Top 10 travel destinations for Twilight fans

New Moon, the second installment of the Twilight saga, will be hitting theaters on November 20th.

That’s like, just over a month until we get to see Edward in all his sparkly, “dazzling” glory! Plus Jacob, shirtless and “fur-sploding” into his werewolf form! O-M-Geeeeee!!

Okay, now that I’ve let the 13-year old girl in me have her say. . . To satiate your thirst for teen vampire angst until the movie’s premiere, why not take a trip to one of these destinations perfect for the Twilight-obsessed?

Forks, Washington
Forks is where the love story of Edward and Bella began, and where most of the action in the four Twilight books takes place. Stephanie Meyer chose the small town for the setting of her book because days here are usually cloudy, making it the perfect place for a clan of vampires (who sparkle in the sun) to settle. The tiny Welcome Center now offers maps of Twilight landmarks and “Dazzled by Twilight’, a store devoted entirely to the saga, offers tours to surrounding locations from the books (or at least, sites that resemble places in the books – “Bella’s house” isn’t actually the house used in the movie). A few local inns, including the Dew Drop Inn and the Pacific Inn Motel, have designed Twilight-themed rooms, and are of course, charging a premium for them.

Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles was a resort town even before Twilight put it on the radar of teenage girls, but now it proudly boasts its role in the story. There are several tours that show visitors to the Twilight landmarks around town, including Odyssey Books and Bella Italia, the restaurant where Bella and Edward had their first date after Edward rescued Bella from some unsavory characters in an alley. Guests who dine at Bella Italia can even order “Bella’s mushroom ravioli” and eat the same dish Bella did on her date. There’s no Edward dish; he of course didn’t eat.

Portland, Oregon
No part of the story takes place in Portland, but many of the movie’s scenes were filmed here. Go See Portland has put together a handy map of filming locations. The scene where Edward saves Bella in the alley took place in Port Angeles, but was actually filmed in Portland. You can visit that alley and see the store (really a hair salon) where Bella’s friends tried on prom dresses on this self-guided tour. The owner still has Catherine Hardwick’s director’s chair sitting in a corner of the shop. Chief Swan’s house is located in Portland, the hilltop location of the prom was The Viewpoint Inn in Corbett, and the beach that stands in for La Push in some scenes was actually Cannon Beach on Oregon’s coast.

Vancouver, Canada
While many of Twilight’s scenes were shot in and around Portland, much of New Moon’s filming was done in Vancouver. On Location Tours will take fans to not only the spots where scenes were shot, but also to favorite hangouts of the cast and crew. The 6-hour tours cost $119 for kids and $149 for adults. One of the main locations used in Vancouver was the David Thompson Secondary School, which stood in for Forks High School, and some of the woodland scenes were shot around Tofino.

Hoh Rainforest, Washington
Several scenes in the Twilight saga take place in the Hoh rainforest in Washington. It’s one of the few temperate rainforests in the US and one of the largest in the world. It’s densely populated with towering moss-covered trees, many of which are thousands of years old. It has become a very popular destination for those seeking the Twilight experience, but it is still large enough that you can find a place to escape the crowds. There are campgrounds in the Rainforest and hiking trails where you can spot birds and wildlife.

Quileute Reservation, Washington
The Quileute tribe of Native Americans have lived on the land that is now Washington state for thousands of years. Members of the tribe still reside on the reservation and control the town and beach of La Push and its harbor. The area is known for its whale watching, surfing, fishing, and beautiful, rugged beaches. Twilight’s beach scenes, including the one in which Jacob tells Bella about the ancient “cold ones”, take place on First Beach at La Push. The Quileute tribe operates a beach resort at La Push where cabin rentals start at $100 per night. The resort also runs a waterfront Twilight tour.

Syracuse, Utah
Syracuse has absolutely nothing to do with the Twilight books or movies, but it does have two corn mazes that depict the saga’s two hunks, Edward and Jacob. If you can’t make it to any of these other locations to immerse yourself in scenes from the movies or books, you can at least wander around in a big field of corn cut to look like a vampire or a werewolf.

Volterra, Italy
In the New Moon book, Bella tracks Edward to Volterra, Italy, where he is about to reveal himself to the Volturri, a clan of ancient vampires. Volterra is a real town in Italy, located in the Tuscany region with massive walls that surround the medieval town. The town has capitalized on its Twilight fame, offering Twilight-themed tours to the obsessed.

Montepulciano, Italy
The movie didn’t shoot in Volterra, but in nearby Montepulciano. If you want to see the fountain that Bella runs across to stop Edward before he steps into the sun in all his sparkly glory, you’re out of luck. The town square in Montepulciano does not have a fountain, one was constructed specifically for the movie shoot. But you can see other locations from the filming when you book the “New Moon” package at The Albergo Dumo, located right near the town square.

Los Angeles, California
Unless you get extremely lucky, your chances of getting into the New Moon premiere on November 16th are very slim. But you can still camp out at the Village Theatre and Bruin Theatre in Los Angeles in the hopes that you’ll catch a glimpse of your favorite supernatural being. Or you could stalk R-Patz and try to casually bump into him at an after-party in LA.

Teenager sails solo around the world

He’s not old enough to drink, he’s not old enough to vote, but he’s old enough to sail solo around the world.

American teenager Zac Sunderland, 17, has become the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe alone. When most kids his age are playing Xbox or hanging out in the mall, Zac decided to achieve his dream.

He started his 28,000 mile (45,000 km) voyage from a marina in Los Angeles 13 months ago when he was still just 16 years old, and faced storms, equipment failure, and a close call with pirates before making it back to the same marina yesterday.

During a speech after he made it home Zac said that he was amazed at the generosity of people in the developing world, and he hopes his journey will inspire other teenagers to do more with their youth.

“Society puts younger people into a kind of a box. . .nobody is expected to do much,” he said.

Well Zac, as a father myself I have to say that I hope my three year-old will be just as crazy as you in a few years, and I’ll be just as nervous and proud as your dad must be.

Photo of the Day (3-11-09)

I was first attracted to this photo because of the stance of the girl perched on the cart. Then the words Hai bôn´ caught my attention. Aha, Vietnam, I thought. The shoes are another give away that this is a Vietnamese scene. The shoes that these three have on are sold everywhere throughout the country. The red hat adds interest to the composition besides. Along with the visual appeal, jabry1221 has captured a scene that exudes happiness and delight.

If you’ve captured a scene somewhere, share it with us a Gadling’s Flickr Photo Pool. It might be chosen as Photo of the Day.

Irish Way, a non-profit program to help teens connect to Ireland

I have Irish roots, barely. I’m one of those people whose genetic make-up is a mixture of a few countries. But, I did go to Ireland with a friend who has more claim to the country than I do. We visited his father’s second cousin near Clifden.

They didn’t know we were coming, but as soon as we introduced ourselves when the front door opened, we were welcomed inside for a wonderful visit and a meal. Ours was a barely organized, shot-in-the-dark approach to connecting to my friend’s Irish roots. After that meal, he went back to visit again a couple weeks later after I flew back to the U.S. Although his approach worked because of his family ties, those without family ties also have a way to connect to Ireland if the person looking to connect is a high-schooler.

Irish Way, in existence since 1976, is a study abroad program for high schoolers. Operated by the Irish American Cultural Institute, the program includes classes and workshops in Irish culture and tours of various sites in order to enhance participants’ interest and develop their understanding about all things Irish. Interestingly, the program is based in Galway which is near Clifden, the town closest to where my friend’s relatives live.

I can vouch for Galway. It would be a wonderful place to spend four weeks. The deadline for applications is in March. Although the cost isn’t cheap, there is scholarship money available. From reading the literature, I don’t think being Irish is a requisite, just an interest in Irish culture.

For an article about one girl’s experience going through the program, click here. As Steve Stephens of the Columbus Dispatch reports, the experience won’t be her last.

Crazy Asian mother: Stereotype from the kid’s perspective

Aaron’s post this morning with his musings about positive stereotypes reminded me of one of my absolute FAVORITE YouTube videos, “Crazy Asian Mother.” It is a hoot.

Two high school age boys role play what happens when the mother looks over her son’s report card. Listen for the list of classes and the humorous jab at the parenting skills of white American parents. Very funny and illustrates other aspects of stereotyping.

When I first saw this video a year or so ago, I was transported back to my 8th grade English and social studies classroom in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Those students were funny, charming, and the work they turned in on a daily basis was astounding. Grading their papers was a joy. Honestly. They were the kids of high powered very bright parents, and they were under pressure to succeed, although their parents greatly valued the flexibility and creativity found in the American education system. It was the best of both worlds. These two guys would have fit right into my classroom.

Whenever my daughter feels that she’s pressured to succeed because I have ONE MORE TIME AND NOT FOR THE LAST TIME given her the litany of why she must do well in school in that annoying voice that only adults have, I think those Asian mothers who taught me a thing or two when I lived in Taiwan. As I explain to my daughter, I must have been a crazy Asian mother in a past life. Some things do rub off on a person when one travels.

By the way, I actually think there’s a crazy Asian mother in every parent. Even men. That’s why this video has almost 5,000,000 hits.