BFSV-TwiTour (Port Angeles, Forks & La Push, WA)

Sorry for the loooongest trip recap ever!  BigDaddy's preseason always, always kicks my booty more than I think it will.  But essentially I become a single parent for a few weeks, he is gone before we get up and home after we are all asleep.  And our laundry multiplies like rabbits.  and the double bonus this year... one laptop is sick and our other went with BigDaddy, so I was stuck with the baby netbook and a 2 inch screen to feed my facebook addiction. 

Without further ado, The Big Fat Summer Vacation continues....After the San Juans and Nikki's we headed onto our last ferry ride of the trip.  Off to Port Angeles (via Port Townsend) and the official start of Twi-Tour!  Woot, Woot!  

We took the early ferry over since we didn't want to chance something going wrong and running out of time.  We were jamming a lot of action into one day.  PA with a meal at Bella Italia (of course!) and a showing of Eclipse, then heading out to La Push that same night.  Thankfully it got dark so late we would have lots of light still into the early evening.  


We found ourselves with ample time, too much actually. Stuck in PA waiting for 4 p.m.  I totally spaced on checking out Bella Italia's info and didn't realize that it didn't open until 4. uuugh!  We could still make the early showing of Eclipse if we hurried since they were right by each other.  We ended up hanging out on the beach for a bit, eating fudge and other snacks from one of the little village shops.  I also found a used book at one of the official Twilight Sites book store--- totally didn't realize it, but a super cool store and bought Omnivore's Dilemma (you know, light vacation type reading...)

Port Angeles' Lincoln Theater.

Finally at 3:40 it dawned on us that we should have made reservations. ouch!  BigDaddy pokes his head in and asks if that's going to be a problem.  No worries, they insist it won't be an issue since they won't be very busy.  BAHAHAHA.  No, they weren't busy, however they asked if anyone else had reservations, sat them first and we were stuck waiting in line.  the.slowest.service.evah.  

On my date with Eddie; Mushroom Ravioli and a Coke.

I wish I could say it was great fun. a perfect start to the TwiTour. or even awesome food. or how about a friendly, smiling staff. nope. no chance. juat "okay" food, HORRIBLY slow service (we had to go to the later show and race to it) and overpriced.  Our server seemed completely annoyed that she had our table, and actually seemed completely annoyed that she had to be a waitress in general. when I ordered the Portabella Ravioli and a Coke.  I said something like "I'm sure nobody orders that" or something to that effect, I got the courtesy laugh and "yeah... and everyone says that too."  


Oh no she didn't.


Don't piss MamaBear off Missy.  At this point BigDaddy and I are brainstorming how we can make her life miserable.  Calling non-stop and asking for her to make a reservation for Cullen. Ask her to hold my doll and pose for picture.  Ask her if vampires ever come in. stuff like that.  Made us feel better at least.  Everyone was visibly miffed and we should have taken notes from the family that sat down next to us.  Mom asked the hostess what the quickest thing would be to order and then ordered 5 spaghetti and meatball meals two seconds later.  They were done and gone before we even finished our bread.


We chocked it up to a restaurant with bad management and bailed to see Eclipse.  Apparently Eclipse was considered a family-friendly movie by some and we were in the company of toddlers. Toddlers?! Seriously people???  I was praying this was not how the rest of the trip would be.  We moved seats to be as far from them as possible and enjoyed the show.

So long PA, off to La Push! 


I woke up before BigDaddy and didn’t know what to expect since we arrived at La Push the night before and it was dark. really, really dark.  I stared out into black nothingness. And we were totally off-grid.  No cell service, no TV, no wireless, no in-room phone, no nada.  A little creepy when you are supposedly in the land of Native American Werewolves.

I braced myself as I pulled open the blinds that covered our huge ocean view windows. I almost fell over.  Huge, twisted tree trunks strewn about, followed by a now familiar log-lined rock beach with a distance view of rocky boulders and a forested cliff.  I seriously felt like I woke up inside New Moon.  To say La Push is beautiful, would be a huge disservice.  It’s breathtaking.  This was our big splurge hotel for the trip.  (Quileute Resort on the Quileute Nation Reservation)  Totally worth it.  

La Push.  Right outside our cabin.

 I felt like should be meditating here, not thinking about werewolves.  Especially after I took a beach stroll and hung out with a bald eagle for a bit.  I let BigDaddy sleep in, but come on, this is the epicenter of our TwiTour, Twilight Mecca!! we needed to get our day started.  

BigDaddy is 6'7".  these are some big, HUGE, trees.

Per Nikki's advice, we drove through Forks the night before since it was only a few minutes down 101 past the La Push exit.  We hadn’t had dinner so we stopped at Forks’ Outfitters and Thriftway (it's one HUGE store) and grabbed some staples to keep in our room, bought some souvenirs (the cheapest place in town for Twilight stuff,) took a few “Welcome to Forks” shots, got the lay of the land and headed out to The Rez.  

Ta-da! We made it!!

 The day was overcast, misty and a bit rainy.  Perfect Twilight in Forks weather! (Non-Twihards: Forks was chosen as the setting since it gets the most non-sunny days in the continental US)

I knew I wanted to eat breakfast at the Forks Coffee Shop, the local greasy spoon diner. Best choice EVER.  It was the total antithesis to our “Twilight Meal” in Port Angeles. Lots of fellow Twilighters (and their husbands/boyfriends/dads) mixed in with friendly locals.  Our waitress, who had worked there for over 30 years, rocked and made us feel totally welcome.  Friendly service, generous portions, and strong coffee.  Our kind of place!   We brought out Eddie and she cracked up.  Next thing we hear is “Hey, Buzz. Saw! C’mere!”  She turns to me and says “This is OUR Edward”  Oh good lord, the town’s “talent” who thinks he represents Edward in Forks.  BigDaddy and I exchanged that what-in-the-world-is-coming-down-the-aisle- look. Correct that, the local talent that looks EXACTLY like Rob Pattinson. No, maybe cuter.  He liked Eddie too and we took a bunch of fun photos (for a tip, of course.)  

Buzzsaw and Eddie hanging out at Forks Coffee Shop.

Twilight Fever had been released and you could start to feel the energy.  People started asking Buzzsaw for photos, people wanted to take OUR photos with Eddie, people wanted photos with Eddie and everyone is talking to each other between trips to the bathroom. As we pay our bill, our waitress makes sure we take a picture with Eddie and a “werewolf tooth” she found on the beach. I heart Forks!

Evidence of The Dawg. eww.

 We head over to the visitor center for our Forks Tour Map and to take shots of Bella’s red truck.  We signed the guest book and got to stick a pin to represent where we live.  The first visitors from the the Kinda Country! Holla!

Representin' the Kinda Country!

 

After driving by the town’s official “Twilight, The Book landmarks” (they didn’t film the movies here) we dropped off post cards at the Forks post office, and called it a day.  But not without a stop by Dazzled by Twilight on Main Street, a retail store devoted to Twilight and all things vampire/werewolf.  Merchandised products galore under a twinkle-lit “forest”  I grabbed a few magnets as we bought most of our Forks/Twilight souvenirs the night before. 

The Cullen House- actually Miller Tree Inn B & B.

Daddy C-- where are you??  swoon.

Eddie hanging out in his tree at Bella's House.

Heading back to The Rez. 

We headed back to La Push and spot an official looking sign for smoked salmon.  We decide to turn off and check it out.  We are definitely on the reservation.  The sad little neighborhood is covered with trash and the run down track homes are total dumps.  Where in the world is this smoked salmon place??  Oh.  We see a hand spray painted sign announcing “smoked fish” for sale at this residence. It could be the best smoked salmon in the world, but we would never know.  The house is piled with junk and the windows are all covered in tribal paintings. We do a slow roll and get the heck out. 

We get back to our place and realize we can do the trail hike through the Olympic National Forest to Second Beach during low tide.  Can I keep saying amazing, breathtaking and gorgeous without sounding like a broken record? Because really, this entire area is just that. And then some.  

Searching for mountain lions in the Olympic National Park.

First peek at Second Beach. Pinch me!!

sigh...

 

I try to imagine where the Quileutes would be cliff diving because in reality, they don’t do that here.  But it’s so easy to envision Jacob hanging out at the beach with his pack brothers. The tide pools meet up with a huge stretch of sandy beach.  We pair up with another couple on the walk back and after chatting for a while, find out they are staying in the cabin next to us, but are non-Twilighters.  Wait, WHAT?! They took a few shots with Eddie in the forest for their daughter and we make plans to meet up later for a bonfire.  We head back out to "town" for dinner at Pacific Pizza (another friendly, local place that has fun with the Twilight crowd.)  We met up with our new friends and enjoyed a gorgeous/amazing/breathtaking sunset as we enjoyed drinks and s’mores. A girl could get used to this.

shhh... don't tell anyone that Eddie crossed the treaty line!

   
I can't even begin to explain how fun our Twi-Tour was.  We laughed the entire time.  BigDaddy was such a great partner for this trip, totally into it and let me completely geek-out in TwiMom mode.  What more could a girl want??  

At this point, after a week, I was informed by Nana that my children haven’t had time to miss us since they are in cousin heaven. Roger that, but right back at ya kiddos!  MamaBear was pretty happy in the land of Vamps and Wolves. Did we really have to go back home??

adventures in contact paper

me, there behind the lemonade dispenser.

here I am! here I am!  see.... over here, behind the boxes and stuck to the contact paper. with dust bunnies in my hair.

what a difference a week makes.  last monday we had just arrived at my mom's and were still on vacation in CA just finishing up our Big Fat Summer Vacation. this monday I'm overwhelmed with the amount of boxes and general crap in our new house.  and trying to figure out just where it's all going to go.

I have some drafts of posts from our trip, but haven't pieced it all together. I really, truly thought I was going to post every other day or so, but then I got to play DD for BigDaddy and his college buddy and then I spent time with my high school BFF after 13 years. and we both talk. a lot. so there really wasn't much time then either. and then we started the TwiTour and stayed at LaPush and went off grid, literally.  no tv, phone, internet, cell service. nada. and then reality, and the boxes, hit me smack in the face. so here I am at 5 a.m. finally writing, and only because the Cranky Older-Than-Dirt Cat has been meowing non-stop all morning while the rest of the house sleeps. good times...

I'm hoping to clear some more space this week and then try to slowly start our "normal life" stuff. HA! Whatever THAT means.... and get my posts all organized and up.  And yes, yours too Suzz! pinky promise!  gotta run right now and get ready for Mommy and Me Pony Camp. yep, you read that correctly. Pony Camp. Mommy and Me. Good Lord, the things we do for our offspring!  So Ye-haw, and so long buckaroos.... is that cowgirlie enough?? lunzy is out.

BFSV- driving, driving, driving.

Good morning from the Great Northwest! And still no coffee in the house. sigh.


We're currently on Leg Two of our Big Fat Summer Vacation (BFSV) -- the "mom and dad need a cocktail and the munchkins need to have some quality time with Nana and Grandpa" part of the trip. If you have read blog for even two minutes, you know a) I heart Twilight and b) we are going on a TwiTour to Forks and La Push as part of this trip. Squeals and claps…

We decided to crash and burn the first day with driving non-stop from the LA area to Oregon. A 16- hour day of driving fun. We'd rather get most of it out of the way at the start and then be able to meander our way back home. We shot for Eugene, OR as our stopping point, aggressive yes. But really, when you don’t have two munchkins in the car with you the time literally flew by. Speaking of the munchkins. BigBoy wanted to make this adults only trip start off as guilt ridden as possible. The night before, I was putting him down for bed and he started crying, “Mommy don’t leave me! Take me with you! I’m going to miss you too much!” Gee thanks, kiddo. Sassy on the other hand was all about Nana. No Mommy for nuthin. “I want Nana!”Gee thanks, kiddo.

So we headed out in one of my in-laws’ cars (thanks Memaw and Pepaw!) and hit the road. Just me and BigDaddy… and Edward. Yes Edward, the Roaming Vampire (the Roaming Gnome’s second cousin, once removed) is making the trip. When he heard we were heading to Forks, he begged to come along. He batted his golden eyes, sparkled a bit and I was a goner.

It's a bit surreal that we won’t have the kids for such a long time.  It was also strange that I was driving through my old stomping grounds without a clue as to where I was. I didn’t spend a ton of time as a driver in my home town. I finished high school and got the heck out, eventually moving farther and farther south and then farther and farther east. So it dawned on me that I really didn’t know my way around as a driver. This gave me a new view on LA, a totally different perspective. We made a large sweep from the East and headed north (via the 210) We eventually made our way to the Grapevine. Time for a little lunzy siesta. Travel Tip: don’t let your husband listen to Ray Charles as you nap. The musical horns eerily mimic the cries of children. Kid. You. Not. I woke up in a panic to my non-existent crying babes. Sigh.

(Warning: dusting off my soap box for the next section)

As we traveled north on the 5, I realized my older, wiser, tree high-fiving self was totally checking out the farm crops and wondering how much Monsanto ruled the land. BigDaddy and I were trying to identify what was growing and wondering what the politics were behind the produce. You could tell something was up as signs were sprinkled about saying “congress made dust bowl” and something about no water, no crops. We also saw a big beef farm right next to a corn field and quite a bit of brown water. Eeew. The entire region was used for farming and we saw quite a few fields with migrant workers…. I don’t even want to think about their working environment. It was beyond hot and dusty and just miserable. But this is cheap food, people. Acres and acres. We stared at the cows and BigDaddy said to me “I can’t wait to get our Polyface Beef!” Proud MamaBear moment!

Okay happy thoughts….

We needed a booty break and decided Bakersfield, CA would be a gorgeous location for some photo ops. Okay, not really. It’s kind of the armpit of CA, but they had an IHOP! Done deal. Edward joined us to keep appearances for the whole “human” thing.

There’s not a whole lot to mention about traveling up the 5, other than food, shocker right? We stopped at the Olive Pit in Corning, CA due to the power of their multiple billboards along the highway. “Olive Tasting Bar!” sealed the deal and we made a detour. We were hoping for more of a dive, but it was actually really nice! We also hit In-N-Out, of course!

Driving, driving and more driving.

We made it to Cottage Grove, OR (just south of Eugene) about 9:30 PM and crashed for the night. Edward sat on my nightstand and watched over me while I slept. It’s sweet in a creepy, stalker kind of way, right?  Nonetheless, I crashed with Eddie by my side and sweet dreams of Forks...

Wordless Wednesday: Finally.

Eclipse triple feature with my fellow Twi-Moms.

Total Eclipse of the non-beating heart.

***quickie post. You Loyal Seven know I just HAVE to talk about the Eclipse Premiere!***

Back in November I harassed my friends to no end about going to the New Moon midnight premiere.  "Really guys?? A midnight showing for that??  And you have on matching shirts?! Bwwahaha!" 

And then a month later, I saw the light.  The beautiful sparkly Twilight.  I converted. I became one of them, a Twilighter, and found my sisterhood. Excuse me while I take a bite of this lovely piece of humble pie...  

Tonight is the night many of us have been waiting for.  The midnight premiere of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.  [insert teenybopper-esque squealing and clapping and a little jumping] Not only will I be attending the premiere, my group is seeing a triple feature with Twilight and New Moon beforehand.  We have our matching t-shirts it wasn't planned, pinky promise, and I'm the purveyor of Volturi body shimmer (see photo-- long skinny box on the right side; Thanks R.B.!).  I really can't make this stuff up.

surprise New Moon goody box from one of BigDaddy's friends!

Tonight, I gladly trade my world of feuding munchkins for feuding vampires and werewolves, to join my sistas in a dark movie theater for more than six hours. I'm excited to be a part of this world-wide phenomenon. To be in the not-so-secret-club of Twilighters or Fanpires, Twi-Moms, Twi-Hards, Cullenists... and to get out of the house and to have an interest is something that is completely about ME and my quieros. To be given permission to wear matching t-shirts, black nail polish and Volturi body shimmer and say this is gonna be the best.night.EVAH!  and then I'll giggle with my girlfriends and say "I totally <3 Edward!!" [insert more squealing, clapping, and jumping.]

Twilighted.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to let you all know something.  My world's been rocked. Changed forevermore.

I mentioned The Funk of '09.  Christmas break we were hit by a storm.  Not the tiny, baby versions of storms we've now become accustomed to here in the Kinda Country.  It was a REAL storm.  With LOTS of snow.  Like make sure you had milk, eggs and bread weather.  And BigDaddy was MIA at a coaches' convention. of course, right?  So what's a mom to do? You can only play in the snow for so long, especially since were were on the merry-go-round of winter colds.  we played, drank cocoa, visited with neighbors, watched movies and DVR'd TV and played wii.

So there I was. exhausted from shoveling the driveway yet again. a bit bored. a bit stir crazy. and the only adult around.  I picked up Twilight from the bookcase for some totally mindless entertainment. A Young Adult book series? really? But it was portable enough to drag with me all over the house. brain candy to fill time. easy reading. something fun. Plus we already had the entire series courtesy of Memaw.  (BigDaddy wanted to see what the big deal was when he saw half his team reading a series of books at a feverish pace, in season, during college.)  It took me a bit to get into it, but about 1/2 way through.... I was a goner.  Done.  I became a Twi-Mom and never looked back.  I read the remaining 3 1/2 books in about 4 days.  One 629 page novel in 24 hours.  kid you not.  I wanted more. more vampires. and more werewolves. And thankfully the freezer was stock full of nuggets and fruit for smoothies.

In typical lunzy fashion, I researched every.single.thing. I could find on the author Stephenie Meyer, the back story, the on-line forums-- anything my best friend Google could whip up. I found SM's website, the official Forks, WA website, the main Twilight big dog forum--Twilight Lexicon, and the La Push/Quileute Reservation homepage and Saturday Night Live clips on hulu. I also realized I wasn't alone.  This series had a profound effect on a lot of women.  Women and other moms my age or older.  Twi-moms.  It amazed me. And then I found a post about someone looking at this effect from a clinical view.  dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin--chemicals in our bodies reacting to the book.  The theory was that the books evoke so many real feelings, much like first love/falling in love. it feels good. you want more. and more. You get addicted to the "high." Suddenly you're 17 and falling in love for the first time. Even if you are in your 30s.

Did the book change my life?  No.  yes. well, kinda. I snapped out of The Funk.  it shook my life up and things got moving. Crazy, spontaneous things that were just absurd.  but I rolled with it. embraced the crazy. and guess what? Twenty-Ten is off to an amazing start!

Shortly after I finished the books, BigDaddy and I went to lunch and I joked that since I'm now this crazy "Twi-Mom" we should head out to Port Angeles, WA (a movie theater location from the books) to catch the premier of Eclipse (book 3) this June.  And then he reminded me why we married.  "I'd go for that!"  and I knew he really would. Love me some BigDaddy.

We dismissed it as funny and bad timing for our schedule this summer and called it a day. And then later that day, my high school BFF called me out of the blue.  Yeah, the one who lives in Washington State. Like 3ish hours from Port Angeles.  The wheels started and never stopped.  You really can't give Nikki an idea like that and expect her NOT to run with it. A whole 5 minutes later I had an entire itinerary pop up in my email inbox. By the next day we had already planned, and confirmed, a child-free "side trip" to Seattle area/Port Angles/Forks/La Push for a Twilight tour this summer, after our annual California trip. I had no idea how it all happened. But somehow, this harebrained idea became a reality. I was riding on another Twilight-induced high.

And shortly after that, BigDaddy and I went on a real D-A-T-E. dinner (with alcohol!) AND a movie, New Moon of course. But I can't tell you that last time we went on a date.  Being broke + small children - free babysitters, er, um....close family = lack of parental dating. We had a blast and it was much needed after The Funk.

So back to my beloved Twilight.  I can't say it was life changing, and trust me, some people make that claim.  But it gave me a slice of life back. opened up the door to a fabulous summer and kicked started my new year with a big ol' W00t! For that I am thankful that I found the path to a world of vampires and werewolves.

p.s. I'm Team Edward. Duh.