Vampires for Dinner? Why not...

I'll certainly be posting about Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, because I've got all sorts of adaptation stuff to comment on (Ginny and Harry's kiss... seriously?!), but first I'm sharing the adventures of dinner at the View Point Inn with Ashley and gang.

So I first met Ashley when she submitted a paper for TwiCon. She was stuyding something I was uber interested in, so I asked if she might want to help out with TwiCon planning. She did, she's cool, and thus she's my co-hort in formal programming for TwiCon. She and 10 of her friends and family are going on a massive Twilight-inspired trip to Portland, Forks, and all of the sights along the way and in between. Last night they were all in Portland (well, by the airport, and if the trip doesn't include a trip to Powell's, I'm not sure if you can say you've 'been to Portland'), and invited me to join them for dinner at the View Point Inn... aka the location of the prom in Twilight.

We all shlepped out there, missed the first exit, and therefore took a long, winding road to get to the Inn. I'm kind of glad for that though. It looked similar to the drive to the Cullen's house in the film; green caverns of trees with a road ploughing through, but every now and then we'd get a stunning view of the Gorge. It was great! Perhaps a bit longer, but worth it, methinks.

We finally arrived, and then the 'ooos' and 'ahhh

hs' began. It's a beautiful set up, hence why it was chosen. It's smaller than I'd expected, but it had that classic 'old grand lodge' feel to it, know what I mean? Like a ski lodge built in the 20's or something, and you expected men in tails and women in gowns to stroll through with a cigarette on the end of a stick. They took us through the foyer, through the main hall (beautiful! big log furniture, candles, hardwood floors, and the whole thing opened up to the outdoors), and out to the patio and our dining 'tent.' It was so much nicer than a 'tent', but that's the only word for it.

We had the option originally of the 'Twilight menu' or the normal menu, and believe it or not, we went with the normal menu (many more options... much better). I did get a kick out of the Twilight items on the menu- Edward's Elixir (I can't remember all of it, but it was a mix of blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate? and spritz), I ordered the Twilight Martini- basically the same ingredients but with vodka...so good. Also, we got the 'eternal love cake' which was a red velvet cake with chocolate icing. It was really good, but honestly the rest of the desserts

hugely overshadowed it. It was really pretty though.

We all got our own meals (bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with apples was mine... aaa-mazing), and then we just got one of every dessert and passed them. Brilliant. I liked dining with this gang :) The fluffy cheesecake or the flourless chocolate cake was my favorite...

Anywho, amazing food aside, it was neat to see the film's location. The broad scope and large feel from the film actually turning out to be a quaint, historical, gorgeous spot, and to see how they changed the look. The 'Monte Carlo' arch is still there, but randomly shoved into a corner of the yard. It's certainly not a natural place for people to walk from to get to the Inn, but for the film, by having them walk from back there without a fence behind, it looks as though the property goes much further back; a larger scope. Also, there's a big pond in the middle of the yard with a fountain and whatnot, and we figured the gazebo must have gone over the pond in the film.

I'm also glad it wasn't freezing when we were there as it was in the film. Apparently during filming they'd put down coats on in between shots... I feel sorry for those girls in strapless silk dresses! Luckily it was warm, pleasant, breezy, and there was no need for a sweater at all except to ward off the mosquitos.

It was also neat to see how Twilight has seeped into this Inn's daily life. In the entrance area

there's a little gift shop with the expected trinkets like key chains and stationary, but now there's also two bookshelves full of Twilight items. Calendars, photos, t-shirts, the books, the dvd, Twilight-themed soaps... you get the idea. They've added Twilight items to their menu, and they have a section of the patio where you can buy a brick, and there's one for Edward and Bella. Cute.

I hope the Inn gets through this economic slump; it's out in the middle of nowhere so I could certainly see how it's problematic, but the food was phenomenal, the views unbeatable, and the staff rockin'. Definitely a good time, and it was good to meet my TwiCon cohort in the flesh before the madness that will be TwiCon. Oh girl...

HP: HBP soon. Webshots album here.