How I Spent My Summer Vacation: In Forks!

Meet Heidi Bennett!

She read the Twilight Saga for the first time in August 2008 and is now one of the site admins for the official Twilight Facebook page (CLICK HERE TO SEE IT). She's also a good friend of 4TNZ (and goes against the grain by being Team JackWard).

Recently, Heidi — who's a Pacific Northwest native, but now lives in New England — made a pilgrimage to the ultimate Twihard destination: Forks, WA. And she wrote an essay about it just for us! 

Here's the story of her trip, with pictures. Jealous, much?

When in Forks!

Being from the Northwest, I never thought I would be waking up at dawn to visit an unknown territory. I thought I'd been everywhere. But there I was, with my sister Ashley, making a four hour trek to Forks, Washington to explore where it all began and to experience the sites through Twilight's eyes.

Driving through the Olympic Peninsula on the 101, I got very excited every time I saw a Forks sign. The scenery was beautiful, trees covered in lush green leaves cascading over the highway.  Upon entering Forks, you will find the tour center and stationed nicely at the tour center you will find Bella's truck. Instant photo op! (4TNZ note: No joyride? Bummer!)

Our day in Forks would consist of a guided tour of the "locations" mentioned in the books only to find out that, those really don't exist.  Newton's Sporting Goods is actually a huge "everything" store; the Cullen's house, according to the people of Forks, is located behind the police station, right in town; and Bella's house is near the hospital.

This brings me to the "Twilight in Forks" documentary that Summit recently acquired the rights to.  Will this documentary show me something I didn't see in this guided tour?  From the trailer, there is Sulley's, where you would go for your "Bella burger" (4TNZ note: Not made out of actual Bellas); footage of the forest, which is gorgeous, and La Push; but is there more to Forks then meets the eye?  If so, I can't wait to see.

The highlight, without a doubt was La Push!  I was mesmerized by its beauty. This is where all the beach scenes should have been filmed. The piles drift wood speaks volumes of the story Meyer was telling us in Twilight.  Standing on the beach, I imaged the tribal elders telling us their ancient stories while we sat around a driftwood fire. La Push did not disappoint.

During our brief stay on the Quileute Reservation, the locals didn't let us down either.  We got a kick out of the youth and their desire to meet the tourists. They went so far as to give the young girls on our tour their phone numbers. Now we know where Jacob gets his charm! (4TNZ note: Awww... yeah! Are they just as hot?)

What I noticed (and the upcoming documentary proves), is that every merchant in Forks is out to capitalize off Twilight, even the local gas station sells T-shirts.  I look forward to watching 'Twilight in Forks' to gain a locals perspective.

Unfortunately, the day of our trip proved to be one of the hottest days in Forks, which means the Cullens were off in the woods, hiking.  With no Cullens, it meant no wolves!