36 - Sunday, March 14, 1293 - North Shore News offers friendly towns, abundant wildlife WHAT HE said was, in effect, ‘‘Honey, you look like the end of a wet week. You’re in need of a change.’’ What he was too kind to say was, ‘‘Man, these one-handed meals are getting me down.’ THE VINTAGE’ YEARS . SO. we took “off to Se- “ quim. " We’d been in Sequim (thé locals call it ‘‘Squim’’) be- fore. “Roughly. halfway - be- tween the . ferries; Port Townsend’s in the East and Port Angeles on the outside waters, it’s a little. old town crowned: with a number of ‘the lovely old houses this Olympic Peninsula is famous for. It’s a- maximum of only five hours’ travel from our deorstep and it--boasts an “especially fine climate year-round. "Some. influence. keeps ‘precipitation to a minimum, ' and keeps the temperature ‘ moderate and delightful. There are also some fine dining rooms. I shared my companion’s longing for -somecne else’s food, some ‘indulgent _ service, someone else’s hand on the plough. It always was a pleasant and friendly town, but it has found -great popularity amongst the retired, and we * noted new construction, vmore little malls, more cars, longer waits at intersections. But it still has an air of sober refinement and a feel-. ‘ing of timelessness — old people are comfortable with its easy style and it offers a ‘wide variety of quiet enter- tainment as well as its salubrious weather. Between the town and the sea lie a lot of smal! work- ing farms. There are an- tique stores. all over. the place, some of them housed in ‘those handsome old houses. Churches abound — at least 20 lie within the { city limits, all well nourished. Good golf is availabie at seemingly the nicely appointed Dungeness. course. The name brings visions of perfect crab dishes, avail- able at most of the local dining rooms. And .the Dungeness Spit, this part of the world, seven -specimens in unique in, miles of it, creates ideal habitat for shellfish and shore birds and water fowl and seals. The people who keep track say they count everything from pileated cormorants to grebes and puffins. A well-known pod of 80 orcas enjoys life off- shore, every one of them identified, every one of them with its own name, There’s a famous animal farm just down over there, from which the movie and TV people recruit exotic _ Species. Creatures as disparate as jaguars and donkeys, yaks and zebras. From there it’s only a short ride to the old old schoolhouse, where they’ve made a mock-up of a 19th century schoolroom, And there are mastodon the local museum. Lovely prospects for walks. On your way into town from the east side is a lavish marina named for John Wayne, who brought his boat often into Sequim Bay. He was always urging a start on what he thought would be a perfect marina setting, and after he died a good deal of his money was put to the construction of a very fine facility. It’s presently host to lit- erally dozens of spiffy- looking craft, and the con- comitant amenities that have grown up prove he had a good idea. I am never entirely at ease in the U.S. of A., due to my upbringing. That-implacable Yorkshireman who made all my life rules held mostly uncharitable views of our American neighbors. Their free-form table manners, their wounding mutilation of his language, their unfet- ba This is his essence, friendly, busy, optimistic, unselfconscious, and mostly content. 99 tered public behavior all of- fended him, and [| was constantly abjured not to fall into like error. So to this day my eyes and ears are still quick to register the offences ’ that induced his scorn while at the same time I am warm- ing to. the easy cordiality and generosity that these folks are all noted for. The views of some rigid ‘old Englishman would sim- ply seem to them archaicly amusing. Not in the cities, though. There the tensions created by money and color are working to alienate and ex- acerbate, and one wants to avoid New York, Los Angeles, Miami. But in the boonies, the average curious, unaffected, self- confident, hard-working ° American «citizen is «living his life free of my sort of hang-up. This is his . essence, friendly, “busy, © optimistic, unselfconscious, and mostly ” content. We came away from Se- quim- with a_ feeling of pleasant satisfaction, of . having had. some carefree time, of having been: pampered and refreshed, of having stayed with friends. . And not the least bit: hungry. ; A fundraising event for the North Vancouver Youth Band Enjoy an evening with the North ‘Shore's most popular comic group. THE COMEDY COMPANY Saturday, April 3 international Piaza Cocktails 6:30 Dinner 7: 30pm Tickets $35 per person. Call for your tickets 983-6299 24 hrs. 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