twin peaks

after weeks of totally immersing ourslves in twin peaks, bryan and i finished season 2 today. i am left with a feeling of unsatisfaction, though. such an awesome show. but how can it just end like that?! Here are some cool Twin Peaks links, for those interested. Did you know there is an annual Twin Peaks Festival in North Bend?!

http://www.cenedra.com/twinpeaksmain.htm

http://www.twinpeaksgazette.com/festival/

Well, now I must see Fire Walk With Me.

Seth Amos

My friend Adam visited us last weekend with his wife Sarah and son Seth. This is Seth. Isn't he awesome?! 

Pumpkin Party

Bryan and I had some freinds over today to carve pumpkins. So much fun! This is the first year I decided to try out the carving tools rather than cutting it out. Aren't these cool? The scarecros is my uncle Dean's, the grim reaper is mine.

Check out the link on the right to see the rest of the pumpkins we carved! 

Pumpkin Links

This is a wonderful pumpkin website:

http://www.pumpkinnook.com/

And so is this:

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins/growing.html

Twin Peaks Tour

Bryan and I have recently begun watching the Twin Peaks series. I have never seen it before - believe it or not. It is quite fun to watch show after show after show! Living in the Northwest wehre it was filmed makes it that much better. Almost like we live where it actually happened.

We decided to go on a Twin Peaks Tour yesterday - only 30 minutes away from where we live are all the places, like the Twin Peaks Falls (Snoqualmie Falls really) pictured here. My next entry is directions to all the places you can see around here. The interior of the Great Northen is actually on the Kitsap Oennisula, so we will have to check that out ona totaly separate trip. Maybe if you come out here sometime, I can take you on the tour!

Look to the column on the right for the link to the Twin Peaks Tour pics, too.

Twin Peaks Tour Guidelines

Here is stuff I got online describing the Twin Peaks Tour. We went yesterday to try to find some of this stuff. It was fun! The directions were somewhat helpful. Of course, somethings are quite different, so it can be a challenge - an adventure :) (My personal comments from our trip are in parantheses.) Begin your tour by taking US 90 East, get off at the Preston exit #22 and take the Preston-Fall City Rd toward Fall City. Big Ed's Gas Station: Wind streamers kite shop in Preston on -Preston-Fall City Road at 86 Place near Highway 90. Head out on HWY 202 to head towards Big Ed's Gas Farm. This is kind of disappointing, the top round part has been taken off, and it-is now a wind-sok store. It is VERY hard to find, in fact, the last time I-went up there, I drove right past it. (We never did find it yesterday.) The Roadhouse: in real life it is the Colonail - is just before the junction with 203, on the right. Facing the Colonial from Preston-Fall City Rd, there is a small field on the left... go there and look back at the Colonial... this is the only face they used for The Roadhouse. The Colonial has nice eggs-bacon-&-hotcakes kind of breakfasts and is quite reasonably priced. Or the outside shots used are from the empty lot behind it. (The Colonial is still there, but under renovation or something, so we coudln't go in.) The Great Northern and waterfall: Turn right on 202 at the entrance to Fall City, and you're on your way to the Salish. (You can park in the left or right lots once you arrive. Check out the waterfall. Go beyond the gazebo, down the trail a little - not the trail to the bottom near the river - for the show’s viewpoint of the waterfall.) Ronnette Polaski's railraod tracks, the Packard Sawmill, and the sheriff's office: Turn right out of the Salish hotel, quick left onto Mill Pond Rd, and head towards the railroad trestle where Ronnette Polaski is discovered. As you're driving on Mill Pond Rd, look to your left across the pond for a preview of the Mill. And ignore the old railroad tracks that you drive over near here. (I think you keep going and turn left a bit, the tracks will be on the right.) You can park and walk up to the tracks. (We found the tracks - looks nothing like inthe show. Actually looks like a nice place to go for a stroll now.) Continuing on past the trestle, you make a left off Reinig Rd on to 396 Road, and another left on Falls Station Rd (not sure if it was labeled, but it is your first left anyway). Follow signs to the Weyerhauser administration office. (No signs now, other than No Trespassing Signs that is). From the parking lot of the admin. office, there's a good view of the Mill, and the admin. office itself *is* the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station. Go around to the long side of the building, and there will be the familiar double doors, with the stone plaque out front. Just inside the doors you'll see Lucy's office and everything! The people there are very nice, and, I asked first, but they didn't mind my videotaping inside the facility. (When we went, there was one truck parked outside, but otherwise it looked pretty empty. The no tresspassing signs and signs of removing contaminated soil made us not explore much further) The Packard Mill: Weyerhauser Mill Opening sequence with "Welcome to TP" sign: Go back to Reinig Road and turn left. Twin Peaks (Mt. Si) straight ahead. Continue about 1/2 mile to a turnout on the right hand side. The cottonwoods aren't bare as in the opening shot, but this is the site. (We couldn't figure out where this is). All of thisstuff we didn't do, but will next time: Following it past Mill Pond Rd until it becomes Meadowbrook Av SE. Meadowbrook will take you back to 203, now called North Bend Blvd - or Sunset Highway. Turning right on North Bend Blvd will head you back towards the Salish. On this route you will find *the* gazebo - right in the middle of town, next to the train station, the giant log - seen in the opening title sequence of the premiere and in the new Twin Peaks '92 calendar, -Big Tree - in opening sequence first season. and a railroad "museum" - these are *not* the cars used in the show, however, and I found no museum as such, just these interesting, old train cars and engines parked along the road. Parking as close to the railroad cars as you can, you can walk past them, continue across a wooden bridge/footpath, and follow the tracks as they disappear into the woods. A short distance farther you will find another abandoned train car on the left; this still isn't the one! You will pass other old engines on the left, and then, perhaps a quarter mile in along these tracks, you will see a group of cars and engines, with the two on the right, kind of elevated, that are obviously the cars used in TP. You could actually park in a little off-street area right where the tracks enter the woods, but as the area is marked "No Trespassing", you may not want to call that much attention to yourself. Railroad Cars (where Laura was found): just north of Village Green -park on west side of the road. North of the fenced-in cars, follow-the first spur of tracks to the NW past the transformers and into-the woods. Continue over a wooden bridge/footpath about 1/4 mile-to a pair of cars to the right, slightly elevated, on a separate-track about 15 feet from the main track. An outhouse is next to-them. There have been rumors that these cars were moved sometime-in the fall, however. Twin Peaks High School: Mt. Si High School, 1/4 mile north of 202-on Meadowbrook Way. There is also a small cafe in Snoqualmie called "Big Ed's", which has a Twin Peaks Burger, but is otherwise unremarkable, and was not in the show. Turn around, and go back along 203 (or Sunset Highway or North Bend Blvd) away from the Salish. Continue on past Meadow brook, and maybe a mile or two down the road there will be either a forced or a very obvious right turn onto Taylor Av. Go just about 3 blocks, and you will be at "the light", in the town of North Bend. This is the only traffic signal in the area, and so is referred to as "the light", and is, of course, the traffic light from TP. As you were approaching the light, you will have passed the Alpine Blossom & Gift Shoppe, a great place for TP souvenirs. We did find this though: The Double R Diner: On the corner of 1st =North Bend Way -and North Bend Blvd., in North Bend. Right there on the corner at the light, will be the Mar-T Café (Now Twede’s Café - they have Twin Peaks memorbilia still - including shotglasses! And of course a damn good cup of coffee as well as cherry pie - any many other pies to try. The food wasn't that great and there are lots of Tweetie birds all over the place now (going with the name of the current owner Twede) - still very cool to check out!).
We will have to do this next time too: US 90 (Taylor is exit #31). You can take this back towards Snoqualmie to exit #27, curve under the freeway, and take Winery Road, to... you guessed it... the Snoqualmie Winery. This is the site where Laura & Donna & James video taped their picnic. The winery has a surprisingly beautiful view of the area, and is well worth stopping by. Their Cabernet Sauvignon was quite good.

Go here.

http://www.liquidgeneration.com/sabotage/pumpkin_carve.asp

Halloween Decorations!

4230 Thackeray Graveyard

yummy haunted house

Isnt this a great toy?

Decorating for Halloween

Ever year I eagerly await October 1st, as it is the day I allow myselt to begin decorating the house for Halloween. I always want to start decorating in September, and it is hard to contain myself, but I know that I need to set that limit... that would be as bad as putting Christmas items in the stores in October!

This year is especially exciting because I have a front yard and porch to decroate for the first time. Gravestones, skeletons, spiderwebs, scarecrows... so many ideas, so many possibilities. And potentially so much money. I must pace myself.

Well today I got some cheezy gravestones from a craft store and spent a good 15 minutes getting frustrated with them. Those darn things are impossible to stick in the ground, I broke all of the plastic spears you are supposed to use to stand them up, and I ended up leaning them against sticks. Argh.

I think I will be making my own next time.