Our Pilgrimage to Forks: SoHo Asian Bistro

This post is from the remarkable Kimmie.

SoHo Asian Bistro. 

On our way back from Forks to Seattle, we decided to look for something light for lunch.  Just a sandwich would do. So we used our GPS and found what sounded like a perfect place in Port Angeles. We found the address but no place to eat!  It looked like the place we picked hadn't been there in a long time.  We were already parked so we jumped out of the car and walked down the street and found The SoHo Asian Bistro (http://www.sohoasianbistropa.com/).  We all agreed that it sounded yummy and in we went.  This bistro is in an older part of town so the ceilings were high and the floors were wood.  There were "rooms" filled with tables.  The front was lined with large windows letting lots of light in.  It's a very pretty place with an antique feel.  We sat down to enjoy some really good food.  The portions were huge.  We couldn't finish our plates.  

Shannon enjoyed the Jasmine tea with her meal of Beef Pho.

Jen tried the Vegetarian Thai Basil Fried Rice.

I had a Yellow Chicken Curry dish.

We really enjoyed this find.  

I give it 3 out of 3 forks!

 

 

Our Pilgrimage to Forks: Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Center

On the way from Seattle to Forks we were driving down the 101. Just before we hit the town of Blyn, we saw something that was very intriguing   It was the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Center. It's a picturesque place. Brightly colored totem poles welcomed us to this tribal sanctuary.  Beautiful flowers and shrubbery lined the walkways. 

So we grabbed our cameras and followed the path down the the waters edge.  There were fire pits and American Indian art with the background of a beautiful lake.  And of course being the northwest there were plenty of trees.  I wish our cameras could have captured not just the beauty but the spirit we found there.

Post and Photos By Kim

Our Pilgrimage to Forks: The Grub Hut

Review by the Wonderful Kim...

When we first arrived in Seattle it was lunch time and we were starving.  We decided to get on the road and stop on the way out to Forks.  We really didn't want to stop at any old fast food joint. So we drove for a bit.  So with the help of our GPS and phones we found this cute little place, located in Kingston Washington, called The Grub Hut.  It's in a small building but it makes a big impression.  It's all decked out in Hawaiian garb. The bar area where we waited looked like a hut with straw and everything.  

The menu is a mix of burgers, cheese steaks and gyros. They offer veggie patties home made even for the the non meat eaters. They also offer the traditional munchies such as hummus plates, wings, fries and chips.  I ordered a cheeseburger. Jen ordered the Sun-Dried Tomato Goodness veggie burger. Shannon ordered a BLT on Pita Bread with fries of course. The burgers were great. If salad is your thing they have those too. But next time though I'm going to order one of their made to order milk shakes. They come in many flavors I'd love to try the peanut butter one!  They are reasonably priced so no worries that it will empty your  wallet. I must also mention the servers. I'm not sure if the man taking our orders was the owner but he sure was nice. No snotty attitudes and eye rolling to be had! So if you are near Kingston, stop by the Grub Hut and have a meal. You won't be disappointed!

For a full menu as well as photos visit http://peaceloveandgrub.com

Wordless Wednesday...

Our Pilgrimage to Forks: Twilight Tour

Our first full day in Forks led us to the Twilight Tour, they have maps for self guided ones available at Leppells Gift Store, The Forks Visitors Center and Dazzled by Twilight. They also have a guided one available. We started at Leppells Gifts, which has lots of Twilight themed swag and they were very informative as Kim, Jen and I asked lots of questions about the town and how all of the hype has affected them.  They townsfolk seem to like the hype so far as it has added quite a bit to their local economy which was sluggish due to the flailing timber market.

The first stop on our tour was "Charlie and Bella's" house, it was not backed up against the forest and it was blue but it kinda looked like they would live there.  A little boy in the house did wave to us.

Next on the tour was the Forks Community Hospital and Dr. Cullen's parking spot, which was hard to spot because a prison van was parked in front of it. It is close to the Emergency entrance next to a garage.

The Cullens House was next on our list and it is a Bed and Breakfast and looked really cozy and inviting.  Of course the Cullen's weren't there but oh well, Edward was staring at us though a window.

Forks High School was next and it was under construction so maybe the community is benefiting from all the tourism.

The Thriftway and Forks Outfitters are in the same building so you get a 2fer there.  You can shop for shoes, clothes and food at the same time, win in my book

We drove to the Visitors Center next where we met the incomparable Willard and his forest tour was awesome (check out this post for the info) and we saw Bella's truck.

The we went the opposite way and headed to the Vampire Treaty Line and La Push.

There will be a La Push post later.

Our Pilgrimage to Forks: The Hoh...

This post is authored by the Lovely Kim.

The girls and I had been looking forward to strolling through the forest for months, since we first decided on this trip in fact.  Shannon actually is "not the hiking type" and was giving us a bit of flack for wanting to hike.  But little did we know how much we would all love the forest.  After our hike in the forest near Forks, we were itching for more! 

The drive through the forest up to the trail head was fantastically exhilarating ! We saw beauty of a different kind there.  There was a beautiful river running to our right and we stopped at a few outlooks on the way.  

At one point we came to a swampy area and spotted a bald eagle in flight.  We were speechless.  We weren't fast enough to get a picture though.  We made it up to the trail head and had a few options. We chose the Spruce Trail. 

What can I say. The forest is A-mazing! I long to go back.  It's so green

 so cool, so clean and earthy! We were in awe of the vastness of the trees. 

The pureness of the ferns.

Even the way nature makes way for passage.

I'm not sure how long we meandered down the trail but it was all worth it.

Visit the Hoh Rainforest if you ever have the chance. You will not be disappointed. 

Our Pilgrimage to Forks: The Forks Motel

Oh what can I say about The Forks Motel, well, it has lovely early 80's retro decor, it has beds and a good shower.  It was campy and very Forksy.

Jen, Kim and I stayed in the Hoh building while we where there for our two nights, yes the name is appropriate (just kidding), in room 142 as you can see.

It had a heated pool which we did not use because it was damn cold.

The Mini's enjoyed it though.

Hey it was clean, a place to sleep and shower and drink wine out of the bottle. 

Our Pilgrimage to Forks: The Forks Visitors Center

This post was written by the Lovely Kim...

Forks Visitors Center

We'd been told to stop by the visitors center to see Bella's truck.  But we weren't expecting what we found there.  When we drove up it was misting, of course!  But we were prepared, we all had our Forks hoodies on.  There in the front of the building was "Bella's truck".  It's not the one from the movie but it does look much like the one Stephenie described in the book.  I was out taking pics of it and a nice young gentleman came out and asked if I wanted him to take a pic of me in from of the truck.  I handed my camera over and Shannon, Jen and I posed!  

He handed the camera back and went on his way.  We meandered around looking at things and spied a sign that said there was a short hike through the forest.  We were discussing whether or not to take this short hike, when the gentlemen introduced himself as Willard.  He told us we had to take the hike and when Shannon said she was cold, he offered his flannel shirt to her.  Shannon declined but we did accept his offer to take us on a guided tour of the hike!  We hit the jackpot!  Willard is a wizard.  He taught us about trees, wildlife, even a little Forks history!  This was our first and sweetest taste of the forest.  I'm pretty sure this is where all three of us fell in love with the beauty the green the smell the feeling of the forest.

After the hike/stroll we came back to the visitors center and picked up some literature and got a quick pic with our favorite tour guide.  

We highly recommend if you are ever in Forks go to the center and ask for Willard.  Tell him we sent you!  

http://www.forks-web.com/fg/visitorscenter.htm

Our Pilgrimage to Forks:The Lodge...

The Lodge was mentioned in the book as the nicest restaurant in Forks, it is where you would go for a celebration, well the so called actual "Lodge" in Forks is of course a restaurant but not a very nice one the only good thing I can say is that they had a great local brew Mac and Jack.

Most of the menu was your common fried fare, like shrimp, fish and fries, you also had burgers and sandwiches.  The menu is funny with the names of The Twilight Saga Characters and actual actor names

I also has quirky campy decor with gives it that lodgy feel. I give it 1 fork and that is because of the beer and the campy decor not the food.

Our Pilgrimage to Forks:The Thriftway and Outfitters

Ok you can't go on a Pilgrimage to Forks without going to the Thriftway where Bella shopped and the Outfitters where Bella worked right.  Well who knew they were right next door to each other, it was rather convenient.

The Thriftway was you typical small town grocery store with all your basic needs, plus lots of Forks and 

twilight Merchandise thrown in.  We bought our much needed Forks Hoodies there and wore them religiously and it was slightly weird to be shopping for shoes right past the produce though.

The Outfitters was your typical camping and hardware store, a little bit of everything was there, in a town with no Wal-Mart it was well needed.