Where Soul Meets Body . . .

Which is, of course, wherever Carrie is.
Okay, before I get into this, I think I need to clarify: I am not, in fact, obsessed with the Twilight books. True, there were a few weeks right after I read them when I was a little more than excited about them (okay, I was kind of obsessed), and true, I did mastermind a roommate road trip to Phoenix to go to the Eclipse Prom, but it is not an obsession (now). I am obsessed with many things: Shakespeare, music, England . . . but not with vampires. All of those things were merely enjoyable diversions, a means of enjoying the company of friends and sharing the joys of a very compelling story.
That said, I have to tell you about my trip to see Carrie, which included a trip to Forks.
I decided back in May that I needed a trip this summer, something that included me flying alone. I started listening to the Augustana song "Coffee and Cigarettes" a lot, because I loved the line, "Put me on a plane, fly me to anywhere." I don't know if you have experienced that restless feeling that can only be satisfied by doing something that makes you feel independent and capable, but that was what I felt, and since I wanted to see Carrie before she took off on her mission, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
I loved sitting in the airport last Tuesday night. There was one moment, when I was reading my postmodern novel and listening to Nirvana ("Heart-Shaped Box," the only song of theirs I know - because of Guitar Hero), that completely filled that need. So perfect.
Carrie and I had a blast. As soon as have access to faster internet I'll post some pictures, but we spent an afternoon playing in Seattle that only pictures can explain, and then we took a little jaunt up to the sight of our favorite vampire novel with Carrie's mom and sister. The trip was planned back when all of the Vail women finished the first two books, but when they found out I was coming, they waited for me. (After all, I did recommend them.)
It was cloudy and drizzly when we hit Forks, which was perfect. The town is even tinier than I imagined it would be, and everything looked like it needed a new coat of paint. We drove through Port Angeles on the way there and on the way back, and I must say it looked much more impressive after our day in little Forks.
Our first stop was to the rest stop/ visitor info place, where we found and incredible book called Who Pooped in the Park? A Kids Guide to Scat and Tracks. I wish I could convey to you how amazing this book was, with its picture of poop on the cover and its poop identification table in the back ("small and round," "runny and lighter in color," "contains bits of fur and bones"). It was about a little boy whose family was camping in the Olympics and who was afraid that he was going to be eaten by a bear. His father explains that they can enjoy animals without getting close to them, without even seeing them! All they have to do is look at their tracks and their "scat," and the animals' story is revealed! The little boy accepts this as the eternal truth it is with the immortal line,"We don't have to have close encounters of the scary kind; we can have close encounters of the poopy kind!" At the end of the day, his older sister says, "We didn't see any animals, but it felt like we did!"
How can the day get better after this, you ask? Just wait.
So the day before we went to Forks, Carrie and I bought four sets of plastic vampire teeth from Party City, and wow. The photo opportunities came and just didn't stop coming. We took pictures in front of Forks City Hall (home of the police force and therefore Charlie Swan, Bella's dad), in front of Forks Community Hospital (where Bella is treated for her many injuries and where Carlisle Cullen works) Forks High School, and in front of the Forks LDS chapel, which is never mentioned in the books even though Stephenie Meyer is LDS. It was a lovely time full of giggling and umbrellas and muddy feet. The highlight of Forks itself came on the way out, when we stopped to take a picture in front of the Welcome to Forks sign. We climbed up to the sign (easier said than done in wet flip flops) and kissed it, but on our way down we noticed that the motorcyclists who's been stopped just up the road from the sign were still there...waiting for us to get down.
Turns out that one of the tough motorcycle men was also a dad, and his 14-year old daughter just read the books and asked her dad to take a picture of the Forks sign. :)
From Forks we drove to the Quileute reservation at La Push, where we visited werewolf country. The cool thing about La Push was that it was actually a gorgeous spot all on its own. The actual town part was a lot like Forks - a little run down and small - but the beach was absolutely beautiful, and we got to walk through the rain forest to get to it! We walked along the beach and looked at the beautiful cliffs out in the ocean and saw crab shells and popped seaweed bubbles and it was amazing.
Friday was super chill - we lazed around all morning and then got beautiful so we could go to Landon and Dustin's reception in Portland. It was a nice drive with good conversation and good music, and we enjoyed seeing our friends in tuxes and pretty dresses. Landon was beautiful in her wedding dress, and they both looked so happy that I hardly minded being forced to try to catch the bouquet. (This is a rant for another time, but I have severe issues with being forced to stand with all of the other single girls so that I can show how desperate I am by how hard I work at catching a bunch of flowers. It's just me folks - sorry.)
Overall it was an absolutely perfect trip, and I'm so glad I went to spend time with dear Carrie, without whose support I would have had a much harder time getting through last year. So you see, it wasn't ALL about vampires. :)
For those of you that have facebook, all of the pictures are available in an album called BEACH LOGS KILL!!! But here are some.