Dave and I got to spend an extended bit of time out in Washington State on a "working vacation" in May/first part of June and a bit of that time was spent along the Olympic Peninsula. I'm already in love with Seattle, so Washington was already high on my list of favorite places, but wow! The Peninsula was gorgeous! And ... with my new-found addiction to sparkly vampires, I wasn't gonna' miss Forks. *grin*
So let me warn ya' ... if you haven't read Twilight the pics may not MEAN a lot to you, but they're still pretty to look at! ;)
We came across the visitor center shortly after a stop at the "Welcome to Forks" sign. (Which actually made me giddy. *laugh*) Parked outside is an old "rusty" (it was painted on) truck like Bella drives in the books.
Bumper sticker on the back of "Bella's truck." Werewolves? Please! Where's the "I *heart* boys that sparkle" bumper sticker!? *laugh*
Forks Outfitters and the Thirftway (for anyone reading that hasn't read Twilight - Dawn, I'm looking at you), these are both places Bella goes in the book. And they're connected. Thriftway is to the left from this photo's vantage point.
Forks High School! Isn't this a pretty little school? It was teenie weenie, but charming.
Sign in the school's front yard. I will spare you the photos of Dave and John doing "cheerleader jumps" in front of it. (John and Emily went along with us.)
We're gonna' pretend this is Charlie's cruiser. *wink* (Charlie is the chief of police and Bella's Dad.)
Reserved spot at the Forks Community Hospital for everyone's favorite sparkly doctor. I guess this is as good a spot as any to say that Forks REALLY embraces Twilight. I don't think I saw many a business without a Twilight movie poster or some reference to the books. It all comes off as overly cheesy, but when you're a small town in the middle of nowhere and you have 1,000 people coming in over a summer weekend, you make the most of it.
One of the people I talked to in town told me about the Chamber of Commerce's vote to select local homes to represent residences from the book: "the Cullen house" and "Bella's House." This one, a B&B, is - you guessed it - the Cullen home. Is it just me or do you agree that there's no way Esme would have allowed a mailbox like that?! *laugh*
The border between Forks and La Push? If Pepsi says it's so, I'm inclined to believe, yeah? *wink*
I really liked having visuals to put up against my imagination's view of the books. This is what the drive between Forks and La Push looks like. (In the books, especially the 3rd, the characters drive this road. A lot.)
I can't help it. I always want to write: "It's ... La Push." *laugh*
Now, you guys that know me and have talked to me about Twilight know that I'm not a werewolf fan. That little punk, Jacob, annoys me. (Stop! No throwing!) *laugh* But I fell in love with First Beach. The coastline along the whole area (not just in La Push) was stunningly beautiful. I loved it. Dave loved it. We even enjoyed the remainder of a bonfire. It was really, really lovely.
Another shot from First Beach. Driftwood was everywhere, just like it was described in the book. (And if I recall correctly, the author had never been to the area when she wrote the first book.)
I LOVE this shot! Absolutely cracks me up. We drove by it a few times and I giggled every single time. I took 1000's of photos, got some great scenic shots of the beaches and trees and rainforests, but this is one of my favorites! *laugh*
I have a TON more photos that I'd love to share, but figured I'd start ya' there. If anyone wants to see more of Forks and La Push, I can set up an album to share the rest! (ETA: Thanks for the emails about seeing more photos! I'm glad you're enjoying them as much as I do! I've added an album to sidebar!)
In the meantime, look for some fun tidbits about my A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA classes in NJ tomorrow!
