Thursday, June 12, 2008:
This day began just as early as the previous one. Once again the logging trucks were out in full force clattering about the asphalt carrying their heavy loads of lumber. The only major difference in the morning was the location of breakfast. We opted to eat at The In Place. The food here was also pretty decent. After satisfying our hunger, we once again made a trip to the Forks Chamber of Commerce. This visit was to secure directions to the house that they had decided most resembled the Swan residence. With the directions, the house was much easier to find. The home was very similiar to the one in my imagination. I could almost see Charlie clomping up the steps after a long day at the station. My eyes also scanned the upper portion of the house and rested on the ledge underneath two windows. Flickers of seeing Edward climb from this ledge into the window of Bella’s room flashed throughout my mind. We also stumbled across the closest thing the town has to the Cullen house. It’s a gorgeous bed and breakfast not far from the main part of town. Perhaps I will stay there on my next trip to Forks! I certainly have plans to go back at some point.
We also spent some time shopping in Forks before heading to La Push. Once we arrived on the reservation, a quest for house resembling Jacob’s began. I was intent on finding a house so that I could imagine Bella’s time spent on the reservation during New Moon and Eclipse. There were two homes that stuck out as possibilities for Jacob’s home – each one complete with a garage. One could almost picture Jacob working on his cars and motorcycle! A trip to La Push would not be complete without a visit to First Beach. The setting was just as I had envisioned during my reading and it was just right for werewolves. Mike’s beach party sprang to mind as I looked around the beach and I could almost hear the story of the cold one’s ringing throughout my mind.
A short drive brought us to the parking lot for second beach, which is also located in La Push. A short hike was required to get to the actual beach. The path twisted through the forest towards the shore. Once the path ended we quickly saw that our entry to the beach was blocked by numerous drift wood logs piled high upon one another. There was only one way to the sand – to climb over the massive trees. This process took a bit of time and was somewhat tedious. As I reached the sand, I soon forgot the time it took to reach that point and breathed in the cool, salty air. The view before me was like none I had ever witnessed. Being from the East Coast, I am used to beaches that have warm breezes and sunlight. Neither of these elements was present at Second Beach. I began to collect pebbles from the shore to bring home with me. I had heard that Stephenie Meyer and other Forks visitors had collected pebbles from these same beaches as keepsakes and writing inspiration. The pebbles would serve as a memento of my time in La Push. Time was also spent hiking to the tide pools just as Bella and her friends had done in Twilight. I had never seen anything like them before. The pools were hard to reach due to slippery sea rocks that needed to be crossed. The peril was well worth it! Purple and orange starfish were clustered throughout the tide pools in large numbers; the pools also contained various other forms of sea life such as brightly colored sea anemones and hermit crabs.
Once I was able to drag myself away from the tide pools, I returned to the sand to collect a few more pebbles for my collection. Green stones were my favorite and I was seeking a variety of these keepsakes. The child within me crept out a bit when I decided to write messages in the sand. The messages ranged from “Team Edward” written in the sand with a piece of driftwood to the letters EC spelled out with sea stones. My enthusiasm with the beach art died out fairly quickly and I decided it was time to once again brave the driftwood maze and the hike back to the car. The day had been amazing, but as all things do it had come to an end. The evening was spent losing myself in reading Twilight yet again. However, the reading was more entertaining and vivid with the visions of Forks and La Push dancing amongst my thoughts.
