In the beginning...

Would you believe me if I told you that almost two years ago I didn't even know there was land in the continental U.S. West of Seattle? I literally thought the Puget Sound was it. Perhaps Canada started on the other side, what did I care? I never had been to the Pacific Northwest much less wanted to go. But that was all before my world opened up. And like so many times before in my life, everything changed when I opened a book and began to read.

Now of course some of you may find what I'm about to say next silly. And others who know what I'm talking about may just be able to relate to my story, at least somewhat. The book I just happened to pick up and read was Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Before I finally joined the rest of the world and read this book, my mind never ventured to the Pacific Northwest. I knew Grey's Anatomy took place in Seattle and it always looked cold or rainy, but I never desired to see it. But as soon as Stephenie's world in Forks, WA swept me up and swallowed me whole, I got on the internet and I googled. And then I googled some more.

My search returned shocking results. Not only was Forks a real live, breathing town situated in the heart of what is known as the Olympic Peninsula, but La Push was real too. In fact, the more research I did, the more I realized that what Stephenie created fictitiously in her books, could easily be occurring 2,000 miles away in a world so different from my own (well except for the Vampire and Werewolf thing, unless you really believe in that stuff - and I know some people do!).

So I kept googling this new place. I'd look at images and read blogs and then soon I began dreaming of traveling to this mystical place. I'll admit, initially I was driven to see the northwestern most point of Washington state because of Twilight. It so happened that I have a husband with an adventurous spirit . He's always open to seeing new places and the Pacific Northwest was on his list.

So we planned our trip. Our second honeymoon (our 2 year old son would stay with his grandparents for the week) was scheduled for April 2009.

So this blog will hopefully explore our Olympic Peninsula vacation in 2009 and the upcoming return vacation in April 2010. Hopefully I can shed some light on this secluded region of the United states and tell you reasons why you should visit not only if you're a Twilight fan but if you are a fan of scenic beauty. This place touched my soul in such an unexpected way. I went in search of a sliver of realism in a world of fiction, but left with so much more. Forks, WA. is so much more than Twilight.

My next post will begin retelling our first adventure last year. Stay tuned!