Goodbye Canada, Hello US (and Twilight)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

We woke up in our Red Lion hotel, which I don't really recommend to anyone! and headed to downtown Victoria and our ferry. Since the ferry to Port Angeles runs only three times a day, we wanted to make sure we were on the 3 p.m. sailing (second of the day) and since we didn't have a reservation, we got there about 11:30. We got in line and paid for our tickets, and were told to be back at 1:30 so US Customs could check us.

That worked out perfect, since it gave us time to look around downtown and eat breakfast/lunch at Sam's Deli. The corn chowder and bagel were perfect. It meant we had a leisurely walk around downtown Victoria, and then it was back to the car to show our passports and declare any items we had bought.
At 3 p.m. we had driven onto the ferry and were sitting topside watching the Victoria harbor fade into the distance. The 20 miles across the Strait of Juan de Fuca was done in about an hour and half, and we were in Port Angeles -- back in the US!
We headed west on Hwy 101 and were soon skirting Lake Crescent, a beautiful large lake, with raindrops starting to fall. Of course, what else would we expect in the part of the US that gets more rain per year than any other place. [Washington State's Olympic Peninsula is the wettest area in the contiguous United States with an average annual rainfall of 105in.] But the drive was beautiful, and all that rain results in trees and ferns and other plants that have more shades of green than I have ever seen! In Arizona if it's green, it's mostly less brown -- but here, there were shades of green I have only seen in a Crayola crayon box -- like: forest green, olive green, pine green, spring green, yellow green, fern, granny smith apple, jungle green, sea green, shamrock, and tropical rain forest -- which are all Crayola colors by the way!
We arrived at our destination, Forks, Washington, about 6 p.m. -- which while it sounds late, really isn't, since it doesn't get dark until nearly 10 p.m!
Forks, as most people know, is the setting for Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, so we spent a little while going to some of the places made famous in the book and movie -- the hospital to see Dr. Cullen's parking spot! Forks High School, the Police Station, and of course, the market and outfitters where Bella worked. Everywhere in town are Twilight references, even if they did not film the movie here. But it was very interesting, and I made collage of places we went today.
Tomorrow we will see "Bella's house" and the "Cullen house" as well as go to LaPush to see where "Jacob lived" and the beaches from the story. Then it's on to our next stop at Ocean Beach, outside of Aberdeen.
Tonight though, I am watching the movie Twilight on my computer, while spending the night in Forks -- how cool is that!?

To see more pictures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/azwomon and see "Goodbye Victoria, hello Forks, WA"