Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi, I'm Alexa and I'm Rory, and together we are the Romies. We are married.

Speaker 2: 0:07

To each other.

Speaker 1: 0:08

Right, we are a touring musical duo.

Speaker 2: 0:11

And our music has taken us to all kinds of places all around the world and keeps us always on the go.

Speaker 1: 0:16

So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while running around working to keep all your plates spinning.

Speaker 2: 0:22

And we hope, to facilitate your busy lifestyle and feed your inner travel bug. Hi everyone, we are excited to have Larissa's Kitchen sponsoring all month long while we explore the Olympic Peninsula with you. Larissa's Kitchen, or LK, makes real clean meat snacks zero sugar, certified top nine, allergen-free and perfect for on-the-go adventures. So whether you're hiking, traveling or just running between meetings, their portable meat sticks and jerky make it easy to snack smarter, because when you eat better, you feel better.

Speaker 1: 1:04

Mm-hmm. Set jetting, as our friend Pamela Holt calls it. That's the same question I asked her. Do you mean jet setting? No set jetting? Yes, as Pamela Holt calls it. We finally got to visit Forks, washington. It was great to finally explore the Olympic Peninsula and now share about more of our experiences with you here.

Speaker 2: 1:25

So ever since the Twilight movies came out, I have wanted to go to Forks. It just seemed like such a random place and somehow that made it more appealing to me because the name's funny. I'd never heard of it before the movies and I just wanted to discover this remote little town. I was just super intrigued when they came out.

Speaker 1: 1:42

So for the next few episodes, we're diving into our adventures on the Olympic Peninsula, of which there were many, and Forks is one of the key stops. We're kicking it all off with a full episode dedicated to everything Twilight you can discover there. Now, regardless of how you feel about the books, the movies, whether you love them or hate them I'm sure you love them you're still going to want to listen because of all the cool stuff we found in the area. Forks is just a super fun stop.

Speaker 2: 2:09

And apparently I'm not the only one who wanted to see this place in real life. So when you visit the Forks Visitor Center, there's literally an entire museum built around Twilight memorabilia and it does have specific hours, so be sure you check that out before you go.

Speaker 1: 2:24

Outside the visitor center there are these two trucks. Yeah, one is the actual truck from the movie Twilight and the other is the one described in the books. How cool is that? Super fun little detail. While we were there, we also picked up a Twilight themed map of Forks, which they offer for free, of course. And just a quick tip If you do grab that Twilight map at the Visitor Center, it makes it way easier to hit all the fun Twilight spots without missing anything. Any fan, anything is what I'm saying. They also sell merch. If you want to grab a souvenir to remember your trip, nothing like a hot Twilight mug. Wait.

Speaker 2: 3:04

Yes, Hot means stolen, so you probably don't want to say that trip nothing like a hot Twilight mug.

Speaker 1: 3:08

Wait, yes, hot means stolen, so you probably don't want to say that. Well, I was thinking hot like the girls in the movie, but then it didn't quite. I was thinking hot Twilight mug with. That's why I said hot. But anyway, yeah, maybe get your Twilight mug from there, or a t-shirt bag full of t-shirts.

Speaker 2: 3:21

Now, rory and I have never read the books, but I love the movies and really connected with them, and I heard the books are even better. But I got into the whole Twilight thing only through the movies and I got in kind of late. It's a series I actually enjoy watching every now and then, but I'm not like a super mega fan. So I didn't do a whole lot of research beforehand and I figured we could just head up to Forks and see where everything was filmed. Well, it turns out pretty much nothing was actually filmed in Forks.

Speaker 2: 3:49

Most of the filming took place in Oregon and Canada, because Washington doesn't offer good tax breaks for filmmakers. But the books were set in this area and, honestly, even if I'd known that before the trip, I still would have wanted to visit Forks. It's just part of the whole Twilight experience. I'd love to visit the actual filming locations in Oregon and Canada someday too, and there are filming shot lists that you can get online for this trip. They also have them at the Visitor Center in Forks. But I really wanted to just go to the real Forks, and so I'm so glad we did.

Speaker 1: 4:21

Yeah, we also visited Port Angeles and La Push. Those places are prominently featured and stick out in the books and well, in the movies anyway, and the books also, and we've already talked about Port Angeles in a previous episode. Link is in the show notes, so check out that episode to get the full enchilada. At the Forks Visitor Center they have this awesome self-guided driving tour that takes you to all the local Twilight stops and of course you know we had to do that. So not only can you check out the museum and the trucks, but you can also see the Forks Police Department. Her dad was the sheriff there, marimba in the movies, bella's dad.

Speaker 1: 4:58

Bella's dad Forks High School, which of course was featured prominently, like with the car that almost killed Bella, but he stopped it. The Cullen House what? Dr Cullen's parking space at the hospital? The Swan House, now an Airbnb. Photos welcome, just don't disturb the neighbors. So the original swan sign for the movie that's on display at the museum Forks Outfitters where Bella worked in the books.

Speaker 2: 5:28

And the entrance sign to Forks. You also see as you drive into the town Now, on this driving tour, that the visitor center at Forks provides. They also take you to La Push yeah, which they should when Bella first heard about the stories about the wolves.

Speaker 1: 5:43

Remember the scene on the beach.

Speaker 2: 5:44

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 5:45

Telling her the stories.

Speaker 2: 5:46

We'll be talking about La Push later in this episode and the next episode in this episode and the next episode.

Speaker 1: 5:54

The Forks Visitor Center has a super helpful handout with suggested day trips around the west side of the Olympic Peninsula. Here's what the pamphlet recommends Day one Ho, Rainforest and Kalaloch Beaches.

Speaker 2: 6:06

Kalaloch maybe.

Speaker 1: 6:07

Yeah, kalaloch, maybe. Yeah, beaches the cool thing is they're actually rainforests there. That's just really cool. Yay, forks and La Pushush would be day two about today. Yeah, that's day two. Day three explore the northwest coast. Day four hike the ozette wilderness. And day five, lake crescent very cool, waterfalls very cool and hot springs very cool we actually didn't get to visit the hot springs.

Speaker 2: 6:33

We wanted to, but the way there was closed during our visit, and so we were not able to experience the hot springs.

Speaker 1: 6:43

The seasonal thing.

Speaker 2: 6:45

But I think we talked about this in our episode with Port Angeles, I think. But do try to check them out when you go. All right, so again for Port Angeles, see our show, but do try to check them out when you go all right.

Speaker 1: 6:53

Yes, so again for Port Angeles. See our show notes for that episode.

Speaker 2: 6:56

Yes, Now Forks itself is known as the rainiest town in the contiguous US. The rainiest town. Their official website is forkswacom and it's super helpful for planning your trip.

Speaker 1: 7:09

We didn't end up making time for the museum on this trip, just how our schedule worked out. But if you're planning ahead, there's an annual Forever Twilight, of course, forever Twilight and Forks Festival, usually in mid-September, so in 2025, it'll be held September 11 through 14. Definitely worth checking out if you're a Twilight fan. One thing we could have done differently was staying even closer to Forks for a night or two. As much as we loved, our squim spelled sequim our squim Airbnb.

Speaker 1: 7:41

It's a little bit of a drive if you want to catch a sunrise, which means me getting up even earlier.

Speaker 2: 7:46

He's not a fan.

Speaker 1: 7:48

Or just soak up the moody Forks atmosphere very moody at different times of the day, so if you're a serious Twilight fan or even just a nature lover like us, it's worth booking a night in Forks itself to get the full vibe.

Speaker 2: 8:00

Now for our trip. We stayed in this cute and cozy little Airbnb in Squim that we loved, so we're going to be talking about Squim in an upcoming episode, so make sure you've subscribed to our podcast so you don't miss that one. And we did different day trips from there, so the Twilight tour in Forks was really really only takes about an hour, like once you're actually in Forks.

Speaker 1: 8:24

And it's just a fun little set jetting adventure. Yes, forks is a rural town of about 5,000 people, so people like me get it Little towns right. Grew up in a small one red light town, and that red light blinked.

Speaker 1: 8:35

It has restaurants, shops and lodging. Beyond Twilight, it's also logging and forestry town. Again, for you outdoorsy types like us, you can visit the Forks Timber Museum, the Forks Logger Memorial, which we did featuring a 12-foot tall carved wood logger. Get it 12 feet tall, carved wood logger. Get it 12 feet tall, carved wood logger. It's a wood person when we say a wood logger, not a logger as in like a drink, right Logger, yes, yes. Plus garden paths and forest trails that connect to a University of Washington research facility. There's even a three-hour tour, a three-hour tour of a working mill and forestry sites, guided by volunteers.

Speaker 2: 9:17

We didn't do that, but of course I'm sure it's wonderful. I'm sure Now there's also water.

Speaker 1: 9:21

Lots of water.

Speaker 2: 9:23

Rialto Beach is just north of the Quaalute River and on the south side of the river is the Quaalute Indian Village of La Push and First Beach, which is where we went.

Speaker 1: 9:33

Indian village of La Push and First Beach, which is where we went. First Beach is a mile-long crescent known for surf-sized waves and incredible whale watching. Well, we didn't see any whales and, no, we didn't do any surfing. It was cold, but we had a great hike along the crescent. There are fishing charters, food and lodging nearby. La Push also has a second beach which is a favorite among photographers. You get there with a forest trail. Bring your Larissa's Kitchen Jerky for fuel. On that one it was chilly and rainy, so, hey, we needed some fuel to stay warm. And yep, there's a third beach too. That one's a mile and a half hike through the forest. One cool thing about the La Push beach if you like driftwood it is covered in cool driftwood. It piles up in the corners and stuff. Really cool.

Speaker 2: 10:19

You can also hike the wilderness coast, the rainforest or the alpine meadows around Forks, and then nearby you have the Ho Rainforest, the Soul, duck Valley, lake, crescent which we've talked about previously Cadillac Beach and more.

Speaker 1: 10:33

The Pacific Ocean beaches are less than 20 miles away and the area offers you ready.

Speaker 2: 10:38

The area of Forks? Yeah, I'm ready.

Speaker 1: 10:39

The area of Forks offers over 100 miles of beaches, that's a lot. 200 miles of wild rivers, that's a lot. Wild and crazy rivers, magnificent mountains, mysterious rainforests, pristine alpine meadows, the historic charm of a small pioneer town, a blend of tribal and pioneer cultures. Indeed, you have to actually go on the reservation to go to the La Push Beach. Yes, very cool All of that. Yeah, and forks.

Speaker 2: 11:09

So start planning your visit and make sure you have your Larissa's Kitchen jerky Definitely Meat sticks tucked in your day packs to keep you fueled for all of the adventures that you will have there.

Speaker 1: 11:19

Yeah, larissa's Kitchen Elk Hay. As it shows on the package, clean, portable meat sticks are a great companion for on-the-go. Today's flavor highlight is Chickaboom, a solid savory stick made with free range chicken, zero sugar and no weird additives. That's paleo friendly, packed with eight grams of protein and totally road trip ready. And it is my favorite meat stick. Well, lk makes my favorite meat sticks. I got to say I wasn't a fan of meat sticks till I met them, so thank you, larissa's Kitchen, for giving me meat sticks I like.

Speaker 2: 11:53

Yeah, and for sponsoring this episode, Larissa's Kitchen, for giving me meat sticks I like, yeah, and for sponsoring this episode, Larissa's Kitchen, and we will see all of you on the next one. We hope we've inspired you this episode, so join us next time. Please subscribe to rate and share our podcast with your friends or you know whomever. And please like and follow us on Instagram, youtube and Facebook.

Speaker 1: 12:11

We are also on X and on all social platforms. We are at TheRomies, that's T-H-E-R-O-A-M-I-E-S, and our main hub is our website.

Speaker 2: 12:23

At wwwtheromiescom, that's right. That's T-H-E-R-O-A-M-I-E-S dot com. We'll be there until next time. Yeah, thanks for listening. Bye.