Un-bucket List #4: Go to Forks, WA

I know that visiting this destination is on the wish list of many Twilight fans. I’m not a Twilight fan and going to Forks, WA, the setting of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Trilogy books has never been on my bucket list. But I have been to Forks, WA—before Forks was famous.

For us, Forks was simply a place we stopped while on a long trip to a job fair when my husband was looking for new and different employment. Forks was a stop on the map that made sense with our travel route. We arrived there early enough to have a look around. It was a small town shrouded in a sort of misty ocean haze. The air there felt wet and heavy but it wasn’t cold. We ate somewhere and checked rates at an adorable bed and breakfast with a charming garden. We wanted to stay there walking among the fresh strawberries and hollyhocks, but their rates were too high. Instead, we stayed at a dingy, dark motel that was in our price range.

Someone, either at the B&B or the Mexican place where we ate, told us how to get over to the water. We drove from Forks, WA over to La Push (see photo) where the land meets the sea. I’m not accustomed to the ocean. I’ve grown up land-locked, far from seagulls and saltwater. The beach here was unlike any I’d ever been too. Tall rock formations jutted out of the ocean. The water was cold enough to sort of numb my feet as I walked in it, but there is something about walking in the ocean that elevates the soul. The air, too, filled my lungs and recharged me. We stayed near the water, just breathing in the air and tossing rocks until sunset. We left when there was still an orange-pink haze of light across the sky.

The funny thing about Forks, WA is that, even then, it made an impression on me. I can understand the appeal of such a place. Forks, WA was an eclectic town with loners and outsiders and locals and people passing through. There was both a freshness and haziness about it at the same time. The sky changed almost constantly. I understand why someone might set a novel there. I’ve passed through a lot of towns in my life, many of which left no lasting memory. Forks was different. I remembered Forks. I remember reading the opening pages of Twilight and thinking, “Hey, I’ve been there.”