Downtown Sequim – Page 23 – Sequim Daily Photo

The spice of Sequim

Sequim Spice and Tea relocated onto West Washington Street last year, into a spot that assures them better visibility and foot traffic. I wandered in for the first time last fall as I squired visitors around town. They sell bulk herbs and spices: the usual things you’d expect in a typical spice rack plus blends, seasonings, and flavored salts and sugars to add new zest to your cooking.

There are bulk teas in a back corner. Though I haven’t sampled any, some of them smell delightful.

Here’s what to look for if you come to town. This is the former location of Pacific Mist Books which closed when the owner retired to leave town and care for her mother.

Quiet Sunday downtown

People joke sometimes about small towns rolling up their sidewalks. Most days Sequim’s downtown thoroughfare, Washington Street, has plenty enough traffic. Last Sunday it was quiet enough to justify a shot of our main drag. It was a grey day so I goofed around in Photoshop to perk it up a bit.

Purple Haze

Continuing with yesterday’s lavender theme, here’s the downtown retail outlet for Purple Haze Lavender Farm. It’s a one stop shop for all things lavender. The Purple Haze Lavender Farm is a beautiful spot a few miles east of downtown where 50 varieties of lavender are grown and is well worth a summertime visit.

Purple harmony

Here’s a view of a little resting spot nestled into our downtown. Notice the color coordinated purple amenities: bench, trash, and bicycle rack. You’d expect nothing less from a premier lavender growing region.

Hug a duck

This is Peeper Squeak, a Swedish blue duck. He hangs out at Sequim’s Museum and Arts Center on Fridays while his person volunteers there. He’s large – almost as big as a Canada goose – and a friendly sort, curious, and full of personality. He submits to wearing costumes around various holidays (there’s a picture of him costumed in the background above). And he likes to hug. Have you ever hugged a duck? Peeper Squeak has an autograph book of people he’s hugged and so far he’s hugged people from 40 U.S. states and counting.

I’d never hugged a duck. Peeper Squeak is the first, and probably the last. Really, how often do you come across hugging ducks?

Sequim’s boy in the boat

There’s a best selling book called “The Boys in The Boat” by Daniel James Brown. Here’s a link to a short YouTube video about it. It’s a wonderful book about an improbable group of young men, a crew team from University of Washington, and their quest for gold at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. One of the team, Joe Rantz, came from Sequim (shown in the video and described as a “small dusty town”). Our local Museum and Arts Center (MAC) currently has an exhibit on “The Boys in the Boat,” including a smaller version of their rowing shell and memorabilia contributed by Joe Rantz’s family. The shell, Working Girl, designed and built by George Yeoman Pocock, is shown above.

Pocock revolutionized rowing shells by fitting together two long, single planks rather than multiple narrow strakes, or planks, creating lighter, more streamlined vessels. Working Girl has four positions; the University of Washington Pocock shell had eight.

In addition to the rowing shell, the exhibit includes copies of some of Rantz’s travel documents and high school keepsakes. My favorite personal item was a postcard Rantz sent his father: “Dear Pa, Here is a view of the finish of the race course where the world championship race takes place next week. By the time you get this I’ll either be chump or champ.”

The MAC is a small museum but it’s got a little bit of everything, including art, an exhibit on the local S’Klallam tribe, information about Sequim’s famous mastodon, and more. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about MAC’s Friday duck celebrity.

Mystery mural

This mural is in downtown Sequim. I’ve passed it countless times and even after photographing it I have to admit I know nothing about it. (Unless, of course, its title is “Fire Lane” by “No Parking.”) What’s interesting is that the “painter” on the right side is a separate piece, attached to the mural itself.