Category: Businesses

Burger fix

Every now and then I crave a good, char-broiled hamburger. I haven’t scoured Sequim for the perfect burger, but have been happy with the ones I’ve found at Stymie’s, the bar and grill at the Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course. I tried something new yesterday: this one came topped with blue cheese. And instead of the standard virtuous salad I opted for the sweet potato fries. I left happy.

Here’s the front of the building. The golf course is beyond the back and Stymie’s, at the back, looks onto the course. To the right is one of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s many totem poles. I posted other photos of this spot here, earlier this month.

Sequim Prairie Grange

The Sequim Prairie Grange is housed in one of Sequim’s historic former school buildings, the Macleay School, built in 1912. The Grange is part of America’s oldest farm-based fraternal organization, a non-partisan, grassroots rural advocacy group with both legislative program and community activities.

The Grange regularly stages pancake breakfasts, most recently last Sunday, and during summer months they host ice cream socials. These events help finance things like youth programs and scholarships. The building is also used for community events – I’ve attended a septic system workshop here (such is the glamor of country life!), a concert, and a community flea market. The Washington Old Time Fiddlers meet here regularly for weekend jams, classes and public performances.

Port Townsend – Northwest Maritime Center

Continuing yesterday’s maritime theme, another Port Townsend go-to for any boater is the Northwest Maritime Center. The two building complex houses a boathouse, classrooms, library, a conference facility, and a pilothouse set up for learning navigation, communications, and vessel control. The Center opens onto a large plaza overlooking Port Townsend Bay and often displays beautiful wooden boats.

The Chandlery at the Maritime Center was our destination on this trip. Brass nails, to be exact. But we’ve found Stockholm tar and marine paint there and drooled over tools and fixtures. The shop fields calls from all over the U.S. and the manager included a call from the Carribbean in her list of calls the day we visited.

There is an excellent selection of books, a small cafe, boating togs, and a well-chosen array of gifts and art. Even if you’re not seaward bound, it’s an interesting place to browse.

On a sunnier day and a future trip I’ll snap some photos of the Center’s outdoor plaza and boats. It’s an attractive and impressive facility.

Port Townsend is for boaters

If you’re married to a mariner, as I am, you learn that places like this are catnip to a boater. I’ve learned to enjoy and appreciate the lines of a classic boat, and to keep myself occupied while my husband haunts marine supply depots. I took this rainy day view during a shopping trip for boat paint. Port Townsend is a center for boats and boating and there’s a boatyard that’s a hubub of haulout activity.

The Voyager, above, is hauled out for repairs. It is a purse seiner fishing boat, which means that it sets a net in a large circle on the top of the water. A rope around the net at its bottom is tightened to draw in the catch. The big block at the back of the boat pulls up the net.

In addition to working boats like the Voyager, Port Townsend is home to yachts, sailboats, and a population of people who live aboard various seagoing vessels. In the 1970s Port Townsend became the center for a West Coast renaissance of classic wooden boats and has hosted an annual Wooden Boat Festival since 1976.

Tomorrow I’ll take you on a visit to the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend.

Tree spade

Until last week I’d never seen anything quite like this. It is a tree spade used to transplant conifers and from what I’ve since learned, they can be used to move trees up to 35 feet high and 9 inches in trunk size. And I’d thought a two-person auger was a beefy piece of equipment!

This was parked in a church parking lot on Kitchen-Dick Road. I’ll have to wait to see if this spot is the home for a new tree.

I love planting trees. Have you ever planted any? What kind have you planted?

Best of the Peninsula – Golf

Cedars at Dungeness was named the best local golf course in last year’s “Best of the Peninsula” poll by the Peninsula Daily News.

I’m not a golfer, the but course looks well groomed and has beautiful views. A pro shop serves the golfer’s needs. There’s a bar and grill, Stymie’s, that serves good food all day and into the evening, and a restaurant, Cedars at Dungeness, for a more upscale dining experience.


The golf course and restaurants are another business venture of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. So, of course, there is a totem pole. This one includes – what else? – a golf club. And a golfer friend points out golfing references to eagles and birdies carved into the pole.