And the winner is.....

Barca 5 - Madrid 0

Cashing in on "Twilight"

The folk in Forks, Washington are definitely getting all the benefit they can from the popularity of the Twilight books and movies.

None of the actual scenes of the movie were filmed here and Stephanie Meyer never set foot in Forks until after she had written the books. Forks is home to the Cullens because it is the town in the continental US with the highest amount of rainfall so it's perfect for vampires. Residents have designated one house as:

It does fit my image of the house where Bella and her Dad lived. I can imagine Edward leaping up to the roof to get into Bella's bedroom.

If you drive out towards La Push you will find the treaty line which marks the start of the werewolf territory where vampires shouldn't go!

Some don't abide by the ancient treaties so you do get your daily threat level assessment!

You can see Bella's truck at the chamber of commerce and her Dad's police cruiser is parked at the city hall.

For a mere $39 you can take a tour. There are even choices....the "Breaking Dawn Tour", "The Volturi Tour" or the "Twilight Tour".

If you need any sort of Twilight memorabilia, and I do mean ANY sort, you can shop at "Dazzled by Twilight". My personal favorite was the bumper sticker that said, "Married with children. In love with a Werewolf". Now if it has said, "in love with a vampire" I might have considered it! The decor was pretty impressive and I loved their window displays.

People from all over the world have been impressed, as if evidenced by the pins in this map. This map was just started at the beginning of the summer of 2010. That's a lot of Twilight fans!

At the local restaurants you can choose from "Edbread" and "Swan Salad" or have a "Breaking Dawn Green Chili Hamburger" or "Lone Wolf Barbecue Sandwich....or even have Edward and Bella's wedding soup!

The park ranger we talked with told us that his pre-teen daughter decided at the beginning of last summer that she wanted an I pod. He told her that she'd have to earn the money herself. After she rid the backyard of slugs at five cents a slug she was still way short of enough money so she decided to set up a lemonade stand in their front yard. Lucky girl! Her house is on the street between the community hospital which has a parking spot reserved for "Dr. Cullen" and the designated "Swan House". The Twilight tour buses drive down her street and they started stopping. I didn't ask him if her stand had a sign that said "Renesmee's Lemonade"! Anyway, she made $65 a day for several days and had her I-pod!

The appropriate saying is "Make hay while the sun shines"....although the sun seldom shines in Forks, I'm sure you get my point!

Thanksgiving Get Away

For the first time ever George and I found ourselves alone on Thanksgiving so we decided to take a little weekend jaunt up to the Olympic Peninsula to do some hiking and exploring. I love these northwest rain forests with their ferns and moss!

Although we were in rain forest and it definitely did rain, it didn't rain quite all the time. We did enjoy some moments of sun!

One of my favorite sights on the Oregon/Washington coast are the sea stacks. This is just off the cleverly named 'Third Beach" near La Push, Washington.

Here we are at Cape Flattery which is the most northwesterly tip of the continental United States. Notice it was sunny again!

El Clásico

El Clásico is the name given to the soccer games between arch rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. A Madrid fan who worked with George at HP in Barcelona said that he attended El Clásico one year and cheered when Madrid scored only to be violently attacked by a little old lady in front of him as she beat him with her purse!

Think Utah vs. BYU; New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox; Texas vs. Oklahoma...then think even MORE passion and you might come close to understanding the importance of this game. It is Spanish Nationalism vs. Catalan pride. It's a time to show just which city is the most powerful, which club is the richest, which coach is the shrewedest! It is Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo. And in our house it is Johnny vs. the rest of us! Normally the two teams meet twice a year and the last time Madrid won was in May 2008. They think this is going to be their year to win again. Overall Madrid has won 68 times and Barca 62 and there have been 30 ties. I just hope our house in Eagle is still standing and that no one needs stitches since Mom won't be there to be referee....oh and GO BARCA!!!!

Just hanging around!

Our first day in India I was completely fascinated by the electrical wires. Can you see them in this picture? The phrase that comes to mind is "Oh what a tangled web we weave.....".

Then we went to Nepal. Just take a look at these!

Seems like a perfect place to dry some clothes.

They say that the shopkeepers know which wires go to their particular business and home and teach this great mystery to their sons.

I'm continually amazed at all the things we take for granted here in America.

Taj Mahal

I just got all the pictures from our India trip on my computer. I have so many that I could do a picture of the day for the next three years! I won't bore you with our close to 3000 pictures, don't worry! I thought I'd share a few of the Taj Mahal. We've all seen pictures of this view.

But I confess that I had no idea of the beautiful intricate detail that you seen when you get close up to the building.

The amount of detail is astounding

There is beauty everywhere you look. It was built as a mausoleum for a much loved queen who died in childbirth. The king planned to build a mirror image in black marble for his own final resting place on the opposite side of river. Unfortunately his son took over the kingdom and imprisoned his father in the fort until his death. Then the father was buried in the Taj Mahal along side his wife.

The whole building is white marble except for the colored inlaid pieces which are semi precious stones.

It is a feast for the eyes!

Happy Birthday Scott!

My baby turns 23 !!!! Here he is at his first birthday party!

Scott loved having his birthday parties at Showbiz Pizza or as we all it now, Chucky Cheese Pizza. He wanted to go there but he was terrified of the dressed up characters! Notice the change of expression when Billy Bob, the big bear, came close!
Pretty nervous look, don't you think?!? He did enjoy the cake as is evidenced by his cute little messy face! I think his expression while watching Spain in one of the World Cup games looks about equally nervous!

I'm glad he survived these nerve wracking experiences! Happy Birthday Scott!

Day #14 - Fit for a king

Our hotel tonight is really fit for a king and queen! The Taj Lake Palace was home to the Maharajah until he decided to turn it into a hotel. It is out on the lake....you may remember it from Octopussy, the James Bond movie. Best hotel I've ever stayed in!

Day #13 - Windows

I have been fascinated by all the different windows at the forts and palaces we have seen. Here are a few of my favorites.

Day #12 Going Batty!

Check out all the fruit bats or flying foxes as they call them here! I'm glad it was daytime and that they all stayed in their tree.

Day #11 - Monkeys

Did you ever come out of your hotel room to find guys like these hanging around? I counted 19 of them just outside of our room. Katherine asked one of the hotel workers if they bite and he said, "Oh, no madam, they don't bite but the males are VERY dangerous!"

Aren't they so cute?

Day #10 - Celebrity

I don't really understand why all these teenage boys wanted their picture made with me! I think I posed with 6 or 7 of them! I suppose blonds are good luck...or maybe I just reminded them of their Grandmothers.

Day #9 - Charming!

Notice that there are TWO cobras! I'm glad I didn't have to get too close.