Forks Washington

I have no shame in my game. Two years ago, we took our oldest daughter to Forks Washington because she loves all things Twilight... I mean really loves all things Twilight. Now honestly, I was never a fan myself, but her pure love for it reminds me of my love for all things Star Wars... So her excitement is infectious and fun. Before the whole Twilight craze totally dies, we wanted to take her and the rest of the kids to the place where it all takes place one more time, Forks Washington. I mean who am I to tell her what to like and not like, if she likes it, then I'm going to support her happiness.

For all the hype that surrounds the town, it's a tiny place with a few hotels, one primary road, a few diners and a smattering of essential shops. But packed in this three thousand person town is a myriad of tourist destinations made famous by the books and movies. For those in the know, there's the Swan's house, The police station, the high school (sign), the hospital, Bella's workplace, and the Native American Indian reservation of  La Push, to name a few.

We went with all three kids, Liz's sister, Jen, her daughter Autumn, and her son, Noah. Oh and we brought Luna. So everything was crazy, all the time. But you know, for all the craziness that went on, it was a great time and no one had any issues or problems... it was somehow a pretty stress free trip (yes with five kids and a puppy) and we had a wonderful time seeing the cheesy landmarks, shopping for the last hold outs of Twilight souvenirs, and eating at the places that were either in the movie or had Twilight themed food. (I will say that the Bella Burger and Twilight punch at Sully's is the best thing to eat in town.)

So in short, our trip went like this: We arrived on Friday around dinner time, we ate at the diner where Bella and Charlie ate in the first movie, Liz and I went to the Grocery/Hardware store where Bella apparently worked to get some snacks and beer. The next day was Twilight mania day. We visited and  took pictures at Bella's truck at the Chamber of Commerce, visited Dr. Carlile's parking spot at the hospital, back to both of Bella's apparent workplaces, the high school, the last two remaining Twilight-esque stores, the police station, the "Cullen's house" (which is a B&B) lunch at Sully's Burgers, then to First Beach in La Push where Jacob is from. We spent some time at the beach then went to the "treaty line" where we had dinner. By Sunday, we were pretty worn out but went to Port Angeles to have lunch where Bella and Edward had their first date but sadly it was only open for dinner, so we went to the apparent bookstore where Bella got vampire books and had lunch at a surprisingly pretty good spot called Smuggler's Landing. A whirlwind of a mini-vacation but a great time had by all. And we have pictures to prove it!

 

The Grown Ups in front of Bella's Truck

 

Luna Running on First Beach at La Push

 

The kids at Dr. Cullen's parking spot at the hospital. Noah is doing his own thing.

 

Lizzie, Luna and I at First Beach

 

At the "Treaty Line"

 

The kids at Bella's truck

 

There are two hardware stores in Forks. Both claim that Bella worked there... This one had her vest, so naturally, Kaya posed for a picture.

 

Trystan at First Beach in La Push.

 

The view at first beach. I think it looks like a scene from The Goonies.

Twilight at Forks Washington

So Elizabeth Darvill and I went for a very not normal trip for me. We went to the Twilight, (yes the movie/books) capital of the world, Forks, WA. We took a very enthusiastic fan (and self proclaimed wife of Edward Cullen) and went on an adventure.

First off, I need to say that I'm seriously impressed with the town of Forks and their unashamed embrace of the books and movies that made their town famous. Nearly every store had Twilight paraphernalia in the window regardless of the type of business. So it was totally normal for the Chinese restaurant, the lock and key store and the hotels to have posters and even merchandise on display. Also, there were tons of places that had Twilight themed food and beverage items. (Many were surprisingly good!)

Being in Forks for 3 days, we thought it would be best to just jump into the fandom head first and have no shame about any of it. Here's a quick rundown: The Bella Burgers and Twilight punch at Sully's Burgers are to die for. It's a diner/drive in kind of place and seriously, the burgers are awesome. The Twilight punch is nothing more than lemonade with strawberry and again it's really good. (Best meal in town if you ask me)

We also ate at the diner and sat at the same table where Bella and Charlie eat all the time. (The Forks Coffee Shop) The burgers were pretty good but the real star was the Berry Cobbler that Charlie eats all the time. I picked some up for breakfast and it was truly awesome.

Other stuff we hit that was fun:
Forks Outfitters (where Bella works and has an Employee of the year plaque) They also have Twilight themed coffee which so far is really good. The Cullen's house: Its a bed and breakfast that has the cap and gown art on the inside and sports a daily sign from the caretakers telling where the Cullens are that particular day.
The Swan's House: It's a private residence that pimps itself as the home of Bella and Charlie Swan. Really, there's nothing more than a sign in front of someones house but you can pull up and take pictures.
The Forks Police Station: Yes you can go to Charlie's workplace and take pictures with the cop cars and even walk in where there's a small Twilight display.
The Forks Chamber of Commerce: This place has Bella's truck(s) out front (one from the movie and one from the book which apparently is a different model) so you can take pics there and when you go in, there is Twilight posters, and merch everywhere. Also, the people that work there are insanely awesome and nice and will tell you all types of good info.
First Beach (La Push, WA): Fifteen miles away you can go to the beach where Bella and Jacob walked on the beach. It's kind of indistinguishable from the movie, but worth a very cold dip in the water.
The Forks High School: Yep. it's there too although this is not the same one that's in the movie. It has the same sign but isn't the actual place where the school scenes were filmed.
Dazzled by Twilight: This is their Twilight one stop shopping experience. The store is everything Twilight. You name it and they probably have it.
Three Rivers Resort: It's only a resort to those that want to camp in nifty little cabins. Half way to La Push, you'll find Three Rivers Resort with was a place with a full Twilight menu. We had the Werewolf Burgers (Which were good and HUGE) but still not quite as stellar as the Bella Burgers back in Forks.
Bella Italia: This is the place where Edward took Bella on their first date. It's 57 miles away in Port Angeles, WA, but a fun drive through the national park. The restaurant was surprisingly good. Yes we had the Mushroom Ravioli that Bella ate and while it was good, the carbonara was better.

Coffee Stops:
There are three main coffee stands in town. I got Mocha's at each and sadly none of them had Twilight themed stuff. Gathering Grounds, Mocha Motion and Shot in The Dark. The best was Gathering Grounds in case you're wondering.

The funny part:
I'm not even a Twilight fan yet I had a blast doing all the touristy things and just living life. Being this free is a wonderful part on life 2.0. There's also something awesome about small town charm that I really liked as well.

Okay, Pictures:

Me with Bella's truck


Twilight Punch (They come with fangs)


At First Beach


Vampire Threat Level


Werewolf Burger!


The Cullen's House (B&B)