I’ll miss you. No matter how short a time you’re gone.  ~Alice Cullen, Midnight Sun, Chapter 1, p.27

Me doing my Emmett impersonation. The license plate was the actual one used in the movie. 5/20/12

Monday morning rolled around, it was time to go home.  With a bitter sweet feeling Nicole and I exited our hotel room and loaded up the car.  The tire, the one that was flat from the night before, was a little low but not too bad.  Seattle – Twilight Pilgrimage Part 4  I used the other can of Fix-A-Flat and we stopped by a gas station just to top it off with a little air before heading to the airport.

It was a rainy, dreary, hazy type of day, similar to the previous.  Typically what you’d expect from Seattle.  Nicole and I were spoiled with beautiful weather up until Sunday.  The weather did made it easier to exist stage right, but it was still hard.  We had that I-just-want-to-stay-one-more-day feeling.  Although, keeping my eye on the prize, I couldn’t wait to see Kyle and my family.

Dropping off the car was the easiest part of our trip.  We pulled up, paid for the rental and handed over the keys. Done!  This trip was the first time Nicole and I traveled together and our gates were almost exactly right beside one another.  We sat in a general area between the two, reliving our trip, before I pulled out my book and continued with my relaxation.  Nicole already started to look up flights to come back for Stephanie Meyers weekend.  Very tempting, but I would certainly want to at least see Marianne first.  Admittingly, I was rather intrigued by some of the events that happen that weekend.  I guess at one point everyone gathers down at La Push, First Beach and build bonfires. The Quileute elders come out and tell the legends of the their people.  Now that is too cool!

While we sat there alternating between shooting the breeze and getting lost in our books, Nicole told me to go check my gate, because naturally I was not paying attention to the time.  My first response was “I’m good” without even checking the time or the ticket counter.  Nicole’s insisted by saying, “Just go check!”  Well, she was right!  My flight was already boarding.  Good call!  I would have missed my ride!  Always leave it to my sister to keep in squared away.

Hoh National Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula

By the time I transferred flights in Chicago I was held up a bit, due to a computer issue on the plane.  I guess the computer needed rebooted.  All they had to do was ask me and I would have pushed the button. (sarcasm)  Once that was resolved I was on my way home bound.  By the time I touched down in Pittsburgh Nicole was already home.  Keep in mind, I left before her and I still had an hour drive to my house from Pittsburgh.  It was probably about 1:00 am before I unlocked my front door and dropped my luggage in the living-room before my head hit the pillow.  I had to work the next day and the morning was going to arrive too soon.

It was a great trip!  We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather and better hospitality.  I learned so much about the history, the area and the people, and the general culture.  At one point, I felt like a native.  This was my type of vacation, a lot of scenery, trees and hiking.

I will admit, I did miss Kyle terribly! It also didn’t help that for most of the trip, I had no cell phone service, sometimes spotty at best.  I’m used to getting a hold of the family when I feel like it.  In turn, I’m also used to them reaching out to me when needed.  In fact, weeks later I was talking about the trip to Kyle and he turned to me and said with his head down, “Aunt Heather next time, can I come with you guys?”  O my buddy!  That just broke my heart.  I said, “Absolutely!”  And you know what?  I really mean it.  I would never tell Kyle something that I didn’t intend to make good on.  Actually, I think he would have enjoyed the trip, well, maybe minus all the Twilight stops and photo opportunities but he adapts pretty good.  He is much like the rest of the family, we like to see new sights and learn about the area and the culture.  I think he has the potential to be a world class traveler.  Now that, I would encourage any way I could, ten fold!

Map of the US at the Forks Chamber of Commerce

No matter how you look at it, traveling is bittersweet.  Loving the excitement of making the plans, counting down the days and the energized feeling of looking forward to a vacation.  But then there’s the flip side during the trip, the slow moving feeling when each hour has passed and then each day, until the trip has come to an end.  Then on the other hand when a trip has ended, it’s a great feeling going back home, seeing the family, sleeping in your own bed, and unpacking and washing your cloths.  The memories are great, just missed.  Although there’s still that opportunity to relive every minute while telling the tails of the trip.  Sometimes the stories seem more exciting the second and third times around.

While traveling to different places, I certainly do enjoy my time when I’m there.  However I would never want to take up permanent residence anywhere I’ve been, except maybe Seattle.  I don’t know what it was about the city and the surrounding areas that I loved, but it worked for me.  Maybe it’s because we did have nice weather, or there wasn’t a lot of tourists because we went in May.  The town that encapsulating Beth’s Cafe was so cute and totally quaint.  It seemed like everyone in the town ran or walked and had a dog that accompanied them.  It was a really nice neighborhood overlooking a body of water, which was framed by a park.  I love it!

Me in front of the Forks Timber Museum & the Chamber of Commerce 5/19/12

Another place that caught my fancy was Port Angeles.  Again, another really lovely area with beautiful neighborhoods, neat little shops and a perfect view of the ocean.  Not to mention, I could totally live in a place that is supplied with fresh seafood consistently.  Port Angeles is a little bit of a hike from Seattle, but not too taxing.  It’s remote enough without being completely isolated.  At least they have Italian restaurants and a movie theater.  Thumbs up!

Seattle itself, was not what I expected.  I guess, I was waiting for the “grunge” type of landscape but it wasn’t.  It was very clean and actually well kept, at least the parts I saw.  We were told from one of our tours, it’s the newest built city in the United States.  The oceanic view plus the greenery surrounding the coastline made the experience complete.  I know it was just by chance but I loved the sunny blue days that were a bit chilly.  As I mentioned to Nicole, I’m guessing Seattle was much like Maine, although I’ve never been, yet.  It was that nautical fell that I liked.  I’m not really a pastel seashell, palm tree, type of person.  I’m more of a barges, ports, trees, rocky cliff sides and seafood type of gal.  Which was Seattle.

Twilight World Map.. I am amazed at the distance the fans have traveled to make their very own Twilight Pilgrimage.

Something else that I was fully aware of, but still took me by surprise, were those travelers before us and the ones soon to follow us, taking the same pilgrimage to Forks.  I wonder what their thoughts were of the city?  The Chamber of Commerce has a map of the world were they encourage visitors to place a pin from their hometown.  This map was amazing!  Covered in multicolored pins, there were places marked that I didn’t even know existed, let alone think people actually inhibited those remote places.  Example, there were pins, not just a pin, but plural pins from these tiny islands above Russia!  Yes, above, meaning right next to Antarctica.  Really?  There are Twilight fans all the way up there?  Yep! Of course, I can’t image there is a lot to do in their area but read, so that makes sense.  These Twilight fans made a trek to the other part of the world, from one remote location to another.  It’s almost comical.  Yet, what an adventure to for them!  Kudos!  I would have done it too!

Signs on the wall of a restaurant in Forks…they’ve embraced it!

I’m sure Stephanie Meyers couldn’t have fathomed the popularity surrounding the books that were a result of a dream she had years ago.  What is neat is all the details that became a part of our trip, all because Stephanie Meyers chose to do her research and build this very real place into her fiction story.  Making over $50 million plus a year, I know Stephanie Meyers is not concerned about my thoughts and opinions but, great job!  Thanks for bringing us on this adventure that seems to be staying for a long time.  I hope to see more good things in Twilight.  I think it’s great!  A really great read and fun to be a part of it all.

Read the trip from the beginning.

Pre-flight – Twilight Pilgrimage Prequal

Forks or Bust! – Twilight Pilgrimage Part 1

Rain Forest, Forks, Beach…all in a Day! – Twilight Pilgrimage Part 2

More Forks & Port Angeles – Twilight Pilgrimage Part 3

Seattle – Twilight Pilgrimage Part 4

Nicole posing with the Twilight crew… this picture is absolutely ridiculous! 5/20/12

Me & Nicole in front of the Space Needle 5/20/12

Yes, it was Sunday morning Nicole and I woke up early to find the church we chose to attend.  Just because we were on vacation doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop in to God’s house and pay respect.  With all the traveling that we were doing, we really needed His blessing to get us around safely, not to mention it was Ascension Sunday!  As we exited the church, it began to rain.  We were waiting for the inevitable, and to be honest I didn’t mind it.  It wasn’t too cold, just soggy, wet and hazy.  A perfect way to start our day of adventure, Seattle style.

We made our way to Pike’s Peak.  I will admit it took us awhile, since we parked the car and my sister was navigating the streets, but we found it.  And boy, I didn’t know what to expect, but it was PACKED!  We really had a tight schedule of sights planned, so we didn’t spend too much time there.  Finding a place to sit and grab a bite to eat before making our way around the city, became our priority.  Nicole and I both had egg sandwiches on sourdough bread, which was the BEST breakfast sandwich I ever had!  While eating, Nicole and I kept coming back to the topic of bacon.  Everywhere we went, when we had bacon, it was magnificent. I mean it really.  It was perfectly cooked, not fatty but not burnt and full of flavor.  It seemed like the state of Washington had stock in perfect bacon.  Nicole said, “They must have pig farms somewhere around here.”  I died!  That was too funny!  I said, “Nicole, it’s everywhere we went, even on the Olympic Peninsula in Forks.  We have pig farms and butchers around home, but the bacon is not like this.”  We had no other solid theories explaining the great tasting bacon.

This is the building we started our Underground Tour...very educational.

Once we were as full as pigs, we needed to get up and walk around, heading for our first tour, The Underground City.  Just to give a brief overview, Seattle was built at sea level, so when the high tide would come in, it would flood the first, second and even sometimes the third floors of buildings.  Eventually, Seattle built up the roads to the second floors of the building.  As time moved on, to eliminate the need to climb ladders every time someone wanted to walk across the street, they enclosed the side walks overhead, meeting the same level as the road, which now made the once second and third floors, the first floors.  This created an underground city of sidewalks and forgotten first floor buildings.  Through the tour we learned the city is slowly starting to restore these areas and use them as functional store fronts.  The tour was so educational and fun!  Great pick on Nicole’s part!

Actual furniture still seen on the underground tour.

After all that walking, I wanted to walk some more.  Even thought it was still drizzling and overcast, I didn’t mind, I wanted to use foot power to get to the Space Needle.  Together, Nicole and I agreed and headed in that direction.  Now there is an on going joke, a funny if you will, about me getting to the tops of famous monuments.  You see I never can, for one reason or another, reach my destination with respect to monuments.  Now I will admit I was fortunate enough to get to the top of one of the World Trade Towers, which can never happen again.  I am blessed to have had that opportunity.  But let’s discuss my string of missed occasions.  When I went to the Statue of Liberty in high school, we ran out of time and I only got to the pedestal.  When I went to see the Eiffel Tower, we got there too late and I only could go to the first tier and let’s not discuss the Washington Monument.  Nope, this time I broke free of the curse.  I got to the top and walked around the outside about three times and the inside twice, to make sure I had the full effect.  I was happy and my life at that point was complete!  Mom asked me later, “Did you get to the top of the Space Needle?”, as she asked with a curious grin.  Very funny mom!  All I could reply was, “YES!”

Underground Tour of Seattle with our tour guide.

As I roamed around the Space Needle, and eventually making my way down to the gift shop to look around just out of curiosity, I stumbled upon a Space Needle Lego set.  Now how could I resist?  After all, I didn’t see anything that I really thought Kyle would want, except a pin that said ‘My Aunt Brought Me This From Forks’ or something along those lines.  Boy was I excited to surprise Kyle.  So as we made our way across the street to the Ducky Tours, our next big adventure of the day, I called Kyle while we waited and told him I got him something.  He naturally said, “What Aunt Heather?”  and I retorted by saying, “It’s a surprise, you’re going to have to wait and see when I get home.”  Kyle instantly was not going to accept that and then asked me where I got the gift from.  Answering him, what I thought was harmless knowledge, he caught me off guard because I was so wrong about my assumption.  Kyle said, “O I know what you got me!  A Space Needle Lego set!”  I was flabbergasted!  I tried to play it cool and asked him why he thought that, only to hear his reply, “They have all famous monuments in Legos.  Lego White House, Lego Statue of Liberty, and what’s that tower in France?” I assisted by saying “The Eiffel Tower?” while Kyle picked up on my words and said, “Ya Lego Eiffel Tower, and I know they have a Lego Space Needle.”  I said, “How do you know all this?” followed by Kyle saying, “They have them all listed online.”  I guess Kyle has memorized all the known Lego’s.  I shouldn’t be surprised.

I thought I bought Kyle the perfect gift... Lego Space Needle

As we took our very cold, wet Ducky Tour, I still kept playing that conversation over in my head.  I said, “Can you believe that little creep?  He knew right away what I got him and he was so sure of himself, he wanted to know when I was going to give it to him!”  Nicole and I just laughed.  I said, “I’m going to wait till the weekend to give him the goods.”

While on the tour we were able to learn more of Seattle’s history and see famous sights such as the boat house from Sleepless In Seattle.  They also showed us the newly built or ready to be built boathouses.  Did you know that you have to purchase the ‘landing’ for the boathouse separate and the boathouses themselves are upwards of a million dollars?  Here, I thought we were living in a recession and the housing market was lagging.  Guess not in Seattle on the water.

Once we made it off the boat and back on dry land, we started to head back toward our car, which happen to be on the complete other end of the city.  Yep, in one day Nicole and I managed to walk from one end of Seattle to the other and back again, not to mention the distance we covered trying to find Pike’s Peak.  Our shoes certainly put on a few miles that day.  Then, when we finally made it back to the car, we saw one of our tires was flat.  I mean hugging the road in a serious sag, flat!  Yikes!

We called the car rental and would you believe, flat tires are not covered?  Apparently, it is the responsibility of the driver to replace the tire.  I am a bit embarrassed to say, I did yell at the woman on the phone, especially when she gave me an attitude.  I argued that tires are wear and tear on a vehicle and should be covered.  She said, “You’ve had the car for more than four days, so it must have happened with you.”  I couldn’t believe it!  I mean, I could have rented the car and it sat for the four days.  What did she know?  I was mad!  I actually I threatened to drive on the rim.  She said, “Well that’s your choice.”  I couldn’t believe her attitude toward me!  My responsibility?  I think not!

View from Space Needle

Once I was done with my rant, Nicole turned to me and said, “We are not driving on the rim!  I will pay the $70 for the new tire.”  I said, “No this is on principle!  Neither of us are going to pay for this tire.  We are turning it in tomorrow anyway.”  Nicole rolled her eyes and said, “Then how are we going to fix it?  Let me try my On Star”   We called Nicole’s On Star service and disappointingly found out the service only follows the car, not the driver.  I knew I had roadside assistance, but I had no clue what my information was.  After being rejected by On Star, in a very nice and friendly way, Nicole was ready to call the rental place back and pay for the tire.  Nope!  I was on a mission.  Nicole was not amused and we did argue.  I said, “You make it out like you’ve been privileged all your life.  Haven’t you ever been stranded without money?”  Now I could tell Nicole wanted to take control of the situation and I wouldn’t have it.  Since my phone died earlier and I was using hers, I had Nicole GPS the closest gas station.  She said with an attitude, similar to my rental lady, “How is that going to help us?”  I replied, “Haven’t you ever heard of Fix-A-Flat?”  Nicole was skeptical over my solution, which I thought was brilliant.  Once we found the closest gas station, which I was in luck, it was about a half a mile away.  The only downside, it was up a hill, and I mean up a hill!  Nicole threw me a glare and said, “I’m not walking!”  I said, “I’ll go.”  Since Nicole was sitting in the car, in the middle of Seattle, in a rental car, nearing dark, by herself, I thought, I’d better hurry up.

Seattle's port side near Pike's Peak

In the rain for about a half a mile, I ran up the hill toward my destination to purchased Fix-A-Flat.  Once I got to the gas station, my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.  I spotted the front desk guy and ask in a breathy desperate, almost non existent voice, “Do you have Fix-A-Flat?”  He looked puzzled and said, “If we do it would be under the football.”  I thought, the football?  Then my eyes caught this huge cardboard cut out of a football hanging over a few rows of items.  As I walked back I said a prayer to two.  My eyes scanned the car care items looking desperately, until I saw the words Fix-A-Flat.  I let out the biggest sigh of relief.  Playing it safe, I purchased two cans, which totaled about ten bucks.  Did I mention I was using Nicole’s credit card?  He actually asked my for ID.  Yikes!  Well ironically, I had my license in my pocket, but we clearly are not the same person.  I was ready to take the goods and run.  But to my comfort, as I was trying to explain it was my sister’s credit card, he looked at me and said, “As long you have the same last name.”  Sigh!! God was on my side!  Without dilly dallying, I  ran back down the same slick hill in my converse.  I almost bit it and slid down on my butt a couple of times but I managed to get through unharmed.  I remained focused and delivered the goods back to the car to get us on our way.

Immediately getting to work on the tire, Nicole came got out of the car to inspect or supervise or bother me or whatever.  It worked like a charm!  Nicole, still skeptical said, “How long do we have to wait?” followed by response of, “We can drive on it now.”  She didn’t believe me grabbing the can and scanning the directions.  All I heard was a grunt from her.  We filed back in the car and headed out.  Nicole quickly said, “Let’s try not to go mock speeds.”  Ok, now she was on my nerves.

Once we got back to the hotel, Nicole still unsure said, “What if it goes down overnight?”  I said, “That’s why I bought a second can and we can swing by a gas station to put air in the tire before heading out to the airport.  She said, “But what about the person that uses the car after us?”  I said, “It will show a low tire and the company will have to address it.”  Yep, I got a lot of eye rolling and grunts.  Once we got back to our hotel, we were both beat.  After packing and showering I managed to sit back and continue reading and relaxing until my eyes fell heavy.  This was the end of our fun filled adventurous vacation.   Completely worth it!  Now I just had to make it back home, which always seemed to be a challenge for me.

Alas, due to the flat tire, we were never able to meet up with my cousin Mariann.  I was upset over that, but she was busy much of the time we were there too.  No worries, that gives us another excuse to fly out and visit her.

To Be Continued…

Read the trip from the beginning.

Pre-flight – Twilight Pilgrimage Prequal

Forks or Bust! – Twilight Pilgrimage Part 1

Rain Forest, Forks, Beach…all in a Day! – Twilight Pilgrimage Part 2

More Forks & Port Angeles – Twilight Pilgrimage Part 3