Go Golf

Looking for a game?  Sunland's active golf calendar has something for everyone.  In addition to our annual and special event schedule, Monday offers a 9 hole Twilight competition followed by dinner, Tuesday hosts a weekly couples tournament; Wednesday, the traditional "Men's" day and Thursday includes both 9 and 18 hole ladies competitions. With summer's light extending to after 10:00pm, a few evening holes can easily extend to a full 18.

This year I took up the game of golf.  And I am addicted.  Not a good golfer by any means, but it feels great to get out on a beautiful golf course, get some exercise and enjoy a few laughs.  Weekly, I play with the Lady Niners on Thursdays (our field day players in the photo left).  They do not take the game too seriously and are very forgiving of the new player…that would be me. 

Mike and I occasionally play a game and we frequently join in on the Twilight competition together.  A great way to meet new people both on the course and at the dinner afterwards.  And once in a while I will join a foursome of gals and we will play a game on Mondays.

Today we had the annual Awards Banquet for the Lady Niners and the official season will end this October.  But, for those of us staying over the winter, we will continue to play as the weather permits.

In the beginning, I was horribly intimidated by the game.  But it is just a GAME.  Get out there and have fun.  I did and so glad I did!

Babes in Coupeville

The “Bus Babes” (formerly known as the “Bus Hobos”) made their way to Coupeville, Washington this week.  We caught the bus in Sequim (all day $2) and rode to Port Townsend to catch the ferry to Whidbey Island.  Whidbey Island has a free shuttle or small bus to Coupeville.  We spent the day visiting little shops and ate fish and chips at Tobey’s.  I found a handsome new doorbell with an engraved pinecone.  Made by a local artist AND it matches our new house numbers.  Score!

Weather was/is unbelievable (Indian Summer weather for the last week and for the next two weeks) with cloudless blue skies and pleasant temperatures in the high 60’s.  So nice for our visit to a picture-perfect seaside town.  Riding the bus you can sit back and soak in the views—water, mountains, quaint little towns and farms.

Coupeville was founded in 1852 by Captain Thomas Coupe and is the second oldest town in the State of Washington. The town continues to preserve original pioneer homes with a variety of historic architectures including Queen Anne, Saltbox, and pioneer Block Houses. Coupe's original home, built in 1853, is one of the State's oldest. Coupeville's limits overlay Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve established by Congress in 1980 as the first and one of the largest such reserves in the nation. Its 22 square miles (57 km²) encompass farmlands, Fort Ebey State Park, beaches, parks, trails and 91 nationally registered historic structures.

We ended the day with ice cream and freshly made waffle cones.  Long day, but loads of fun. 

Age is All About Attitude

September is a mild month in south central Washington.  Sunny days with a bit of nip in the air.  Lots of crops ready for harvest including the grapes in the vineyards.  Normally, the grape smell overloads your sniffer this time of year, but the nearby forest fires in the Cascade Mountains have created a heavy smoke in the valley overpowering the harvest scents.

To hell with the smoke, we went riding!  Harley riding with the family.  Mike’s parents have a beautiful, new cherry red Harley trike and they know how to use it.  You would never know they are 83 and 78 years old.  They look fabulous and are having the time of their lives.  (Picture at far left)  Five hours of seat time up to Chinook Pass and back; they never missed a beat. 

Along with Mike’s sister, Barb, and husband, Jerry, and Jerry’s sister and brother and their spouses, we made a gang of Harley (and Honda) riders. 

Our destination on Chinook Pass was Whistlin’ Jack for lunch.  But, of course, it is all about the journey not the destination.

First Friday Art Walk

A good percentage of the population in Sequim is represented by talented artists.  And every first Friday of the month from 5 – 8 p.m. they share their work in galleries and businesses in the older section of Sequim.  (The Map for the self-guided tour is available at participating arts venues or download your own map here.)  One of my companions, Wanda (photo at left), was enjoying the glass exhibition.  Both of my friends (photo below, right) are very talented artists and their paintings were displayed.

The September 7 Art Walk Color Theme was BLUE, but of course I forgot and wore a bright red shirt! Next month I will make sure to follow the theme.  I certainly stood out in a sea of blue.

Many of the locations like the Rainshadow Roasting Company featured live music, wine, and appetizers for the “art walkers”.  The weather has been especially warm this week and most everyone spilled out onto the sidewalk to enjoy the balmy evening.  Sequim takes pride in their people friendly streets with plenty of benches and colorful late-season bloomers. 

 

If you are visiting Sequim at the beginning of the month, I highly recommend attending the Art Walk.

Spruce Railroad Trail

Last week we had several “hot” days for the Olympic Peninsula (anything over 80 degrees is considered extreme).  I have to admit when the temperature hits 80 degrees, it is too hot for me any more, especially when we are doing anything physical.  Our hiking group elected to walk a shaded trail near the water to keep cool.  If we really overheated, this path, the Spruce Railroad Trail,  has one of more popular swimming holes known as the Devil’s Punch Bowl.  We did not swim, but we watched plenty of others keeping cool in the water.  Lots of kids were jumping off the rocks into the deep pool (see picture at right below).

The Spruce Railroad Trail (sometimes called Lake Crescent Trail) is a rail trail located on the shores of Lake Crescent about 20 miles west of Port Angeles, Washington. The trail follows the former Port Angeles Western Railroad grade along the shores of Lake Crescent. Built during World War I for the Spruce Production Division to transport spruce from the western Olympic Peninsula for the aircraft industry, it was completed in 1919, a year too late for its intended purpose. The trail is approximately 4 miles one way, and trailheads exist at both ends.   We parked at the East Beach location.

RV Interior Design

When we first purchased our 5th Wheel RV, I got with a friend and interior design expert, Katie, from Spencer-Carlson Unlimited in Kennewick, Washington and redecorated. (The store is fabulous, by the way.)  The original interior was done in gold “silk” with a Parisian/Traditional theme or something like that.  Seriously.  What are you thinking RV manufacturers?  It looked like a brothel.  Remember, we lived full-time in our RV and we would not decorate a home this way.

Wanting to minimize clutter and streamline our look, we redecorated with a modern theme of burgundy, black and tan and downsized the trimmings.  Taking down the gold “silk” window treatment side panels we reupholstered the cornice boards and the chair seats with our color scheme.  Got rid of the ornate sconces on the wall and replaced them with small paintings/photographs of our travels framed with simple wood/black frames.  The wimpy gold (again) bed comforter was replaced with a tailored black bedspread.  No more extra pillows…thank you.  Got rid of the extremely heavy gold (again) sleeper sofa and oversized recliner.   Replaced our seating with light and comfortable Ekornes Stressless recliners.  

Nice and neat.

I would love to redecorate more RVs using inspiration from Ralph Lauren’s redone vintage airstreams.  In the early 2000's, four vintage Airstream were designed by Ralph Lauren in various themes, including Adirondack, Western, Nautical and Army Surplus / Utility.  Although the Western and Adirondack themes look extremely cool, they would be a bit cluttered for us to live in.  My favorite is the Nautical theme.

Left to right:  Adirondack, Western, Nautical

They were sold through the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation (initially asking $150K each, later $100K) with proceeds donated to charity.

Wake up RV builders and get a clue!  At least create a truly neutral palette for a starting point.

New Watercolors

Still working at the watercolor painting.  Many have hit the trash can, but a few survive.  I get lost in it.  It will take many years to improve, but so rewarding.  I have not really found my style, but I have to say the ink and watercolor combination is my favorite so far (salmon painting to the left incorporates india ink between the rocks).