Twilight Insanity

This is a WAAAYY outdated post, but I wanted to play catch up.

About 5 weeks ago (maybe 6?) 3 friends and I took a day trip out to the Olympic Peninsula. The point of the trip was to get out and have fun, and also see the town where the movie Twilight takes place. It should probably be noted that Twilight wasn't actually filmed in Forks, but apparently the residents of the town don't care.

I knew that Forks had embraced the fact that their town is where Twilight is based. I knew that they were welcoming to tourists who came to see the town, simply because they saw the movie. I never dreamed that they were as insane as they were! I don't think there is any way to possibly imagine the insanity that is taking place in this town right now.

We started out the day by hopping on the ferry to Port Townsend. We had breakfast at a cute little bakery/restaurant in Port Townsend (and I wish I could remember the name of it), then we headed off to the Olympic National Park. We spent some time hiking up to a beautiful waterfall and then admiring the crystal clear blue water in a nearby lake. We were lucky in the fact that we picked a perfect day to go sightseeing and exploring. It was bright and sunny and didn't rain a single drop while we were there!


Then we were off to the insanity that is the city of Forks (although why its called a city is beyond me).

Upon arriving in the town we were excited to see the "The City of Forks Welcomes You" sign. This identical sign is in the movie, because the movie copied it, not because its the actual sign. But it was still exciting to see. (Mrs. M decided that she was going to be a vampire in the first picture.)


What greeted us after the welcome sign was where the insanity began. Hotels with signs saying "Edward Cullen DIDN'T sleep here" (I guess because he doesn't sleep?), stores with signs that say "Bella shops here", and tons of signs to welcome vampires and Twilight fans. (You may have to click on some of the pictures to enlarge them to see what they say.)




Our first stop was the visitor's center to see what there was to actually do in this tiny little town. It turns out that there is PLENTY to do, because they have created an official Twilight tour, complete with an official Twilight map. We got to the visitor's center with perfect timing. The Twilight tour bus (yes, there's actually a tour bus) had just arrived and it was filled with screaming ,shrieking middle school girls, and their mothers, who were also screaming and shrieking. We calmly got out of our car, while they raced off of their bus. As soon as they ran into us we were bombarded with questions of "What team are you on? Edward or Jacob?", followed by them being completely horrified when 2 of the ladies I was with told them that they didn't know what they were talking about. (One hadn't read the book and was just along for the ride, and the other didn't know the difference between Team Edward and Team Jacob). Picture a little kid finding out that his dog just died, and that was what these kids looked like when we proved to not be quite as obsessed as they were. I have to admit that I personally was very excited to be there, but these kids were crazy!

Once we were inside the visitor's center we were greeted by a woman who was WAAAYYY too super happy and excited to be telling us about the town. First we had to look at the visitor's center. The following pictures should show you exactly what there is in this town - nothing...except Twilight:

(they even have a Twilight look alike contest)

The super happy, excited lady gave us some facts about the town.

First...every single police officer in town will answer to the name Charlie. This is a picture of the real chief of police and if you look closely, it gives his name, followed by "aka Charlie Swan" (and thats Stephanie Meyer in the picture with him).

Outside of the visitor's center was Bella's truck (of course) and it doesn't matter that this isn't really the truck from the movie. People were still beyond thrilled to see it, so of course we needed a picture by it (and I have no idea who the little girl in the back of the picture is).



Upon leaving the visitor's center, we took the super happy, excited lady's map and went in search of the Swan house. According the the lady, this is just a regular house, that a regular family lives in. Its not the house from the movie. In fact, it doesn't even look like the house from the movie, but they have declared it the Swan household. She actually said something like "Don't worry. There are people living there but you can stop and take as many pictures as you'd like." So apparently, this crazy family loves having people take pictures of their house all day long, just because they put a sign outside saying that its Bella's house.
Next on the map was the Cullen household. This house was claimed by a local bed and breakfast that looks NOTHING like the house in the movie and really doesn't fit the description of the house in the book either. But their mailbox says "Cullen" on it, so it was added to the tour! On the porch of the house is a sign that is updated every single day by the woman who owns the place. People in town need to know where the Cullens are at all times, so this message board is helpful for that.


The next stop was one we avoided. Since the Cullens really live in Forks (according to the visitor's center...they are real), Dr. Cullen needs his own parking spot at the hospital. This is also on the official tour. We skipped it though because when we got to the hospital we saw how small it was. To drive in and see a parking spot for a fictional character means that you have to block the entrance to the ER. We thought that was a little ridiculous, so we kept driving. We did take a picture of a replica of the sign in a local tourist shop.

Of course, Forks High School is on the tour. Never mind again that this isn't the school that was used in the movie. And never mind that school is actually in session. The official tour tells you to stop here and take a picture. If you look closely, you'll see that all of the windows have shades over them. I imagine it gets pretty annoying to be in school, only to look outside and see people taking pictures of you all day long.


After going on this tour, we headed out of Forks and into La Push. As fans of the book and movie will know, there is a treaty line on the edge of the Quileute Indian Reservation. Not to be outdone by the town of Forks, this is what you drive into as you enter La Push:

A positive thing about this insanity is that it has to be good for local businesses. The Forks' visitor's center recommended a restaurant to us to eat at and I can honestly say that I never would have stopped there if someone hadn't told me to. It was a run down, hole in the wall, tiny little place that was part of a mobile home park/campground. It looked sketchy and I admit we were a little afraid of eating there when we saw it, but the lady said it was great so we tried it! And she was right. It was probably the best lunch of eaten in a while. And of course, since the restaurant sits on the treaty line, they have to serve Twilight themed food.
La Push was just as insane as Forks. We went to the beach (which is absolutely beautiful and worth the trip even if you hate Twilight) and found "I love EC" written in the sand. Next to it was "I love J". So of course I took pictures.




La Push is obviously Team Jacob, and at the local gas station convenience store they reminded us of this (I love how they have the "Team Jacob" sign over the garlic.). Outside of the store, they had "Bella's Bulletin Board", and I thought some of the things written on it was interesting and amusing.







So if you're up for a day of insanity then definitely head out to Forks! We had a blast while we were there, and even if I had no idea what Twilight was all about, I still think it would have been a fun day. La Push is beautiful and I'd go back there in a second just to relax on the beach. Its definitely a day trip worth taking :-).