Bear in mind that Forks / La Push is where the books are based, not where the movies were filmed. There is a difference.
When one embarks on a journey like this one either needs to completely embrace it ... or try and talk someone else into doing it instead. I chose to embrace it. I have read the books, taken my daughter to opening night of a movie, and now done the Forks Tour. We had a good time and my daughter was ecstatic. These are the things we remember.
Part of the fun of having read these books is that I get to drop my actually informed opinions on unsuspecting students. The collective exasperation on the part of 8th grade girls when I explain that I think that neither Edward or Jacob is right for her and that Mike is not a viable alternative is quite entertaining. For the record, Edward loves what she is because he can't read her, not who she is. Jacob has a puppy love crush on her from when he was little combined with genetic and cultural hatred for Edward. Mike is just a wuss. Bella should have taken the opportunity to go away to school in some place like Vermont and dated, getting over the entire vain "losing my beauty because I am so old at 18" crap.
A couple years ago a friend and I went on a day trip to Neah Bay and ended up being the very first car on a ferry home. That sounds great, other than that it meant that we were the very last car to miss a ferry and had to sit an extra 40 or so minutes before getting home when we had been driving all day. Even the ice cream stand there in Kingston isn't worth an extra 40 minutes in a parking lot. However, that sort of luck was completely reversed when in both directions me and the kids were right on time for the morning ferry and were buying our ticket as the ferry was loading and were one of the last 5 cars on a ferry home. Much better.
In re the stigma or taint of Twilight. Come on you haters, let other people enjoy what they enjoy in peace. Kids are reading these large books and talking about them and it is leading to them reading other books. They are going on pilgrimages like this because of books. Books. People's tastes are there own. Let it go, and then go back upstairs your mom has dinner ready.
The night before the trip my daughter thought it would be a good idea to make some signs ... hence the Team Alice sign. Of course, she also added, "Dad, you'd have no chance with her," but that's okay. I didn't cancel the trip because of this.
