Washington Trip, July 12 (Sequim)--Day One

July 12, 2019.
Earthquake!
In the wee hours of the morning, (2:42 AM, if I remember correctly), I was awakened by my bed shaking.  Then it stopped.  My poor sleepy brain said, "Huh!  I think we just had an earthquake."  And I went back to sleep.
Apparently, three of the four other family members whose rooms are upstairs felt it, too, and were spooked.   They came downstairs (where I sleep) to check on me (sound asleep) and to regroup before going back to bed.  The children had never experienced an earthquake before.  Meg and I have, although not frequently.  It certainly was an interesting way to start our nine-day adventure through Washington!  The USGS registered the earthquake as a 4.6 on the Richter Scale, centered a mere 7-10 miles, as the crow flies, from the house.

Our target departure time was 1:15 PM.  Denis--the quiet patient one among us--put three kayaks and a paddle board on a rack on top of the car, then played Tetris in order to pack luggage, food, and supplies for five people, and still have room to see out the back window.  He's a champ!  (It doesn't help much that we had to take my rollator, more for the place to sit when necessary than help in walking.  The silly thing takes up a lot of room.)  We actually departed at 2:00, which isn't bad for so many people to get going in the same direction at the same time.

Our destination for the day was Sequim, WA (pronounced "Skwim").  It is a town on the northeast side of the Olympic Peninsula, not far from Forks, WA, and the Hoh National Rain Forest.  But first, we had to get there.

Getting there meant driving to Edmonds, WA, to pick up a ferry to take us across the water to the peninsula.  When we arrived, we stopped at a Starbucks first (one of MANY Starbucks locations in the PNW), then got in a queue for the ferry.  Interestingly, it seems that the queue is a whole lane of traffic that runs alongside the major streets of Edmonds.  We were alerted that the ferry wait was about two hours.  As we inched along for an hour and 15 minutes, suddenly the skies opened up and the angels sang.  We were directed to a line that put us as the last vehicle allowed on the ferry in dock.  Without this, we would have had to wait at least another 45 minutes for the next ferry.  Yay!

The ferry took us from Edmonds to Kingston.  We then drove through Fort Gamble, then on to Sequim.  It was late in the afternoon when we arrived.  Denis took the stuff off the top of the car, and we unloaded.

Our accommodations for the next three nights were to be at an AirBnB:  Margi May's Guest House in Sequim.
We didn't meet Margi that evening but came to understand that she is a realtor originating from South Africa, with her proper British accent.  The house was L-shaped.  She lived in one part of the L, and we were staying in the other.  Outside, there was a fire pit with some chairs and benches that only seemed sturdy enough for little children.  Inside was just as cute as it could be...but...

I know NOTHING about the whole AirBnB thing except that people are offering up their homes/property for vacation rental, stocked with accoutrements that would be necessary for a family to enjoy.  Margi's place was adequate, but she needs to take a look at her place with a visitor's eye.
For one thing, there was no stove.  A digital one-burner hot plate, yes.  A microwave.  A nice toaster.  No dishwasher.  No garbage disposer.  And friendly notes all over the place to please not let food crumbs go down the sink or flush anything other than the supplied toilet paper down the potty.  We managed.

It seems that Margi broke the bank on the bathroom.  It had a nice walk-in shower with a grab bar and a delightful jacuzzi tub, complete with all kind of supplies for bubbles and lit candles, etc.  The rest of the house, however, had no non-bedroom place to set up a computer, and inconvenient plugs with which to charge phones, etc.

There were two bedrooms.  One had a double bed for Meg and Denis, and a couch that Robin took.  The other room (with the TV) had a futon and an L-shaped vinyl couch that was flaking, covered with a comforter.  I got the futon by default.  Poor Ryan got stuck on the couch.  Since he's a thrasher when he sleeps, the comforter went south and he became covered by little pieces of vinyl shreddings.  I'm sorry, Ryan!

For supper (at 7:00), we followed Internet recommendations for a Mexican place in town, which turned out to be a bar with a fast-food ordering counter.  We put in our orders and served ourselves.  I don't think anyone cared.  By this time, we were hungry and tired, yet not too tired to hit up one of those frozen yogurt places at which you make your own sundae and buy it by weight.  We ate our concoctions outside, although it was quite cool and breezy by this time.

My first impression of Sequim is that the homes and lawns are well-cared for an manicured.  Lavinder was in season and everywhere!

The house was well-stocked with games.  Ryan challenged Denis to chess, then the rest of us played other games before everyone hit the sack.  I think I was the absolute first to conk out!