By Dorothy Rice Bennett

The Olympic Peninsula has a little more than one-hundred thousand residents in a handful of small communities—and on prairies, hillsides, along rivers, and in the mountains. Not enough souls to tempt most of the big food barons to put up fancy restaurants here. So where do we eat in Sequim—with an official population around 6,500—when we are hungry?

First of all, there are a few recognizable names in town. Along with several big box stores, Sequim has Applebee’s, IHOP, and Black Bear Diner. Also a McDonalds, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Jack in the Box, Dominos, Taco Bell, Tacotime, and Subway. And, of course, Starbucks!

Washington Street is our dining emporium

However, most of Sequim’s eateries are Mom and Pop operations. They range from really nice stand-alone restaurants to hole-in-the-wall eateries in strip malls—and lest we forget, coffee houses. They also range from healthy, calorie-counting fare to very traditional, highly caloric meals. They cover American cuisine and several ethnic varieties, from Mexican to Japanese and Chinese.

Many of Sequim’s restaurants are located along Washington Street, going about a mile each direction from the Highway 101 exit at Sequim Ave.

I hesitate to assign star quality to any Sequim eatery, because the minute I say I like a certain restaurant, someone else will say he or she didn’t care for that one. It’s all a matter of individual taste. Many of those I’ve mentioned here do have 4.5 to 5 stars on internet review sites.

Let’s do breakfast, brunch, or lunch

When I want a really good breakfast—or have company and want to make a good impression—I head for The Oak Table at 3^rd and Bell St. This restaurant would be at home anywhere, with fine décor, great food, and excellent service, and open in Sequim since 1981. Omelets, scrambles, German pancakes, etc.,etc., and great Sunday brunches. Not open for dinner. Another local favorite for breakfast is the Hiway 101 Diner on 392 W. Washington St. This is a cozy retro restaurant, the kind with the juke box and the movie star posters on the wall. Food is tasty and down home, the way it was cooked in the 50s. The Sunshine Café, 145 W. Washington, is another family-owned eatery with a long history, an informal setting, and good food and service. Like The Oak Table, it is open for breakfast and lunch only, with some variation in days, hours, according to the season. Of course Black Bear Diner, Applebee’s and IHOP all serve breakfast and have their own following among locals and travelers.

Don’t forget the coffee houses! Olympic Peninsula folks drink lots of coffee, so visitors and newcomers will find coffeehouses all along Washington St.. Additionally, Starbucks and McDonald’s aren’t the only purveyors of breakfast sandwiches. Adagio Bean and Leaf, 981 E. Washington St., has a charming atmosphere, excellent hot beverages, good sandwiches, and a steady stream of customers.

What about dinner?

Since a few of Sequim’s favorite cafes serve only breakfast and lunch, dinner can be a little more challenging. Of course, you can start with Black Bear Diner, Hiway 101, or Applebee’s. Or any of the hamburger emporiums.

If you are a little more adventuresome, you can try Blondie’s Plate, 134 S. 2^nd St., and Emerald Northwest Grill and Public House, 179 W. Washington St., both of which offer different dining choices. Oasis Bar & Grill, 301 E. Washington, has specials several nights each week. Folks rave about their steaks and fries and juicy hamburgers!

Looking for a change?

Ethnic cuisine is popular in Sequim. We’ll start with Chinese. If you are downtown, Fortune Star, which gets lots of raves, is located at 145 E. Washington. Golden Star, another favorite, is at 900 E. Washington, in the mall with QFC. There are several others, and all of them have lots of fans.

Mexican food is also in demand. Jose’s Famous Salsa House, at 126 E. Washington St., started as a narrow “hole in the wall” advertising fresh, hand made tacos, burritos, and other Mexican favorites, pretty much “to go.” Very successful, Jose’s has doubled its original size, now with real sit-down dining available. Another local favorite is Las Palomas, 1085 E. Washington. At dinnertime the parking lot is always full, locals coming for the fresh chips and large menu with tasty but economical combination plates. Most of us leave with a to-go box.

Japanese cuisine is also flourishing. Osaka Japanese Restaurant is located at 740 E. Washington near a motel. Two teriyaki restaurants are on the westside, by the big-box stores. Koto Teriyaki & Sushi is near Walmart at 1252 W. Washington and has been popular for years. A newcomer, Bento Teriyaki, is located near Home Depot and Petco at 1243 W. Washington. Very simple and set up for lots of take-out. I found this store at 6 p.m. with every seat taken and a line to the front door. The aroma of cooking food filled the parking lot—drawing all of us in!

Healthy eating

Some folks up here like “healthy” eating—including vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, etc. Seqium can take care of these tastes. Nourish, 101 Provence View Ln, is located by the southern end of Sequim Ave. Aficionados rate it very highly. Closer to town center, you’ll find Alder Wood Bistro, 139 W. Alder. This restaurant has a varied menu, including entrees like wood-planked salmon, but also soups, salads, and sandwiches. Nice atmosphere, fairly reasonable prices, sometimes have to be patient. If you are in a hurry, try Robin’s Place, 300 E. Washington St, offering healthy soups, subs, and sandwiches, from 11 to 7 daily.

Off the main drag

Some other restaurants worth a try include The Old Mill, 721 Carlsborg Rd., to the west off Highway 101 in nearby Carlsborg—serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Interesting atmosphere and good food. On the east side of Sequim, at John Wayne Marina, is the Dockside Grill, known for seafood. I love the view of the marina from its windows, its nautical atmosphere, and its good seafood. Since it’s a little pricy for my own pocketbook, I have to save it for special occasions.

Finally, there is the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Seven Cedars Casino, east on Highway 101 in Blyn (Totem Grill, Salish Buffet, and Napoli’s Deli) and the Cedars of Dungeness Golf Resort at 1965 Woodcock Rd. out on the prairie. Stymie’s and the Double Eagle Restaurant at the golf resort share a kitchen and between them serve three meals a day and provide bar service. These Native American properties offer quality food, discounts with free membership in the casino’s slot club, and are among the most popular places to eat in Sequim.

Sorry I don’t have space to list all the worthy local restaurants, cafes, and coffee houses. There are many more options that I have not covered, but you can see that the locals don’t starve. Check the Internet for more offerings; I have mentioned some of the most favored spots in town but Trip Advisor lists nearly sixty eateries in the Sequim area.

For more reviews and info on Sequim restaurants, try:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g58737-Sequim_Washington.html

By Dorothy Rice Bennett

Sequim, Washington, has been my home for seven years. The longer I live in this small rural community on the Olympic Peninsula, the more admiration and love I have for this small coastal city and the satisfying life experiences available here.

Although Sequim celebrated its Centennial in 2013, it is largely a “new” town. During the 1930s, Sequim—a subject of a resent bestselling novel, Boys In The Boat, by Daniel James Brown—had a couple of thousand residents. Between 2000 and 2009, Sequim grew twenty-nine percent, pretty amazing, and now boasts a population of about 6,500. But the actual city has a small footprint, and much of the Sequim population lives outside city limits in Clallam County. So we’re really speaking of approximately 30,000 local residents when we talk of Sequim.

Once a farming community with reputedly some one hundred dairy farms on the Sequim Dungeness Prairie—spreading to the north toward the Straits of Juan de Fuca—Sequim’s buildings and homes are largely recent or recently remodeled. Older structures have been torn down or redone so that you won’t quickly notice what they once were.

Remaining landmarks

I have written about the Railroad Bridge Park and the Johnson Creek Trestle in earlier blogs. Both these structures are remains of 20^th century railroading days on the Peninsula. I’ve also covered the New Dungeness Lighthouse. But in driving around town I have found a few more outstanding reminders of the “old days” in Sequim.

Out on the prairie, my partner Connie and I located the Dungeness Schoolhouse. Opened in 1893 with one teacher and sixty students, the two-story schoolhouse continued in operation until 1955. After the Dungeness School District merged with the Sequim School District, the venerable building was saved from ruin and preserved by caring local citizens. Listed in 1988 on the National Register of Historic Places, the schoolhouse is now owned by the Sequim Museum & Arts Center and enjoys widespread community use.

I have attended several musical and reader’s theatre productions in this historic building, and the place always gives me the warm fuzzies. However, the fact that the auditorium is on the second floor, with a magnificent but older staircase for access, has been a bit of a problem. An elevator has now been added so the famed building can continue to house community events.

A grain elevator?

In downtown Sequim, amid one and two-story shops, restaurants, and coffee houses, sits a grain elevator. Hard to miss as you are driving down Washington Street! This structure is certainly an important relic from the area’s past history. Railroad tracks once ran through the center of town, and the grain elevator was built next to the tracks for pretty obvious reasons. The building
was used as such from the mid 1940s until the 1970s. Since then, it has anchored Sequim’s “skyline” and has been the home of two Mexican restaurants on the ground floor and also serves as a communications tower. A faded sign on the western side of the building calls attention to the Clallam Coop Association, which clearly refers to grain elevator days. This building looks much as it did when in use for farm product storage and shipping. I’m really glad no one has decided to tear it down.

From church to theatre

On Sequim Avenue, just a few blocks north of Washington Street and across from Sequim High School (also with several older brick buildings) sits the current Olympic Theatre Arts Center. If you look at the building closely, it looks like a church, and it originally was one.

Built in the 1920s, the structure first served as the Trinity United Methodist Church. When the church moved to a new and larger building near Carrie Blake Park, the old church became home to the Sequim Boys and Girls Club. Several years later, when the club moved to a larger building on Fir St., the church was sold again.

This time, it became home to Olympic Theatre Arts in 2000. The volunteer theatre group added a main stage house to the building in 2010 and now has two staging areas—but even remodeled, the outside of the building still looks like the church it once was.

Sequim once had its own opera house, located on the second floor of a building on West Washington Street. Olympic Theatre Arts used that location for several years before moving to their current building. Unfortunately for history buffs, the Sequim Opera House has been remodeled sufficiently that it is not recognizable as you pass by.

Take your camera!

Today’s Sequim is a new town with old roots. Poke around. Look at old barns on the prairie. See the lighthouse from Marine Drive at the edge of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Visit the Railroad Bridge Park and Johnson Creek Trestle, both on the Olympic Discovery Trail. Drive downtown and see the grain elevator and the Olympic Theatre Arts Center. Take a look at the high school buildings with old brick walls giving away its age, despite some remodeling. Visit the Sequim Museum & Arts Center at 175 Cedar St. Drive by the Dungeness Schoolhouse at 2781 Towne Road.

Hope you have GPS! And have fun in sunny Sequim!

For general information on Sequim’s history, visit

http://sequimmuseum.com

For more information on Sequim’s historic sites, visit

http://www.visitsunnysequim.com/index.aspx?NID=118

January 21, 2017

By Dorothy Rice Bennett

“Have you hiked the Cape Flattery Trail yet?” That’s one of the first questions you hear when you visit or move to the Olympic Peninsula.

When I relocated to Sequim, it took me a little while to get my head around the question. Cape Flattery is the name of a lighthouse and the location of a piece of land on the Makah Indian Reservation. This chunk of land marks the most west/northwest point of the Continental United States. The Cape Flattery Lighthouse, itself, is actually located on Tatoosh Island, off the coast but visible, as long as the weather is clear, from the western end of the Cape Flattery Trail.

Eventually, I got with the program and traveled with my partner, Connie Jenkins, to Neah Bay to walk this famous trail. It begins from a parking lot at the end of a nice loop road coming from Neah Bay, which is home to the Makah Nation. Neah Bay has long been a native fishing village that also houses the Makah Cultural and Research Center—including a beautiful museum that presents the history and geography of the area and the Makah people.

Getting there

From Sequim, Cape Flattery is about two hours each way, so it is a full day’s trip to do the drive and then walk the three-fourths mile trail downhill to the lighthouse lookout and back up the trail to the parking lot. The trip starts by going west on Highway 101 and through Port Angeles. Beyond PA, there are two choices: shortly turn right onto highway 112, go through the community of Joyce, and wind westward toward Clallam Bay, Sekiu, and then Neah Bay. Or, you can stay on the 101 past Lake Crescent and then turn north on highway 113 and follow it until that road meets the 112 and then continue west to Neah Bay. No matter how you do it, it is a fairly long drive but has scenic moments. From Clallam Bay westward, you are often driving along the Straits of Juan de Fuca, always beautiful no matter the weather.

Pass through Neah Bay on the main street and then follow the signs to the Cape Flattery Trail. You will drive on Cape Flattery Road and Cape Loop Road for a few miles. Then, in the trailhead parking lot, there are rest rooms. Use them. Take bottles of water and energy snacks. The trail is considered a moderately difficult walking trail. But sometimes you are on the ground, sometimes you may be in mud, sometimes you are walking on slices of trees trunks, sometimes you are walking on wooden planks, and sometimes you are walking over and around gnarled tree roots. Sometimes you are at ground level, and sometimes you are two feet above it. Sometimes you have railings, and at times there are none. So the trail can be challenging.

Magical forest

Cape Flattery is a rain forest and incredibly beautiful. My partner and I have gone several times and I always feel as if I am in a Disney movie. The light filters through the trees in magical ways, and the forest growth is whimsical. The many shades of green foliage are luminous. There are hollowed out trunks that you can step into. There is much to photograph. I’ll repeat: There is much to
photograph. And if you have a walking stick, you may need it to climb back up the hill. There is a rise of only  two-hundred feet over the three-quarters of a mile, but it will seem like more than that at the time.

When you get near the bottom of the trail, there are places to your left and right with lookouts. These have benches, railings, and breathtaking views of caves, rugged bluffs, crashing waves, shore birds in their habitat, turquoise waters, and monoliths off the shoreline.

At the very end of the trail, there is a wooden structure with some large steps—requiring strength and agility to climb—that contains a lookout platform to observe the lighthouse on Tatoosh Island. This is also top picture-taking time. A narrow path goes around this structure, so that you can get in front of it—without having to climb—and also take pictures of the lighthouse. (As an aside, Connie and I both got some great shots on this walk, some of which you can see in this blog.)

Catch your breath!

Pause a few minutes before starting back. If you are a bit older, as I am, it will take all you’ve got to get back up that trail to your vehicle. Take your time, and you can do it. And be prepared for many nice people, speaking seemingly every language of the world. And lots of leashed dogs, big and small. Everyone is welcome here, and everyone comes.

When you return to Neah Bay, if you have time, visit the museum. It is amazing. I passed it more than once before I finally toured it, and now I’ll never pass the museum by again. Admission is reasonable, and there is a nice gift shop and clean restrooms. Before you leave town, gas up your car for your return trip to Sequim. For dinner, I recommend stopping in Joyce. My personal choice eatery is the Blackberry Café, where they put blackberries in just about everything. This place is a traveler’s favorite.

The Olympic Peninsula offers many outdoor things to do. Cape Flattery Trail ranks highly as a must for anyone in reasonably good hiking/walking condition. There isn’t a more beautiful spot around, and that’s saying a lot, because this Peninsula is filled with natural beauty.

For some local information before you go, try the following and have fun!

http://makah.com/activities/cape-flattery-trail/

http://makahmuseum.com

December 10, 2016

By Dorothy Rice Bennett

If you are heading west out of Sequim on the 101, you’ll find a brown sign just before the exit to Kitchen-Dick Road that says “Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.” Be sure follow the arrow on that sign. It’s well worth a few miles drive off the highway.

A long time ago, the Sequim-Dungeness Prairie was wilderness, a desert kind of wilderness, but wilderness nevertheless. Residents were the members of  Jamestown S’Klallam tribe of Native Americans. Then settlers moved in near the end of the nineteenth century and with irrigation the prairie became farming country, with at one time approximately one hundred dairies in operation. Today there are two dairies, some ranches and farms, lots of houses, a few businesses, and the city of Sequim. But the wildlife of the area still has a protected home within the Dungeness Refuge.

Unlike the national parks, the Dungeness Refuge is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The system comprises a network of lands and waters set aside for the conservation of America’s fish, wildlife, and plants.

Upper and lower levels

The Dungeness is divided into two main areas. The first is a land mass mostly covered in both evergreen and deciduous trees on a bluff overlooking the Straits of Juan de Fuca. On that land mass there are roads, trails, parking areas, and spots for camping and picnicking. Most of this upper area is open to dogs on leashes. It includes a lengthy trail overlooking the Washington coastline with views to the west to Port Angeles, the Olympic mountains in the background, and Vancouver Island and Victoria, B.C., to the north.

The second area is mostly at sea level and includes a beach below the bluff and a spit, one of the longest in the world, that leads eastward to the New Dungeness Lighthouse, some five and one half miles away. This second area has a formal entrance and is manned by Dungeness Refuge volunteers. There is a small fee to enter the area. The path down to the spit is also restricted in that no dogs are allowed.

The trail down to sea level and the spit passes through forest terrain, some of it fairly rugged, but with a clear and wide path that is paved most of the way. Going down is easier; coming back up can be a challenge for older adults (like me) with any physical limitations.

Located about twenty minutes from downtown Sequim, the Dungeness (as it is locally called) is an amazing community asset. Open year round in the daytime, it is a great place for a dog walk or a picnic, and there are enough things to do to fill an entire afternoon, when you bring along binoculars and/or a camera.  Maybe a walking stick.

On the upper area, there is parking available very close to the picnic tables overlooking the bluff. There are pullouts with parking, so visitors can take a look at the beautiful Straits with waves crashing on the shore below. The camping sites are mostly located within the trees, for peace, quiet, and privacy. Bring the tent or the RV and have a good weekend vacation. In the main parking lot, located just before the entrance to the trail down to the spit, there are clean and modern public restrooms.
More than 100 years old

The Dungeness was established by President Woodrow Wilson on January 20, 1915, to provide a refuge, a preserve, and a breeding ground for native birds. The lengthy Dungeness Spit today still continues to protect migrating shorebirds. It provides calm waters for wintering waterfowl—it also supports harbor seals and their pups and provides abundant beds for young salmon and steelhead fish.

Some areas of the refuge are restricted and certain sporting activities are not allowed, if they would disturb the wildlife in residence. The volunteer staff can provide information on what is permitted and where, or you can check on the Internet before visiting the park.

Getting to the Dungeness is easy. After turning off the 101 at Kitchen-Dick Road, just drive north through the prairie to the end of the road; turn right on to Lotzgesell Road, go a very short distance, and then turn left into the Dungeness. A single main entrance takes you through grassy lands, with tall trees to your left and ahead. Keep driving to the end of the road to reach the main parking lot. (The official address is 554 Voice of America Road West, Sequim, WA 98382) If desired, stop at any pull out along the way to get a look at the Straits. There is no admission fee. Hours are posted at the entrance and vary seasonally.

For further information on the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, go to https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Dungeness/

Have fun at the Dungeness, which is incredibly beautiful. It is one of my favorite outdoor places and one of the “secrets” of Sequim that make this community such a wonderful place in which to live.

November 9, 2016

By Dorothy Rice Bennett

Everybody loves lighthouses, right? I know I do. I’ve traveled the coast of Maine, up and down the California coastline, and followed Highway 101 through Oregon and Washington, always with the hope of finding another lighthouse. They are not only beautiful historic structures—they light up the coastline, and lighthouses suggest something positive, hopeful, and enlightened.

Not every coastal city or town has its own lighthouse. Sequim is one of the lucky ones. New Dungeness Lighthouse sits near the end of the Dungeness Spit north of the city proper. It is reachable by boat and by a rather long walk—more than five miles each way—along the Dungeness Spit from the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

That particular spit of land was reputedly the first soil on which early sailors set foot as they explored what is today the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound. The lighthouse was opened in 1957; it stands sixty-three feet high and is still an active navigational aid.

Getting there

I’ve been fortunate to visit the New Dungeness Lighthouse by boat. Captain Charles Martin keeps a twenty-six-foot power catamaran, Livin’ the Dream, at the John Wayne Marina in Sequim and takes small groups of tourists on various water adventures. One available trip is to our lighthouse. My journey required passage through Sequim Bay to its mouth and then across Dungeness Bay toward the spit. There is no dock at the lighthouse, so our group transferred from the powerboat to a smaller inflatable that could go ashore to let us off and pick us up again. The lighthouse can also be reached by small power craft and kayaks from Cline Spit in Dungeness Bay.

Water travel to the lighthouse is admittedly very dependent on weather. Wind, high tides and waves can cause trip cancellations. Walking to the lighthouse can also be a challenge. At high tide, the spit is largely under water; therefore, the hike must be planned to start and finish within acceptable tide levels to avoid stepping on rocks and climbing over tree trunks. Starting times, resting periods at the lighthouse during low tide, and the return walk must be planned carefully.

Volunteer lighthouse keepers

Exploring this lighthouse is delightful fun. Outside, there are picnic tables, restrooms, green lawn, and a drinking fountain to help make hikers and boating visitors comfortable. Inside, there are tour guides available. They are called, quite logically, “Lighthouse Keepers.”

The keepers live in an adjoining building (modern inside with TV and WiFi) and spend a few hours daily maintaining the lighthouse and surrounding areas as well as providing tours. Keepers sign up to serve for a week and sometimes wait up to a year to get a slot. It’s not free—they pay for the privilege of staying at the lighthouse, but the cost for a week is about the same as a motel room would be. They cook for themselves, read, play table games, take hikes, watch TV, keep up with their Facebook pages—and enjoy the incredible serenity of the lighthouse grounds.

Tours of the museum and tower are available from 9 to 5 daily. Climbing the seventy-four steps to the top of the tower was a bit of a challenge for me but offered a marvelous view of the Dungeness Refuge, the Straits, and Canada. Outside, at ground level, I was impressed by the absence of noise. I cannot imagine a more peaceful setting!

Two of the keepers during my visit were from Indianapolis in my home state of Indiana (I grew up in Speedway, home of the Indy 500) A married couple, the two had planned for a long time for their special week. Very friendly, they compared notes with me about the lighthouse and “back home in Indiana.” The Hoosiers raved about the wonderful air quality at the lighthouse and the quiet that they totally enjoyed.

The small museum on the bottom floor includes a Fresnel lamp, history of the lighthouse, displays about the Native Americans who have lived in this area, and of course, brochures about the lighthouse association. Very few souvenirs are available but can be purchased online (I got myself a lighthouse T-shirt, for example).

Back again

I loved being at the lighthouse so much that on a second visit by boat, I took with me friends that I knew would have a good time. While the weather can interfere, the climate on the Olympic Peninsula is relatively mild and the lighthouse provides a possible day-trip during most of the year.

If you are a real lighthouse aficionado, there are more day-trip lighthouses close to this area: Point Wilson Light at Fort Worden State Park near Port Townsend; Admiralty Head Lighthouse on Whidbey Island; Point No Point Light at Hansville near Kingston; and Cape Flattery Lighthouse on Tatoosh Island, visible from the far end of Cape Flattery Trail at Neah Bay on the Olympic Peninsula.

For current details about the New Dungeness Lighthouse, I suggest you go to the website http://newdungenesslighthouse.com  For information on boat tours to the lighthouse, check out http://thewaterlimousine.com

Happy lighthouse exploring!