Just for fun, here is our Top Ten list of thing we learned while in Portland:
10. The donuts in Portland are not for "dunkin" but rather for "dippin."
9. You can visit China, Vegas, and Hollywood without leaving the city limits.
8. Portland…erm…"street people" could earn a living as comedians, hence the creative begging from one person on the off ramp of US80 and Hollywood who claimed he was too old to be a prostitute.
7. Beware of the Yeti.
6. If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change. Seriously.
5. Splurge and buy yourself a decent road map – preferably one with ALL of the street names included.
4. Decent Rain gear is a must! Forget fashion and raid your nearest Marmot outlet before getting on a plane.
3. Get ready for alternating stoplights. Can someone explain that one please!
2. Mike isn’t the only one who needs to remember to pack an extra pair of socks! (Or two… or even shoes!)
1. No need to dry your hair in the morning. The "wet dog look" is unavoidable.
And now on with our show!
Our trip to the set began bright and early at 5am (it may have been that time on the west coast, but our bodies were still on Eastern Standard Time so it felt like eight!). After a good home-style breakfast, which was essential given the day ahead of us, we began our 2 hour drive to the coast. The morning was very cold and wet, so we were worried about the conditions we would face on the beach. But nothing prepared us for the shock of what came next. And I quote…" Is that snow?" Yup that’s right….it was snowing! BeMyEscape had to kick the SUV into four wheel drive to maneuver through the pass. (The SUV was conveniently equipped with a button marked snow!) There were even snow plows out the higher up we went. Despite the sense of foreboding the snow brought, it was very beautiful as you can see. But luckily as we descended through the mountain pass, the snow turned back to rain.
Once we reached base camp, we decided to brave the storm and get out to take some pictures. Having never been to First Beach ourselves, we relied on the pictures others had shown us for comparison. The massive mounds protruding out of the water really did the trick for us. (Being children of the 80’s, at this point we all noticed that rock formation bore a striking resemblance to the beach in Goonies! Which was later confirmed by Kim on the front page.)
We headed over to the set following the map and signs plainly posted on the route. The drive was windy and the roadway was very narrow at times. At one point we were almost hit by a car that was flying around a blind corner. Yeah, having your life flash before your eyes was not a very good way to start the set visit, but we survived. The crew was set up in the parking lot overlooking the beach. There were tents of all kinds as well as a few trailers. Everyone was bundled up in rain gear and knee high boots — and we soon found out it was for a very good reason.
The walk from the parking lot down to the beach was muddy, slippery, and included a generous helping of puddles, roots, and rocks to bar our path. Yeah, like that was going to stop us! The terrain was rough, but beautiful and undisturbed by civilization. We reached the beach, which consisted of higher ground that was covered in larger, black, sea-smoothed stones and lower ground that was your normal beach sand. After making our way through down the steep sloping rocky hill the sandy beach was a welcome yet equally difficult walk. With each step we sloshed and sank into the wet sand. (If that’s what it was like for our feet, we’ll let you imagine what the equipment was doing!)
They were filming when we arrived. We were introduced around by our host for the day and then we went to work getting as much footage as we could. We filmed Taylor, Kristen, and Catherine talking through the scene before shooting another take. You can hear us in the background explaining to the reelz.com reporter what scene was being filmed and which actor was playing which part. They were very nice, and we were able to help them understand more about the books, storyline and actors in the film.
The first actor we had a chance to meet up with was Taylor. He was so friendly and had such a beautiful smile that we all left with such a great impression of "Jacob." Ladies… if you don’t already adore him, get ready to be charmed!
After a long day filled with excitement, a moody Mother Nature, and very hard work, we headed back to our hotel room to thaw. BeMyEscape, with very tired eyes, expertly navigated us back through the mountain pass. Cocoa, grateful for the warmth and not being able to feel her feet, counted no less than 8 blisters – a quick trip to Walgreens soon ensued to buy flip flops. Ambereyes reveled in her umbrella being the only one of the four to survive the fierce winds, while Alphie admired the scenic trip back to Portland basking in the memories of the day.
Next up…Interviews!
This was the day that Catherine Hardwicke described as "But, at the end of our shoot day at the beach, with Jacob and Bella, the rain soaked through all my Gortex, through three layers of jackets and socks. I rang out my waterproof gloves and could have watered my rose bushes for an entire summer. The crew had to hold down the lunch tent to keep it from blowing away. Grown men were crying, but the actors and crew gave it their best."
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