If I had the time/money/ability to go anywhere on a whim to sit and write for days on end, I would go to the Olympic Peninsula. The forest is mysterious and magical, and the mountains make a lovely backdrop between the ocean and sky. This is my favorite photo of all; I took it while we hiked to Second Beach in La Push:

It was so nice to have a few days to spend with Lane before he leaves for Iraq. We stayed a day in Seattle, visiting some of his side of the family. We ate dinner in Chinatown, which was one of the main things I had hoped to accomplish. I am on a mission to try every eggplant dish at every restaurant I visit. Japanese eggplant (shaped more like a banana than the large, pear-shaped ones we usually see in our stores) is so wonderful in stir-fry, but the magic is in the sauce. Sheesh, my stomach rumbles just thinking about it. Between eggplant and hummus, I could almost make the leap to being a vegetarian.

We took the Bainbridge Ferry to the peninsula and drove the scenic, winding highway to Port Angeles. What a lovely town! It has everything you need, yet it’s so close to no where in particular. Mere minutes from town, you can be completely surrounded by a wooded wonderland.

We stopped at a local winery – Harbinger – so that I could try some samples. They had a nice selection of reds, and I splurged on a few bottles to ship home to have and to share. My favorites were a table wine red blend and a raspberry dessert wine.

When we arrived at Forks, I had the same giddy feeling that I had when I went to Universal Studios as a teenager. There is something fascinating about being in the same place and recognizing the same things that you’ve seen in a movie.

I’m going to compile all of the pictures from our trip into a photo collage book to send to Lane while he is overseas. It’s going to be a long year, but each day is one day closer to homecoming.