Twilight Breaking Dawn Party!

We are fully aware some people would make fun of us for doing this, but that's OK! The new 'Twilight' movie came out on DVD yesterday so we decided to throw a party. We've been looking around and we've seen all these great party set-ups and we really wanted to do one. So we did. We made a banner (which we posted the other day) and some pom-poms made from tissue paper. They were super simple to make and a lot bigger than we had imagined. It also gave us a reason to make some more cupcakes and desserts. We made some hot chocolate ones, some vanilla ones, and a few that were supposed to look like apples. Robyn also made a delicious trifle with brownies, strawberries, and white chocolate pudding. We made a sangria, as well (have to get the healthy fruit in there somewhere!!) Here are some of the pictures we took!

And here is a picture from our trip the summer! It wouldn't be a Twilight party without something "authentic" from Forks!

Day Thirty-Seven: The Rose City

Today has been, so far, one of our more-successful days. We were able to sleep pretty well, without too much trouble from the train. After our hearty breakfast of coffee, pancakes and sausage, we decided to go into Portland for the day. We were able to get into the city, but once we got there, we got confused and I almost threw the GPS out the window. The first stop we were going to make was to the International Rose Test Garden, which is in the middle of Washington Park. It is a huge park, with a bunch of other parks, and the zoo, inside its boundaries. Apparently everyone else had the same idea as us. It seems to be working out that way for a lot of our stops here. There weren't any parking spots, so we drove around some more, and decided to fill up with gas, since we figured we'd have a lot more driving around to do. Once we did that, we continued to drive around some more, and found a parking spot at the Garden. We spent an hour or so there. Luckily, we came at the right time of year, because the roses were in bloom, although some of them looked a little dried out. It was really neat because from the road you could see Mt. Hood, the city skyline, and then all of the flowers. Although in the pictures, you can't really see the mountain.
After that, we decided to take a detour and look for the house from Twilight. We found it, alright, and drove up the drive-way before realizing that it was not a road. I don't know how they ended up filming there, because it didn't look like there was much room around, but it is an AWESOME house! We were able to get a picture of the deck...then we realized we shouldn't be there and left very quickly. (The house is on Quimby Street, which for Simpsons fans out there, is the street that Mayor Quimby is named after. There is also a NE Flanders St. and a Lovejoy St. Matt Groening is from Portland and named his characters after the streets. There is also a Burnside St. which we are thinking may be where Mr. Burns came from...)
After that, we headed to Voodoo Doughnuts, which is a doughnut place (obviously) out here that has its own cult following. They make a whole bunch of different, random doughnuts, and apparently that's where you should go when you're in the city (the lady from Canada, who made fun of us for making coffee in the morning, told us, too). So, we found it alright, but the line was literally out the door, down the street, and around the corner. Again, same idea as us. So, we decided to forgo that, and kept driving. Maybe we'll try again on our way out...
Our last excursion was to Roloff Farm, for mom. Before that, though, we took a small detour to Beaverton. Nike's World Headquarters are located here. There was a gate, so we couldn't go down it. From there, is was out to the farm. It is on the outskirts of the city, maybe about 10 miles away. From the street, all you could see is the house, and not the rest of the farm. It's closed until pumpkin season, so we could only do a drive-by. We got the pictures, so that's good. Maybe during pumpkin season, we can come back for a $300.00 family-member-led tour. There's not much in the town either. It's in the "agriculture area", so there are a bunch of farms around.
After we found our way out of Portland (rather easy, which was surprising), we headed back to the campground. Since it is Sunday, there is a whole new group of campers here. Our neighbor is one of them, and he is mighty interesting, to say the least. The first thing he pulled out of his car? A pair of antlers. He proceeded to put them into one of his tents after he set it up. I'm not even kidding. He also had two inflatable kayaks. Those didn't go in the tent. They just book-end it. Then he asked us if we knew how the weather was supposed to be. Wouldn't you check before going camping?! He is one of those people who walks around barefoot. I guess when it's really dusty, it doesn't matter anyway. But, he was nice enough to offer us a spare lantern. (He probably has three more in his van.) I don't know where he went, though, he kind of just disappeared...
From what we saw today, Portland is now high on our list of favorite cities. But, now it's off to bed, and Mt. Hood in the morning!

(I know we haven't put any pictures up in a while- We're trying our best! The internet connection at the campground isn't the best, and it's taking a while to get them all up!
Life Is A Highway- here are a few pictures, hopefully!!)

Day Twenty-One: Crossing the Treaty Line

Today was Twilight Day for the two of us. (For those of you who haven't read the series by Stephenie Meyer, you should.) Anyway, the story takes place out here on the Olympic Peninsula in Forks, La Push, and Port Angeles. So we did a tour of all of the places in the book.
We left around nine heading straight to Forks. Well, that was the plan at least. We were driving down 101 and saw a sign for Cape Flattery. It is the western-most point in the Lower 48. So of course we had to go, being from the east coast! No one told us that it would be an extra hour and a half drive with a 1.5 mile walk. Not that we minded either one. The road was pretty curvy and wet, and all you could see around you was trees and fog. Until you got to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It's the body of water that separates the peninsula and British Columbia. It, too, was foggy, but we saw a bald eagle perched up on a rock, looking down into the water. So cool!! It was a little hard to get a really clear picture of it since it was far away, but we managed with a little zooming and cropping. After that, it was another 20 miles to the Makah Indian Reservation, where Cape Flattery is. The Native art that you can see right from the road is pretty cool. They had their totem poles and then the designs on their signs. When we finally got to the end of the road, there was a sign that said, "Cape Flattery Trailhead." Wasn't expecting that. We had driven all that way that we weren't going to turn back without actually going. We put on our raincoats and fit in with the locals! It was about 3/4 of a mile down to the Cape, through old-growth forests and really, really tall trees. Luckily the only sign of wildlife we saw was the sign posted about a previous cougar sighting two weeks ago, and the really, really, REALLY big slug hanging out on the tree. (It truly deserves those three reallys.) We were able to get some great pictures under the cover of the trees. Once we got out to the Cape, it was foggy and a little hard to see where the water and the sky met. The rock outcroppings were pretty cool, though. And the caves that had been carved out from underneath. We saw a seagull with her baby birds in the nest, too.
After Cape Flattery, it was back out to 101 and down to Forks. Our first stop was the Chamber of Commerce and Visitors' Information. For a small town, it sure was crowded in there. We didn't really need any information from there, since we had a map of all the places anyway, but we just wanted to sign the guestbook and see if they had postcards.(They didn't. Bummer.) Then it was off to the Thriftway/Ace/Outfitters. This was partly because we were hungry and wanted a snack, and because it is where Bella works in the books. Then we went to the other important book tour stops, like the Forks hospital, police station, the Swan house, and the Cullen house, (not really the two, but stand-ins used by the town). We went by where the former high school was. They still have the "Forks High School, Home of the Spartans" sign up, but not the school. They took down the last remaining pieces last month and are rebuilding a bigger one. Oh well.
My previous first impression of the town was changed after driving around a little. It doesn't look like much from the main street, but once you drive out a little, it ends up being a cute little area.
After our Forks stop, we went to La Push. I almost La Threw the GPS out the window. (I really hope we finish the trip with it in one piece. Every so often it gets really annoying. We've almost left it a couple of times already!) It, too, is off the main road, but not nearly as far as Cape Flattery. The first place we saw was Jacob's house. Unlike the other two houses on the tour, this one looks exactly like the one in the movie. Then we went to First Beach, which is at the end of the Quileute Reservation. They were setting up for their Quileute Days Opening Ceremonies that were later on today. We felt like intruders, so we snapped a few pictures and left. On our way out, though, we saw the Quileute Tribal School and their new, big resort.
When we were done with our tour, we came back to Port Angeles for dinner. We finished our Twilight-themed day with dinner at Bella Italia. (The site of Bella and Edward's first date. Again, read it if you haven't.) I'm glad we made reservations ahead of time. They are apparently very casual in an upscale setting. We were dressed up in our "Friday" school clothes, while others came in flannel shirts and jeans. We ordered the mushroom ravioli and salmon fettuccine. Two dishes definitely worth ordering again. It was the best meal of the trip so far. (I guess it's not saying much when you eat crackers and peanut butter for dinner.) The waitress was super friendly, knew a lot about wine pairings (very impressive), and sold us on moving to the area. Even though it's raining, she said that they usually have awesome summers and she loves the weather here. (She used to live in New York.) Their big snowstorms are 3" and everything gets shut down. Love it! After a filled day, it is time for bed, for another fun day tomorrow!