Nature Calls

So I decided that the plan was to just stick around town and see what Seattle had to offer. See some fish throwing (even though I dislike fish), check out the space needle, do some window shopping... I even bought a book. Instead of a generic Washington State travel book, I bought a Seattle book. A Top Ten Seattle book. Basically a great reference for those like me who don't have a lot of time, but would like to hit the highlights. When the first Barnes and Noble was sold out, I even had them locate and reserve it and a different store and I spent my precious time to drive to a second book store to get this one specific book.

And then we got to the rental car place. And parked next to our Ford rental was none other than a Volvo.

I realize it is gray and not silver, but still, it was a sign. John understood that and turned around and went back into the rental office and traded in the Ford. I didn't even ask. You would be right in assuming my travel plans changed there and then and I would be headed off to the Olympic Peninsula the next day.

That night however, we took the awesome advice of a friend (from a comment on my last post) and went out to eat at Dilettante. They also serve dinner there, but their specialty is chocolate. Chocolate truffles, chocolate desserts, hot chocolate, even chocolate martini's. If ever I were tempted to drink, that would be the place. (Don't worry, I had the very non-alcoholic hot chocolate, even though they were offering free samples.)

So the next day, armed with my now useless Seattle guide book, a map, a GPS, and a Coke, I headed off on my own to see the sights. (Is it weird that I was leaving my husband, on his birthday, to go check out the home towns of Edward Cullen and Jacob Black?)

It was a heck of a drive. (3-4 hours each way) But very beautiful and scenic. I cranked the tunes and enjoyed just having nothing to do but drive. The weather was rainy and cloudy, but I think I would have been disappointed if it wasn't. I made a few stops to get out and take pictures, but never stopped for too long. (don't you just hate it when you take pictures of scenery, because you are so moved by the beauty of it all, and need to share it with someone, but when you get home, the pictures are disappointing to say the least?) I was tempted to get out and hike, but it was raining, and I wasn't sure how much time all this was going to take anyway. My plan was to get back by dinner time so that I could spend some time with John.I think my favorite part was the rain forest. Totally surreal. I think if I stayed there long enough I might start to be able to believe that vampires and werewolves could exist in a place like that. Of course, pictures I take could never do the beauty of it justice. Apparently I'm not the first person to take the pilgrimage to Forks. Starting in Port Angeles, I started to see signs of the books' popularity everywhere. Motels welcoming Twilight Fans, and even whole stores dedicated to Twilight. Ironically the presence of all that stuff detracted from the magic of it all, and I would sit in my car and silently mock those who were capitalizing on the books, and the ridiculousness of it all, and then I would remember that I have no room to talk, I drove 4 hours to get there. I was just as pathetic as the gas stations that sell "I was bitten in Forks" t-shirts.

Admittedly my favorite sign had to have been the "No Vampires Allowed- Treaty Line" on the way to La Push. That made me laugh. Sorry about the picture, I couldn't get a good shot of it. I'm not sure which beach I was at, but the views were amazing. The rocks jutting out of the sea were a sight to behold.

After a long day in the car, I finally made it back to the hotel in time for dinner. We went out with some of John's co-workers who also happened to be in town for this meeting John had to be at, ad they found out it was John's birthday and wanted to go out to celebrate with us. We got some more great advice from a former local (and chef) and had dinner at El Gaucho. From the outside, the place wasn't that impressive, but the inside was a different story. And the food was to die for. Everything was amazing. We all left totally happy and stuffed to the max.

I've decided that I'd love to take a whole family vacation up there some day. I think we could easily fill a week.