Twilight, Travel, and Treats

Welcome all Twihards!

So a quick run down about Where to Stay in Forks

Of course, this depends upon your style. I am a Westin kind of girl but of course will take a Four Season or Ritz anyday. My biggest factor, believe it or not, is the washroom. If it is modern and clean I'm actually not as picky about brand but even a luxury room with a "rustic" washroom is a no-go. I am totally anal about finding exactly the right place to stay when we are travelling and pretty obsessive about my tripadvisor use.

There is surprisingly little info out there about Forks. Granted, it's a super small town with one traffic light but considering how many twihards there are I was a bit surprised. The first website most of you will hit in your accommodation search is the Forks Chamber of Commerce. They have taken this Twilight craze and run with it. Smartest thing I've seen any government do in a long time.

Luxury

Now if money was no object, the Lost Mountain Lodge would be the place to stay. It is in Sequim so it is a good hour away from Forks but you'll most likely have a car anyways. If we had been planning just a romantic getaway I would have loved to stay here.

Lost Mountain Lodge

Camping

This is not me. It may be my husband and also my best friend MK but not me. I know there is a Forks 101 RV Park and also a Hoh River resort but of course I can't comment since I abhor sleeping outdoors.

Bed and Breakfasts

On the Forks Chamber of Commerce site you will finds loads of B&Bs.; Most of the big ones have tripadvisor reviews.

For the total Twihard the obvious one is the Miller Tree Inn otherwise known as "The Cullen House" in Forks.

Miller Tree Inn (courtesy of berthanny)

Part of the twilight tour around Forks will be to check out the local residences that have now been deemed The Swan Residence or The Cullen House. I love how the Cullen House innkeepers keep the dream alive by posting messages from Esme on the front porch. You can even choose to stay in Alice's or Edward's room. They have one suite meant for a family with a child but otherwise this place is meant for grownups.

La Push

If you are the quintessential Jacob fan you can actually stay in La Push at the Oceanside Resort. A few tripadvisor reviews of this place emphasize that the word resort is used loosely but nonetheless it looks like a cool experience if you want to spend more cabin time on the Quileute side of things.

Staying in La Push

Motel

Forks is a small town; it really only has one traffic light. Hence, there is no hotel but there are a bunch of motels. If you want to ensconce yourself in all that is twilight and Edward then you must stay in the Twilight themed rooms at the Pacific Inn Motel.

Pacific Inn Motel

We took our Forks trip with MK's baby in tow so we chose the motel option. For $50 you can stay in a regular motel room or for $99 you can stay in a twilight room. We figured if you were crazy enough to go to Forks, why wouldn't you go all the way? You know you want to stay there, even in all the cheesy glory! God it was so worth it.

Check out my next post...Our Own Forks Twilight Tour

Seems like the whole town is in this tent with us

Mr. TC bought a crab hat but this is the closest photo he'd let me post

The one thing we couldn't resist though was the pie. You could smell the awesome goodness from a block away and the line was outrageous. The bumbleberry was heaven and the pumpkin was the best I've ever had. The crust was flaky but also just thick enough for a good bite.

Never dreamt we'd find good pie at the crab festival

On the way to Bella Italia we hit a few twilight stops. They are all on one block and took all of 5 minutes to see but so worth it. Sadly Gottschalks, the only department store in Port Angeles, had closed down and was just too tired looking to even take a photo of the store front.

The only book store in Port Angeles

Not exactly the Thunderbird and Whale from the book

Didn't have a chance to check inside for Mike's puke stains

I love shopping. One of the main ways to fuel my passions is to shop the hell out of it so I couldn't wait to hit the Dazzled by Twilight store. When we came to the Port Angeles location my heart was pounding already. We stood giggling and gawking outside the window for a while before my husband cleared his throat and we moved on.

They're creepy in full size

Finally to the Bella Italia restaurant. We had made reservations ahead of time and for good reason. This place fills up. There only seemed to be two other tables of twilight folk and the other ten tables or so were actually regular people out for a nice dinner. We got a few nice laughs from people in the windows at the restaurant with all our picture taking before we went inside.

We got a booth tucked away in the back. Of course, I always like to think it would be the one that Edward and Bella sat at. We decided to order one mushroom ravioli and split it. My husband had something manly like steak instead. He was also trying to ignore the constant photo snapping.

The Chiller font isn't so romantic

S. Meyer visited in June 2008

The moment we've been waiting for - mushroom ravioli and a coke

Bella Italia guestbook - are you in there yet?

With bellies full we rolled out of the restaurant and headed back to the car. Then it dawned on us. We were sort of lost in the dark Port Angeles night - feeling a bit too eerily like Bella. I wonder if every twihard who wanders through Port Angeles at night has that same moment of feeling scared but thrilled at the same time?

We passed by a dress shop on the way that had replicas of Bella's outfits in the window. Such an unexpected treat! We couldn't get a decent photo but we didn't stop trying for at least 10 minutes. I wonder if this is close to the one they sell at Hot Topic?

Hadn't heard of this place before

So pretty, too bad about the fluorescents

Halloween anyone?

Next up...Forks, Where to Stay

Okay, you want to reach the twilight promised land?

First you have to know where to go.

Where is Forks anyways? (you can move the map around)


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Forks is at least 3 hours travel west of Seattle. Port Angeles is the closest big town and is 75 minutes drive east of Forks on Highway 101.

If you are coming from Seattle the fastest way to Port Angeles is as follows. First you drive from Seattle up the I-5 to Edmonds. You take the 30 minute ferry from Edmonds to Kingston. Then drive 50 minutes west to Sequim and then another 20 minutes west and you are at Port Angeles.

From Vancouver, B.C. you can either drive down the I-5 to Edmonds but you have to keep in mind the border line up going south can take hours if you are leaving Saturday am.

Alternative route from Vancouver, B.C. has less driving time but more time on the ferries. Take a BC Ferry from Tsawwassen (about 45 minutes south of Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (15 minutes from Victoria, B.C.) and then take the Blackball Ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles. To skip the ferry wait it's worth the extra cost to make a reservation and you get on right away.

What did we do?

Since we came from Vancouver, B.C. on a long weekend we chose the last option through Victoria on the ferries.

Ferry to Victoria, B.C.

Downtown Victoria is quaint and relaxing

Being from Vancouver, B.C. we travel a lot to nearby Victoria (which is on Vancouver Island, I know it can be confusing). My husb (Mr. Twilight Cupcake or Mr. TC) used to fly by floatplane here from Vancouver every week so we've got lots of tips on the good eats and shopping. I'll post these in the after Forks section.

On to Port Angeles twihards!

Ugly ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles

Yuck, the Coho ferry is gross. At least the ride is peaceful. Beware that you are crossing from Canada into the US and customs and need to get to the ferry terminal early. From Victoria, if you are walking on then 20 minutes ahead is fine but if you are driving you need to get there 90 minutes ahead and you can't leave the terminal. Nothing to do and no snack bar.

Finally Port Angeles...

I had always thought of Port Angeles as a hole. No intent to offend those who hail from that area but really can you argue with me? But they have something we don't - the annual Dungeness Crab Festival. That combined with the best pie I've had made it worth the stop even without the twi stuff.

Next up...Port Angeles - crab, pie, and Bella Italia