Visiting Twin Peaks.

Today we visited the towns of North Bend and Snoqualmie, the basis for the town of Twin Peaks (one of my all-time favorite shows!). After driving about 45 minutes through the Douglas Fir-lined roads, we pulled into North Bend. It was incredibly surreal, especially when we came upon Twede's Cafe (aka "The Double R Diner"). Naturally, we had to get the cherry pie and "damn fine" cup of coffee, just like Agent Dale Cooper. I wouldn't go as far as to say that the coffee was fine, but the pie certainly didn't disappoint.

Next we took a look at some other landmarks from the show: the often-seen traffic light, the high school, the giant log from the pilot, and the creepy traincar. We had a harder time finding the train trestle, but after several wrong turns we finally found it. By that time we were getting fairly creeped out, but it was definitely still awesome to see.

After North Bend we headed to Snoqualmie to see the most impressive wonder: Snoqualmie Falls. These falls drop 206 feet (as they say, higher than Niagara), and are topped by the Salish Lodge and Spa (aka "The Great Northern"). This sight, as shown in the opening credits every week, was quite breathtaking. This would definitely be a terrific place to stay on a special occasion.

We ended our trip by meeting up with my cousin Chad and his wife Melissa at their condo in Snoqualmie. I hadn't seen Chad in over ten years; it was really great to catch up with him again and see how he turned out. They were extremely hospitable, and we spent the evening eating, drinking a local microbrew, and chatting about everything under the sun.

All in all it was quite a memorable pre-birthday trip!