

Not a real clear photo through our windshield but this bumper sticker made me smile on our way back to the ferry that would bring us home from our adventure. Homer Alaska A Quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem.!

I’m adding this post to signs, signs by Lesley! Thanks Lesley!

 

Still Feasting…

…instead of fasting. Soon I will have to resume my de-fluffing but Dear and I went on a quick getaway to the Olympic Peninsula this week on a whim. Spent the night in Port Angeles after driving to the northwestern most point in the contiguous U.S.A. I have a few posts to show you of the beautiful things we saw but today I’m just going to fess up on all the good eats we enjoyed in just one day!

To go on this adventure we had to take a ferry from Edmonds to Kingston on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Our first food stop after disembarking the ferry and driving to the Olympic Peninsula was the Oak Table Cafe in Sequim. You cross the Hood Canal Bridge from the Kitsap Peninsula to get to the Olympic Peninsula.

Their specialty is an Apple pancake that you see above. It’s kind of like a souffle and it’s really enough sweetness for 4 people. I didn’t eat the whole thing. It was delicious and for me a once in a lifetime experience. So that started our eating experience for this day.

After driving out to and coming back from land’s end we checked into our B & B and got a recommendation for dinner.

Happy to report Dear now has another drink to copy for my pleasure called Old Mexico.

After my very sweet start to the day I was happy to end with a delicious savory surf and turf choice for dinner. We had a salad and a Dungeness Crab cake for our starters. I’ll show our B & B breakfast in another post…

I hope you aren’t hungry or dieting while reading this post! We are back home and back to cleaning and sorting and tucking away and throwing things out at this old house. We are in for another hot weekend here in the Seattle area. How are you doing?

I’m avoiding talking about the news because it is so troubling to me and I know many of you share my feelings. My heart and prayers go out to the families who lost their brave Marines yesterday and to those who were injured…may God comfort them and help us all.

Good Fences ~ George Washington Inn

Food & George Wash Inn 078The George Washington Inn is situated on the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Port Angeles and Sequim with views of the Olympic Mountain Range in Washington State on the Olympic Peninsula. It’s a great choice for a getaway with easy access to Hurricane Ridge and the Olympic Mountains or Dungeness Bay. The third weekend every July Sequim is known for their wonderful lavender festival. This would be a great spot to overnight for the festival.

Food & George Wash Inn 063My daughter, girlfriend and I attended a George Washington Tea here on Washington’s birthday in February a couple years ago. On that day we were treated to a rainbow looking out the back of the Inn and onto the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Food & George Wash Inn 033

George Washington Inn 022

George Washington Inn 029

George Washington Inn 032We were happy that George Washington was the special guest at the tea in his honor.

I will be linking up with TexWisGirl at Run A Round Ranch for Good Fences #12.

 My Feedly source has been attacked for the second time in 2 days and I’m not getting my usual updates on the blogs I enjoy visiting. They are working on developing some protection and getting back online. If I haven’t visited you can blame it on the attacker!

High Tea at the George Washington Inn

The tables were set on the ocean front piazza, also known as a veranda.

First course included Black Forest and Lavender Cheddar Scones, Dried Cherry and Orange Biscuits, Fresh Lavender Biscuits and assorted flavored Butters and Jams. Beth reads my blog and she’s a real fast learner. After the first course she knew to pass me the service plate for photos before any of us took a bite. The drawback to eating with a blogger!!

Second Course included Petite Spinach and Swiss Quiche, Smoked Salmon Mousse-Filled Cucumber Cups, and Lavender Cream Cheese Turkey Finger Sandwiches.

Third Course included Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Assorted Petits Fours, and Rasberry/Lemon Lavender Cheesecake.

Tea served with each course was raspberry lavender black tea.

George Washington spoke to us during tea, sharing many interesting stories of his life leading up to his presidency.

President George Washington in portrayal is available for events and can be reached at vfrykholm@olypen.com

Katie won a bar of soap from Mt. Vernon for asking the president the best question of the day.

We were blessed during our tea time with views of more than one rainbow.

A stop at the gift shop on our way out for some lavender goodies to take home.

We also couldn’t resist sitting in the great rockers and squinting in the sunshine before we headed to our ferry crossing home.

It was a lovely day for High Tea at the George Washington Inn with Katie and Beth and of course with our first President.

George Washington Inn ~ Port Angeles

Between Sequim and Port Angeles on a bluff above the Strait of Juan de Fuca is a beautiful Inn dedicated to reflect the spiritual legacy that was the foundation of our country. Here’s a little recap of our journey for High Tea at the George Washington Inn.

We woke up to a significant wind storm on the morning of George Washington’s Birthday. We were hoping our ferry crossing on the Puget Sound would go well. We crossed with rocking and rolling and white caps in view.

We picked up Beth in the historic little town of Port Gamble and crossed the Hood Canal bridge without incident. When we turned the bend into Sequim we were hit head on with some gale force winds that made me keep a tight grip on the steering wheel. We were visually impressed when we turned up the driveway to the George Washington Inn.

How fun to have to be squinting in the bright sunshine! Despite the wind the weather treated us kindly.

What a wonderful surprise when we walked into the front door and George Washington greeted us!

He was kind enough to take a photo with us.

We were early so we toured the Inn before our tea time.

The guest rooms were so lovely. The soaking tub really was inviting. We headed out to see the views from the Terrace.

There was a driving wind blowing across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Did I already mention how lovely it was to have the sun shining brightly?! We headed back inside and downstairs to look around.

The Inn has great comfortable spaces and we enjoyed this sitting area before we headed into Tea. My next post will show all my photos from our High Tea time which included time with George Washington and hearing some history of his life.

What a wonderful setting. We all agreed that it would be a very special treat to stay overnight at this beautifully appointed and comfortable Inn. The Innkeepers made us feel right at home. This Inn and property also participate in the annual Lavender Farm Faire. How great  it would be to stay here during the festival!

Signs of My Summer…

It’s that time of the week again when I scramble to find photos that will fit the Alphabet letter of the week. This week we are up to the letter S. I know it’s Wednesday and not Thursday yet but I’ve got something special to post tomorrow…

Jenny keeps us all on track with Alphabe-Thursday so click on over to join in the fun.

Signs are my choice for the letter S!

Sisters by marriage at Julienne.

I was happy to even find some signs in my archives that had words that began with the letter S.

This is the original Starbucks in Downtown Seattle across from Pike Place Market.

This next sign is from a couple summers ago from Central California. It just made me chuckle.

Summer made a slow appearance here in Western Washington but these last weeks of August have been very nice. Even though Fall is one of my favorites I’m happy that the sun and warmer temperatures finally blessed our region. Next week Dear is off and we are going to head to the Oregon Coast and then inland to Bonneville Hot Springs. I probably won’t have a chance to participate with the letter T. Hope you all are still enjoying your summer…

N is for Nests and Nature~

It’s time for the letter N with Jenny at Alphabe-Thursday! Thank you Jenny for hosting!

This past weekend I had a bloggy guest spend a few days and we were out and about in the Great Northwest. On the way and during a trip to the Sequim Lavender Farm Faire we were given the opportunity to photograph something neither of us had ever seen before, a baby Seagull. My daughter Katie spotted it off the car deck of the ferry. Later in the morning above the Dungeness Spit on Marine Drive Jill spotted an eagle. Eagle photographs have eluded me until now and then a local stopped while we were photographing the Eagle to tell us about a spot where we could see 2 young eagles still in their nest. Let’s just say that it was a glorious start to a glorious day of enjoying God’s creation and making note of that creation with our cameras.

Here’s the baby seagull that Katie spotted from the ferry dock. Mama seagull was standing over it keeping an eye on us while we clicked away.

The Eagle

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

© Alfred Tennyson

Nests – The shape of the eagle nest or aerie is determined mainly by the branch point where it’s built. Sticks placed in tree forks result in cylindrical or conical shaped nests. Disk Shaped nests are built on the ground or a tree branch which is nearly level. Bowl Shaped Nests occur where the tree trunk branches off into smaller upright branches.
   Bald eagles build their nests in large trees near rivers or coasts. A typical nest is around 5 feet in diameter. Eagles often use the same nest year after year.

We assumed this is one of the parents of the eaglets since it was perched just above the nest.

Beyond the Dungeness Spit is the Strait of Juan De Fuca which separates this part of the Olympic Peninsula from Vancouver Island, B.C.

The Dungeness Lighthouse. Built in 1857. Manned and maintained by US Lighthouse Society, New Dungeness Chapter. Six mile walk to the lighthouse. Open year round.

This is also the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

We saw other animals, too. Besides needing some serious orthodontia work, aren’t they cute? We stayed far enough away so they couldn’t spit on us.

Another first for me on this day was being able to photograph this peacock with it’s feathers fanned. Too bad he was behind the wired fence.

Hope you enjoyed my nature shots. I’ll be around soon to see what other N’s will be represented this week.