hoa hoa hoa

Over a year ago, my friend Ariel (always a planner) asked if I would be interested in going on a Twilight trip. This was easy — yes. I knew immediately Ariel would plan out one of the most memorable trips I’ll ever take, and she came through. The girls’ trip made it out of the group chat!

In preparation for this trip, I reread and rewatched the first in the book and movie series. I appreciate the culture of the series (although I may be a little old because I had to google to understand why anyone was leaving a rat emoji comment on any of my content with Twilight in it).

The journey began early early Friday morning, prepared for a hectic Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport, and departed for a nearly six hour flight. Erin, who had bravely reread every Twilight book, watched the movie on the flight. We landed in Seattle, and this was my first time being in the Pacific time zone. After waiting an eternity in line to grab our rental car, and began our drive towards Forks.

Along the way, we made a stop in Port Angeles, where we had a reservation at Bella Italia. It was surprisingly busy in the area, as a lot of people were around for the Crab Festival. After stuffing ourselves with pasta, Ariel made sure we safely crossed the road with flags, and we finished our drive to the Misty Valley Inn, a cozy bed and breakfast right in Forks.

Saturday, after a delicious breakfast, we headed out to what Ariel had promised me was an easy hike in the Hoh Rainforest. New first unlocked: first time I saw an elk IRL. It was a pretty breezy walk, and breathtakingly beautiful. Pictures can’t do it justice. The whole weekend was surprisingly sunny, so we had a nice sparkly view of the forest.

Our next stop was one I was looking forward to most during this trip: we visited the Forever Twilight in Forks Collection. This is, in fact, a small room filled with memorabilia from the Twilight films, but most importantly: Chuckesmee is there. If you don’t know about Chuckesmee, you can watch my tiktok about her.

We stopped for lunch at Three Rivers Resort Restaurant, where they really lean into the Twilight theme. Not only was there a cutout of Bella and Edward near the restroom, and menu items named with the theme, but this is a must-see place in Forks if you’re a Twilight fan. Outside you’ll find the famous “Vampire Threat” sign, as well as a large sign marking the Treaty Line.

Nearby is La Push (baby) and Rialto Beach. We decided to forgo La Push to walk Rialto Beach, which we believed was a “flat beach walk” to a landmark called “Hole in the Wall”. This was actually one of the hardest walks I’ve taken in my life, but I am not a hiker. We didn’t quite make it to Hole in the Wall, because we were not prepared, but we did make it close and it was really cool, and probably worth it.

On our way out Sunday morning, we stopped at the Forks welcome sign (it had been far too crowded the day before) and visited the Tree of Life, which seems to be barely holding on.

We made the drive to St. Helens, Oregon, where we arrived at our destination: The Twilight Swan House. Yes, we got to stay in Bella and Charlie’s house! There were several signs nearby for Twilight fans, and a constant stream of people walking up the hill to take photos at the house. It was turned into an airbnb a few years ago after the previous owners finally sold it (I can’t imagine trying to just live your life in your home with people constantly hanging out in your front yard).

After arriving, we walked to The Spirit of Halloweentown, which was very crowded and didn’t have as much going on as I expected it to, but it was still fun to see!

We watched Breaking Dawn, Part 1, in Bella’s living room Sunday night, which was surreal. There were cardboard cutouts of nearly every character, which was kind of a hilarious jump scare. As I pulled the shower curtain back later, I nearly expected to see a cardboard Dakota Fanning standing there. In the closet of Bella’s bedroom, there are some of her wardrobe pieces and other things the airbnb owner bought in an auction. The furniture and decor throughout the home is close to what you see in the movies. And because we went in October, it was decorated for Halloween!

On Monday, after feeling like a vampire was watching me sleep, we drove to Multnomah Falls, which was on Ariel’s bucket list and is also a Twilight filming location. We had lunch at the Lodge, which had some of the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had in my life.

Since we were slowing down by now, we drove to Mt. Hood to relax at Grateful Vineyard, a winery, cidery, and brewery in one.

We said goodbye to the Twilight Swan House the next morning and drove back to Seattle, where we stopped at the Seattle Public Library before heading to the airport.