29 September 2009

Tiny Forks new hot destination

A two-stoplight town in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington has evolved into an unlikely tourist stop because of four best-selling Stephenie Meyers books’ about teenage romances.
 

"Over the last year or so, Forks (population 3,120) has morphed into a Mecca for ‘Twilighters,’ or ‘Twihards’ as they are sometimes called," says The New York Times.
 

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 action figures from the popular books.
 

"You used to say you were from Forks and people would stare," said Marcia Bingham, director of the Chamber of Commerce. "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, says the Times.
 

By David Wilkening
 

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