ATTN: LMNO and Laughtrack, we need to go on a roadtrip

[Cain]

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/travel/27culture.html?ex=1269316800&en=f59163d8ab7ee29c&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=TR-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M116-ROS-0909-PH&WT.mc_ev=click

"TWILIGHT" mania has made each of the four Stephenie Meyer books about a romance between an accident-prone teenager, Bella, and a dazzlingly handsome vampire named Edward into a best seller; created heartthrobs out of the little-known actors Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, who starred in the first movie in the series; and made the second movie, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," perhaps the most anticipated film of the fall season among tweens and Hollywood moguls alike.

It has also turned Forks, Wash., a two-stoplight town on the western end of the Olympic Peninsula that Mrs. Meyer used as the setting for her books, into an unlikely tourist hot spot.

Over the last year or so, Forks (population 3,120) has morphed into a mecca for Twilighters, or Twihards as they are sometimes called. Visitors to this rainy town, whose main industries are logging and two correctional facilities, have more than tripled for the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the local Chamber of Commerce. Lodging occupancy is up, and local merchants sell little-vampire pacifiers and Bella and Edward action figures.

"You used to say you were from Forks and people would stare," said Marcia Bingham, director of the Chamber of Commerce, referring to the "B.T." ("Before 'Twilight' ") days. "Now when they hear where you're from, they're breathless."

And teenage girls aren't the only ones hyperventilating. Women — traveling in packs, in pairs or on their own — make up a big part of those on the "Twilight" trail. Susan Englin, a retiree from Colbert, Wash., who has read the books seven times and has downloaded the movie to her iPod, was visiting stepchildren in the area recently and couldn't resist an outing to Forks. "I get caught up in the characters," she said.

All day long, cars pull up to the Forks visitor center, across the street from a drag-racing track, and people pile out, snapping photos of "Bella's" old red pickup truck parked in front. Inside, tourists grab maps pinpointing Forks High School, where Bella and Edward first lock eyes in the cafeteria; City Hall, where Bella's police-chief father works; and the driftwood-strewn beach in nearby La Push where the character Jacob, a member of the local Quileute tribe, first informs Bella that Edward and his family are "blood drinkers." (He should talk — in the second book Jacob and his pals turn into werewolves.)

And then they're off, braking at the sites and trolling the nondescript main drag, lined with one- and two-story buildings occupied by shops with signs shouting "Twilighters Welcome!"

"Twilight" groupies also beat a path to Portland, Ore., where the first "Twilight" movie was filmed, and to Vancouver, British Columbia, where "New Moon," due to be released Nov. 20, was shot and the third movie, based on "Eclipse," is wrapping up, with a release date of June 30, 2010.

Port Angeles, Wash., a waterfront town northeast of Forks that is mentioned in the books, is another magnet. Neil Conklin, the owner of Bella Italia, which bills itself as the restaurant where Edward and Bella have their first date, says the place has sold 4,500 $17 bowls of mushroom ravioli this year, which is what Bella orders after Edward rescues her from some local hoods (he, of course, isn't into solid foods), and the Port Book and News estimates that its business has increased as much as 20 percent, even though Bella never sets foot in the store, saying "it wasn't what I was looking for."

Vampire seekers also venture into the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park to experience lush moss-draped woods of the sort that Bella and Edward wander in, helping boost park visitation 7 percent this year. "We can tell who they are by their T-shirts," said Kate Lilly, a park ranger.

Perfect, target rich environment.

[LMNO]

"TWIHARDS"?

[Jenne]

and combined.  Srsly.  Entrepreneur's wetdream.

[Suu]

"TWIHARDS"?

[Kai]

 

This is something to MILK, my friends. MILK LIKE A OVERFILLED COW UDDER!