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I know..I'm dragging this out...but I never post this many pics and it's time consuming! After a full day of sight-seeing in Forks and La Push, we headed back to Port Angeles where we had reservations at Bella Italia. This is the restaurant that was the inspiration for Bella & Edward's first date. If you'll remember, she orders the mushroom ravioli, he orders nothing, and proceeds to tell her that he can read minds...everyone's in the room, 'apart from yours'. Word has it that Kristen Stewart has actually been to the Forks, WA and she's even been to Bella Italia to have the now famous mushroom ravioli. Author Stephenie Meyer has also been here and left autographed proof. I would not succumb to peer pressure and have mushroom ravioli, simply because I wouldn't otherwise order it! I enjoyed chicken fettucine, and we split a bottle of the newly released 'Twilight' sparkling red wine...yummy:) Here's a few shots of the evening...we were running late and didn't even get to dress up for supper, but it was still fun. I didn't get the best pics, but we've yet to swap photos from the weekend.
Here's a few shots around the beautiful hotel we stayed in...
Here's a few randoms....a plaque of 'Bella Swan - employee of the month' at the Forks Outfitters, and a few of the the twilight shopping options...
Well, that's it for today's post (hold the applause please) Tomorrow, for the final Girls Get-A-Way post it's the beautiful Port Townsend.
So if you've followed the last couple of days posts you'll know the story on where we went for our girls get-a-way weekend. Once we had spent a few hours checking out Forks, Washington, we did some window shopping and then headed out to La Push Beach on the Quileute Indian Reservation. It was a bit of a drive and the rain started falling, but this was one of the places I really wanted to see while we were there. I'm intrigued by Native Indian legend and way of life, and I love beaches! The drive was gorgeous, if wet, and there was a beautiful resort on the reserve where people can stay. There was a 1st and 2nd beach. If it had been summer it would've been fun to hike down to these and see the cliffs that inspired the cliff diving parts in the Twilight series. La Push is on the western side of the Olympic Peninsula. It isn't the farthest North, but very close. There was high winds and rain but I was the first out of the van, the first to get pelted with rain, the first to start snapping pictures, and the first to trip over a rock and get laughed at! But I was there and I loved it! All weekend it was..."La Push, Baby, LA-PUSH". I liked that scene in the movie where they're in the cafeteria and Eric is trying to talk Bella into going to La Push and she tells him she'll go if he stops saying 'La Push'! After La Push we headed back inland...and I get to stake claim for being the one to discover Jacob's house first! Even our veteran Twifan Rhonda hadn't been able to locate the house based on Jake Black...but I found it!!! It was one of my favorite houses. After La Push we headed out to the field that was the inspiration for the infamous vampire baseball scene..which is MY most FAVORITE scene in the whole movie. Even the song in this scene (Supermassive Black Hole) has become a favorite in our household and on my ipod! After the baseball field we headed back to Port Angeles to our reservation at Bella Italia...more on that tomorrow!
I told you it was stormy!!! Next up....the Black residence...He wasn't home. I checked.
Anybody up for a friendly game of baseball? Favorite all time quote: "I'm the one with the wicked curve-ball". I almost bought a shirt that had this quote...it was a baseball shirt, and seeing how I'm joining a baseball team this year I thought it would be appropriate.....that was until I realized that i would be deceiving every member on the ball team..I can barely throw a ball, and chances of it being 'wicked' are unlikely! That, and, chances are none of them would get the meaning behind the quote. But still....would've loved the shirt. The baseball field was in the middle of nowhere, but there were plenty of signs indicating it had been discovered before us! It was raining and close to thunder but I didn't have a bat or ball. Next time.
I'm having so much fun journaling this...I think I may do a little scrap book to remind me of my trip...great times! Check in tomorrow for more pics:)
We left for our get-a-way late on Friday afternoon and hit Starbucks before we did anything else! From there we made the 10 minute drive to the border, got across quickly, passports in hand, and were told 'Have a nice time ladies'. Thank you kindly sir... From here we headed down to Deception Pass, over the beautiful bridge and took the 20 minute ferry from Keystone to Port Townsend. We drove straight thru to Port Angeles, then checked in at our beautiful hotel and headed out for supper. The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast, saw a few local sights and then headed out to Forks for the afternoon.
The weather cooperated beautifully for most of the day. It wasn't until later in the day when we made our way out to the Rainforest and La Push that things got a little stormy! Apparently, when Stephenie Meyer was thinking about where she could base her story about vampires she knew it had to be somewhere that didn't get a lot of sun, so she googled 'rainiest place on the Northern US Continent' and the Olympic Peninsula is what came up. Stephenie lives in Arizona but apparently she now also owns a place somewhere in this area.
We enjoyed seeing all the places that the Twilight books were inspired by and enjoyed the way the town has embraced the fame. you'll notice the Forks High School, The Police Station where Charlie works, the Hospital where Dr. Cullen has a reserved parking spot, the Cullen Bed & Breakfast, and Bella and Charlie's place. Tomorrow I'll take ya'll out to La Push to see the sights there....
There's the hospital where the 'oh so pale' Dr Cullen works. Ok...can I just say that I almost fell off my chair laughing when I saw the movie for the first time. I mean, Carlisle walks in the hospital room and wow...I mean wow...could my 4 year old have done a better job on the makeup? Anyway, there's my vent. I have to admit...it took me forever to even read the books. I was one of those 'no, I don't do vampire books' kind of people. But I'm a sucker, pardon the pun, for a love story and so I succumbed to the pressure. Oh....I loved these books...well, not particularly #4, but I fell head over heels for Twilight...with #3 (Eclipse) getting my vote for favorite. I am anxiously anticipating June 30 when the movie comes out! I didn't see the movie until I had read all the books...and am I ever glad.
Here's Forks High School...home of the Spartans. Everywhere in town you can buy not only Twilight, Forks souveneirs, but also Spartan ware! This particular school is now used for offices for the school district, recently a new high school was built. This building is beautiful and they've left the sign up for all the fans!
Here is the 'Cullen' House. It's actually the Miller Tree Inn Bed & Breakfast, but this is apparently the house that inspired Stephenie as the home of the Cullens. I know, it looks NOTHING like the Cullen home in the movie, but that's all Hollywood. If you read the book, the description of the house is much more like this one. The house used in the filming of the movie was a house down in Oregon owned by a Nike executive. The story is too long to tell here, but it's pretty amazing what they did to use this house for the movie. But I will tell you that if you remember Edward's bedroom in the movie, he had doors going out of his bedroom wall with no porch whatsoever, and apparently that was exactly the case in the house they used...no porch, ,just doors with a huge drop! The house facade had to be reconstructed for the films up here. This home pictured here is owned by a couple who obviously loves the Twilight phenomenon. They welcome all tourists (which would be in the hundreds of thousands) to come up onto the porch (but no further) to read notes from Esme about being off shopping with the girls while the 'boys are off hunting'. It was so neat to see this place...it's a beautiful house.
Charlie's Police Cruiser? Things were pretty quiet around the police station...it was Saturday after all.
Here is the apparent home of the Swans...Bella & Charlie. It's a cute little place, just on the outskirts of town. We also saw the coffee shop where Charlie and Bella eat all the time...also where Stephenie Meyer made her Hollywood debut sitting at the counter in the movie. The coffee shop is soooo run down looking...I only took a picture of the sign...the restaurant itself was too scary! You couldn't convince me to order any berry cobbler in this place! Although sometimes these dumpy diners serve the best food, we weren't willing to find out;)
I was fortunate enough to get-a-way for the weekend. I was much in need of some sanity time and while I would have loved to go away with hubby it just didn't work this time. We had been scheduled to take a little trip as a family over spring break but that was quickly changed when our dog had puppies! Rob encouraged me to go away as things are busy here for him with the farm right now, and only promise to get busier, so away I went. I went with a group of gals who I've often referred to on my blog...they are a fun loving, creative group of gals who are great to hang out with! Our destination you ask? Forks, Washington. Yup, as in the Forks you all know and love from Twilight. Now...before you roll your eyes ( like my bro Ken who's just really jealous because he can't get his hair to look as good as Rob Pattinson's), I will remind you that the west coast is one of the most beautiful places on earth and I was very excited to see the sights it has to offer. I have been through some of the towns before, not Forks, but many of the coastal small towns, and they are beautiful!I am definitely NOT the biggest TwiFan out there, but I did love the books and was excited to see the place that inspired them. You may not know that the movie Twilight was actually filmed in Oregon...nowhere near Forks! The sequels so far have been filmed up here all over the Greater Vancouver area, and apparently (my sources tell me) that the final sequel, Breaking Dawn, will be filmed here in Vancouver as well. I have a few Twifanatic friends who have stalked many a set in search of their obsessions! One of the gals we went away with has already done the Forks trip so she was a fount of information and, in general a great tour guide for all the places we saw...thanks Rhonda!The first few pics are just general...heading into Forks, then to the chamber of commerce to sign the guestbook and get a feel for all the hoopla that these books have created for this little town.We actually stayed in Port Angeles, which is a little way away from Forks.
Happy Birthday dear Dad! We celebrated my Dad's birthday this past weekend. He was fortunate enough to have 2 brothers here, one from up North, and one from the South! He enjoyed a weekend of breakfasts, visits and a mini-B-day party at our place. I could never put into words how much I love both my parents. To honour my Dad for his birthday I'll just say a few words...My Dad is gentle, slow to anger, sharp as a whip with his humor, and has this uncanny ability to apply common sense to everything in life! Dad has always been an amazing example of what a Dad should be. I have great memories of growing up with my parents and am so thankful that they provided these for us. Dad and I still have a wonderful relationship...he's here lots, helping with the kids, being the bestest 'Bumpa' ever, delivering me non stop coffees, and working on restoring his old truck. He listens and sympathizes with life's frustrations, and encourages me in so many ways. I don't know how dad manages to stay so calm and level headed with some of life's curve balls, but he does. I could go on and on, but the point is, he's a great guy, and respected by everyone. For his birthday I made him apple pies instead of a cake...he loves apple pie! So, happy birthday Dad...you are the BEST and I love you forever.
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