First Beach in LaPush, Washington
We have returned from several of our summer travels! For those of you still waiting - hang on. I'm going to blog about our Key West adventures, but I've been waiting for photos. Allow me to explain. We lost our camera on the 4th of July fireworks cruise. Not exactly sure how or who, that is neither here nor there, and having just received back up photos from my mother-in-law, I'll be able to write soon!
Meanwhile, I'll tell you about my travels that required no real planning on my part, except to arrange a date and get on our friends' calendar. My husband and I both spent our first years teaching in Forks, Washington. As it turns out, we both spent our first year teaching in the very same classroom, but three years apart. We did not live there at the same time, but we did meet through our mutual friend, Lynn. So we enjoy going back to Forks to catch up with our dear friends, and to see how the town has changed. Oh, and we have to find out the latest small-town gossip, of course.
This trip we spent two nights, and took our 4 year old daughter with us. She had a fabulous time. Our friends are now grandparents and are completely prepared to entertain a four year old. She was thrilled with playing outside, playing inside with toys that were all new to her, running through the sprinkler, and visiting with people who haven't all heard her latest knock-knock joke. The five of us took in what Forks has to offer. We spent an afternoon at First Beach in LaPush, and then half of Friday floating the Hoh River on our friend's raft. The four year old thought it was hysterical when her dad got sloshed with water. For her, the faster the rapids, the more fun it was.
Usually when we travel back we find that Forks is the same place that we remember. It's a quiet, isolated place with little entertainment in itself to offer, complete with one traffic light and no McDonald's. It is a place with good friends, and shared history, and that we appreciate. We were stunned to see the impact, though, of the Twilight series on Forks! Until the last year or so, I'd tell my students that my first year teaching was spent in Forks, Washington. They'd stare at me with blank looks that required a geography lesson in order to explain myself. Still, they were unimpressed. Now I mention that I taught there and students think that I'm some kind of celebrity. The irony is too much. This small town, nearly defunct from the decline of the logging industry, that drove me crazy in its isolation and lack of "culture" as I perceived it, now is a destination for thousands of Twilight fans of all ages.
Oh, they're easy to spot. My husband and I fall into an interesting group of people in Forks. While we're there as visitors, we're not really tourists, and we stay with friends, drive the roads and walk the streets with a comfortable familiarity. And we could spot them. The mini vans full of frenzied, awe-struck teens and their moms packing the front of Chinook Pharmacy to buy up their Twilight souvenirs. Forks has marketed to this craze with several "Twilight" stores, $37 tours of "Twilight locations", which is really a very expensive ride to LaPush. They ogle and caress the stacks of Forks hoodies and "Team Edward" t-shirts and discuss how cool it will be to wear to school. If anyone had told me that this level of Forks-worship would ever occur, I would have laughed. And I would have stocked up on Forks memorabilia before the rush and inflated prices! I'm glad for Forks that Twilight has come along...they can use the business.
Should this t-shirt be part of my back to school wardrobe?
Our visit with our friends was fabulous. They're as good of friends as always. We even enjoyed a laugh at my expense. For the first time in 8 years I spent the first day of the Nordstrom Anniversary sale floatin' the Hoh, and not at the sale within the first three hours of opening. And I don't regret it. But I will go tomorrow. Shall I see if they have any Twilight-wear available?
