Squim (Or Sequim if spelled correctly)

SUMMARY: What you see is not what you say.

My seester and I did a driving scouting-of-locations around the Seattle Area May 8-18. But not actually in Seattle. Where could we retire to? Since I'm almost there this year, it's kinda important that I know what the heck I'm doing. Or going. Sequim is very nice. In May.  We thought that a nice quiet small town near sailing for my B-I-L would be good.

I learned how to pronounce Sequim (the name developed from the Klallam language) when a couple I know moved there in 2019. And also when another couple I know moved there in 2019 (actually to Port Angeles). And also when a couple that Linda knows moved there a couple of years ago also (actually to Port Angeles, too, but who's counting). And they all love it there.

All from our general area in California. 

An exercise for the student: what will Sequim look like in 20 years??!

Another exercise for the student: Find Sequim on the map. Or use your favorite maps app.

Some Things We Looked Up While On Our Trip

SUMMARY: We both have curious minds.

So, this happened:  Seester and I headed north to western Washington to investigate possible future retirement locations. Driving is the best! Lots of time for conversation and asking questions about--anything! [yeah, will probably get around to talking about the trip at some point.]

• Can we reasonably make it to our first area of exploration (Silverdale, WA) in one day? Answer: Yes, if we're willing to drive for 14 hours. Not including rest stops, food stops, gas stops....  Final answer: No.

• Where should we stop our first night? (Checking distances from our starting location to Portland, Crescent City, Eureka, Ukiah, and some other places.) Decided on Crescent City but I insisted on not making reservations until we were well on our way, and glad about that because we made it only to Eureka for dinner with a friend.

• How to pronounce Puyallup?

• How does tolling work for non-Washington residents crossing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? (Apparently they'll get our address from CA DMV via our license plate and send a bill.)

  

  When we headed home, that was really the only day with dark foreboding clouds.
  Which pretty much cleared up by noon.

  
  

• Did L. Ron Hubbard *really* have more published works of fiction than Stephen King? (Guiness World Records says yes.)
  
  
• If I wanted to pick up Zorro the day after I got home instead of Friday night, and he was in Sonora, how long would it take? (Gulp--4 hours round trip. Answer: No. Fortunately arranged a pickup in Tracy, only 2 hours round trip.)
  
  
• Which rest areas (er, "safety roadside rest areas") are currently open on I-5? On US 101?  (Didn't have much luck finding those answers.)
  
  
• Where exactly is Trees of Mystery and what are their hours?
  
  
• What's interesting about Port Angeles?
  
  
• Rainfall averages for various places in Washington?
  
  
• Lots and lots and lots and lots of queries in Google Maps for how to get somewhere or how long it would take or where it was.
  
  
• Where's the nearest AAA office?
  
  
• Tsunami Hazard Zone Maps for WA.
  
  
• Exclusion zones for Mount Rainier eruption dangers
  
  
• Iceland isn't on the Ring Of Fire, so why does it have volcanoes?
  
  
• How did prehistoric irrigation work in the Americas without the wheel? Was it all gravity-based? (Apparently, yes.)
  
  
• Calories in a Wendy's small chocolate Smoothie?
  
  
• Common name for Humuhumunukunukuapua'a? [Yes, I could remember the Hawaiian name, but not the common  English name.]
  
  
• What is all the white stuff growing next to  101 around Eugene? [Answer: Meadowfoam. OK, what is Meadowfoam?]  

  

  Meadowfoam, by phone from a moving car.

  
  
  
• Is there an airport near Labanon OR? (Yes, the Labanon airport.)
  
  
• Are wild pigs just domestic pigs gone feral?  (Maybe in some cases, but actual different species. They are a likely ancestor of domestic pigs.)
  
  
• Are wild turkeys just etc etc. (Domestic turkeys are descended from them.)

• ARE there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side? (Interesting and funny blog post about this.)
  
  
• List of fictional characters with stars on the Hollywood walk of fame?
  
  
• Does EVERYWHERE WE GO have a Safeway?  [It sure seemed like it. I think we saw more safeways than anything other than trees.]
  
  
• Can that photo of our hotel on [something] Bay [which appears to be mostly mudflats] in the far background of an orca leaping into the air be real? For that matter, do orcas really breach often? [I said, yes, they're basically just big dolphins.] 
  
  
• What's the best Incorrect Quote we can generate for our favorite fictional characters?
  
  
• If someone says their dog is a Service Dog (and the person is disabled after overseas service), but the dog is badly behaved, can it really be a Service Dog? And how is that defined?
  
  
• Where is the wooden ship Tally-Ho being rebuilt in Sequim? (All that info has apparently now been hidden and we couldn't find it.)
  
  
• Rules about capital gains on primary residences.
  
  
• Dimensions of a king-sized mattress?
  
  
• Actual name of the Klamath River bridge that washed away, and is it the same name as its replacement?

  

  Site of the old bridge. Seester taking a photo.

  
  
  
• Earthquake and liquefaction hazard maps in and around seattle?
  
  
• Did our favorite hotel Candy Cane Inn in Anaheim survive the pandemic? [says it's currently "under renovation"... whatever that really means]
  
  
• Kaiser locations in Washington and Oregon?
  
  
• Nearest Wendy's?
  
  
• We're alongside the Salmon River -- want more info.
  
  
• What causes nighttime leg and foot cramps?
  
  
• Where did the city name Cotati come from? (Coast Miwok)
  
  
• So much more--but I didn't save everything... and sorry I didn't include all the links (sometimes searched a lot for an answer).