Squim, Sequim, what?

We be in Sequim,, Washington (pronounced Skwim, from the S’klallum word for quiet waters). We were at the newest RV park, the Gilgal Oasis for a week and are now at the Sequim Bay Resort, which is above the John Wayne Marina. Work is going well. I try not to start before the sheet-creases leave my cheek; we get home around 4:30 but usually have paperwork for a couple of more hours. Dave always has computer work, as I make calls and get a maybe, we put together an ad and usually get a sale.

Working four jobs non-stop has not been our idea of a part-time job but it has been excellent training. After we finish in Sequim, we will see our families near Seattle/Tacoma, head to Utah to see more family, and then strike out across the country, generally aiming for Georgia. Although we are independent contractors working for Southeast Publications, and can do a map for any RV park that does not have one, our managers are great about finding jobs for us along the way of our travels. These are parks that have been done before, but the rep isn’t going to do it again for some reason and has put it in “inventory.” We have our eye on a park in Savannah that a rep can’t do because of illness.

We are parked right on Sequim Bay and have a beautiful view. Sequim is in between Port Angeles on the west and Port Townsend to the east. They call this area the “blue hole” because of the rainshadow effect — they only get 16 inches of rain per year. The climate is very mild all year and the flowers are breathtaking, even this time of the year. I’ve never seen Dahlias like this. Sequim calls itself the lavender capital of North America and is home to many large lavender farms. I met a wonderful woman named Phoebe Smith who runs a lavender and garlic farm. She showed me through the garlic shed (100 varieties!), each bin hand-marked with a description of how it cooked or stored or tasted. Thinking about Phoebe, I once again realize that one of the best things about this job is meeting interesting people. When Phoebe signed the paperwork and wrote out her check for me, her Chihuahua, Rosa, was slowly but steadily creeping up to me on the couch. Just ignore her, Phoebe says. So I did, but Rosa verrrrry carefully got up to me, put her paw on my arm, and without even a hint of friendliness, pulled herself up and gently put her nose to my mouth. Two sniffs and she backed away, just as slowly and carefully. I wonder what she would have done if I had just eaten something Chihuahuas like? Phoebe also has exotic chickens, which I love, and she keeps a bucket of feed handy so people like me can feed them. A sign on the pen advises visitors of things that upset the chickens: words like Colonel Sanders and Tyson, Kentucky fried ….

The first park we did here was owned by Christian people who were quite strict about who we could call on for ad sales, or so we were told. Actually, the only people they didn’t want to advertise involved gambling; we found them very helpful and supportive. I asked the owner if she wanted me to call on her church for an ad and she said well, yes, if you want to, it’s on Kitchen Dick and Hooker Rd. Dave and I just looked at her blankly, not wanting to laugh. But she caught it and we all had a good yuk. The park we’re in now is run by a couple of ladies, one of whom i KNOW must be ex-military. We got off to a rough start because they were afraid we couldn’t do two parks at the same time and do them both well, but we’re okay now. This property is owned by the John Wayne family; they’re lucky to have such good caretakers.

We are having much more success on these jobs, and actually took the whole weekend off. Went to the hydroplane races yesterday but it got real boring when one of the boats had to be rescued and the cranes weren’t in position to get other boats into the water. Davey rode the bike path to Port Angeles; it comes out right at the Ferry and city marina, so I met him there. The bike path apparently was not built on a railroad bed. He said at one point it was so steep he had to stand up and lean over to keep his front wheel on the ground!

One year ago yesterday we signed the sale papers on Q Photo. It has been such a great year. We count our blessings often.

Love to all,

Sam