Day 65: Sequim

A Sunny Morning & a Rainy Afternoon in Sequim


Sequim Farmers Market (I bought veggies from this stand-- but not a pumpkin)

We woke bright and early to a sunny day in our Sequim Caboose. (For those of you who missed yesterday's post, that's pronounced "Skwim.")  We had to be early because breakfast is served in the Silver Eagle Dining Car at 8:30 AM sharp, and we didn't want to disappoint our hosts for whom breakfast is a really big deal and an integral part of the "experience" at their Getaway.

 Today we were the only diners-- though tomorrow morning there will apparently be several others--so we had the car to ourselves.  Even though we were not moving down the tracks, this breakfast was served in the finest fancy dining car tradition, as you can see from the menu provided on the table.

Breakfast Menu from This Morning

The menu this morning consisted fresh squeezed juice, Orange-marmalade pull apart bread, a baked banana with yogurt, almonds, and coconut, a sausage & 3 cheese frittata with herb roasted potatoes, coffee & tea, and a chocolate covered strawberry for dessert.  As you can guess by now, Bob ate really well, and I devoured the meatless frittata and tasted all the other delicious bits (oh, and my strawberry thoughtfully arrived sans chocolate).  Lisa food idiosyncrasies aside, it was a truly lovely breakfast that we are looking forward to enjoying (if not getting up early for--ok that's just me) tomorrow.

After breakfast we headed into the town of Sequim.  Our first stop was the farmers market, where I picked up some really nice looking vegetables that I will cook up tomorrow when we get to a house with a kitchen.  We also walked around town stopping in galleries and shops.

In case you didn't know Sequim is the Lavender Capital of the world with dozens of lavender farms located in the general vicinity.  Unfortunately we just missed the season and it appears that just about all of them are closed for tours now.  However, they all do appear to have gift shops in downtown Sequim, so I was able to check them out.  Whether on the farm or in a gift shop--lavender is a very potent smelling herb.

To continue our small town museum tour, we spend a bit of time in the local Sequim Museum and Arts Center.  In addition to exhibits about local history, the museum displayed Mastodon bones unearthed locally in 1977 by a guy digging a pond in his yard.  The clever exhibit placed the bones on a full sized mastodon mural. 

Full Size Mastodon Mural with Pieces of Real Bone Attached


Another thing we quickly realized about the entire state of Washington is that they really love their coffee, and there are shops, stands, carts and drive-thrus where you can get your java fix just about everywhere. We were warned however to watch out for those aimed at adults who want their coffee served by someone less than fully clothed.

Here's one coffee house that caught our eye with cars coming out of its second floor.

Bringing New Meaning to Cars and Coffee


By about 1PM the beautiful sunny day disappeared and was replaced by clouds and rain.  Apparently we were rewarded for rising early and got our walking around town in before the rain began. (Though, Sequim is at the heart of the Olympic Rain Shadow-- and it hardly seems fair that we are getting one of the only 16 inches of rain they get in a typical year.)

 So, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to our Caboose for a bit.  As there is really not much more to report right now, I decided to add some more pictures from our Caboose.

 Here is Bob Relaxing in the cupola as I write this:
Bob Relaxes in the Caboose Cupola (with a dry Vietnam War History Book)

These are some interesting shots of original bars and pipes in the caboose that no longer function, but were left intact:


Bars and Pipes in the Caboose (High enough that Bob does not need to watch his head)


Steps to Cupola and Old Storage Locker Under Cupola (converted to a closet and painted purple)


A Gage for the Brakes?
(The Gage was made in Marion, OH by the Beacon Gage Company)


Plaque on the Bathroom Door
(We were worried until we realized it was a historical relic, not an active instruction)


Bob Uses the Caboose Built-in Exercise Equipment 
As I finish up writing this, we are planning to head out to a local sports bar to watch the main event of the night on a bigger TV than we have in the room.  In case you're wondering (i.e. if you are part of my family) that is the Virginia Tech - Clemson Football game.  If Tech wins we'll post an update to this post.  If they don't win then there is nothing more to say.

 --Lisa



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