The treaty line on the way out to LaPush
I have to admit something. I have never read the Twilight Trilogy. Now I will wait for a collective gasp from some of you, especially given the title of this post. I was on the fence about visiting Forks Washington. Mostly because there was not much there, and what was, centered around the love affair between Bella and Edward. And while that did not completely deter me, my true reason for visiting the area was the Hoh Rain Forest. Forks was nearest town to the Hoh Rain Forest so it made logical sense to stay in Forks.
My camo themed room for the night
Unfortunately all the Twilight themed rooms were booked at the hotel I stayed at for the night so I settled for camo themed room at the Pacific Inn Motel. If you do find yourself in the Forks area this hotel is nice, clean and reasonable.
I had arrived mid-day to Forks with no real plans. It was odd for me as I typically plan out most details prior to my arrival anywhere. Since I did not have anything on the agenda I decided to let someone else give me plans, specifically the staff at the Forks Visitor Center. As I walked inside it appeared that I was not the only one getting plans for the day. I waited for my turn and watched group after group ask about the Twilight tours and sites. It had been 7 years since the last book was published and 3 years since the last movie had been in theaters and it was clear that the Twi-hard community was still strong.
As I approached the visitor desk I decided to spice things up and not ask about the Twilight sites. Opting instead for the tide pools that I had heard about in the area. Tide pools are notoriously finical and can only be seen at certain times of the month when the tide is just right. According to the staff it was not the right time to see the tide pools in the area, but I could travel back to the northern part of the peninsula and catch some up there. To me backtracking to the north was about as appetizing as spending the day with the Volturi. And so my attempt to skip the Twilight sites was futile. I ended up getting the site map from the visitor center and prepared to immerse myself in all things Twilight. The staff let me know just before I left, in an effort to not disappoint people who have only seen the movies, like myself, that the sites on the map were as described in the book and would not reflect what was used in the movie.
“Bella’s” truck used in the Twilight films
As I walked out to my car I noticed a group of people standing around an old faded red truck. I soon pieced it together that it was Bella’s truck from the movie. And like they always say about actors looking shorter in real life, so did this truck. I snapped my first Twilight photo and headed back to town with the very detailed map of sites in hand.
My first site was the Cullen House. This house is a classic farm-style home. Just as the visitor center staff had mentioned, this house was drastically different from what was used in the movie. The Cullen House in Forks is actually the Miller Tree Inn Bed and Breakfast. As I creepily crept by in my car like a teenage boy stalking his crush’s house I realized that I was being watched. Although it was not the Cullen’s but most likely by the guests of the bed and breakfast, who were standing out front of the B&B. I quickly pulled away as to not be a creeper but soon realized the speeding away probably looked just as creepy. And lets be honest slow passing by cars is probably the norm for this house. As are probably all of the other sites as well.
“Bella’s” House as described in the books
My next stop was Bella’s house. It was asked by the staff of the visitor center to not approach the house or look in the windows. Come on people, seriously, peeking in the windows? If you can not help yourself and need to peek in windows, you are allowed to at the Cullen house.
As I pulled up to Bella’s house I realized I was not alone. No, Edward did not magically appear in my car, much to my dismay, but another car, with a woman snapping photos, was out front of Bella’s house. I was now officially in a Twilight motorcade.
The community hospital in Forks Washington
The lead car took my follow car next to the Forks Hospital, where apparently Dr. Cullen has a parking space assigned to him. I never did find his parking spot, even after circling the lot a few times like a crazy fan-girl looking for the spot.
My last stop on the tour was LaPush. I remembered that the staff at the visitor center said that I would pass by Jacob’s house along the way. Although it may be meaningful information to some there would be no need to stop as we are a #teamEdward household, Boomer included. Well actually now that I think about it Boomer would probably be more inclined to like Jacob, being that Jacob is a werewolf ‘n all. Since Boomer was not with me on this trip I decided to not to stop at Jacob’s.
The treaty line on the way out to LaPush
As I drove out to LaPush I passed by the vampire treaty line.
I guess the table is set for a meeting with a vampire
Which was located near the threat scale and being that the threat was high I was inclined to stay on the vampire side of the treaty line, waiting for Edward to appear, but reluctantly I decided to carry on.
First Beach
I arrived to First Beach and the entire area was socked in by fog, which created a sort of dream-like sequence that definitely reminded me of the Twilight movies, and probably would have of the books if I had ever read them.
socked in by fog on my way out to LaPush
Can’t you just see Edward driving down this road while we try to ignore the fact that he is wearing a seat-belt? Afraid of re-dieing are we?
Dark and gloominess is kind of what this area is known for, but that of course comes in handy as sunlight makes the Twilight vampires sparkle. Which I guess is better then what sunlight did to the vampires in Interview with the Vampire. I would much rather look like I am covered in rhinestones than turn to ash!
Although the tour did not convert me to a full fledged Twi-hard it was fun seeing the sites that inspired the books as well as created so many die-hard fans.
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