Now that Andy had Mt. Hood under his belt (did you like his blog?!), we were able to relax a bit and finally left Timberline Lodge (I had had enough cheese, thankyouverymuch). We were on our way to Astoria!
The drive to Astoria was beautiful. Pretty forests and gorgeous countryside. Don helped drive, per usual.
Along the way, I saw a sign for an Amish furniture store in Rainier, Oregon. I love Amish furniture and artwork; it’s so beautiful and perfectly simple. This store was called the Black Buggy Furniture Store, and it was located waaaaaaaaaay off the beaten path. For awhile we thought we were lost.
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| Finally found it |
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| Outside was…you guessed it, a black buggy! |
The store was so cute. It was filled with stunning Amish furniture, food, cookbooks, toys, blankets, clothes, and quilts.
We made it to Astoria in early afternoon. Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County and sits right at the mouth of the Columbia River. Astoria began its history by being the primary fur-trading post in the Pacific region in the early 1800’s via the Pacific Fur Company, which was actually a subsidiary of John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company. Later, the fur-trade history was reduced to a book by Washington Irving called Astoria, written in 1835.
Astoria’s staple moved slowly away from fur in the 1940’s to canning; the town had about 30 different canneries up and down the Columbia River. The cannery business was quickly snuffed out by the economic powerhouses of Portland and Seattle. The town flirted with a brief timber industry and a railway service, both of which were discontinued in the late 1980’s. Today Astoria is cute and quaint, with a bustling art scene and a port-of-call for cruise ships. Its iconic structure is the Astoria-Megler Bridge, opened in 1966.
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| Astoria-Megler Bridge |
Andy, like many people in his generation, loves the movie “The Goonies,” a 1985 film about a group of friends working to save their homes from demolition. They end up on an adventure armed with a treasure map to find the hidden treasure of One-Eyed Willie. The movie takes place, and is filmed, in Astoria, Oregon. It enjoys a very healthy cult following.
Naturally, then, our first stop on our Astoria tour of course had to be the famous house from The Goonies. The house is located at 368 38th Street. Parking is not difficult, but don’t get some cute idea that you’re going to be able to park anywhere near the house. In fact, as we drove closer to it, the neighborhood had already anticipated our arrival. Signs instructing people to not park in certain areas were everywhere.
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| You will see this sign as you drive up Franklin Avenue. Don’t turn left, there’s nowhere to park. |
The best place to park with the most number of spaces is Astor Elementary at 3550 Franklin Avenue. You can park there and walk the quarter of a mile (takes about 5 minutes) to the Goonies House. Trust me, you can’t really get any closer. Along the way, we noticed many houses had signs instructing people to not park in front of their driveways or sit on their lawns. Clearly not everybody in the neighborhood enjoyed the status of living in The Goonies zip code.
At the end of 38th street, the road ends and to the left is a long gravel driveway. At the top of the driveway is the house! You can’t miss it. You’ll see more signs, and plenty of people.
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| Don in front of The Goonies house |
It was pretty fun to see the house, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the occupants. I imagine it wasn’t easy to constantly have people walking up your driveway, blocking your vehicles, and staring at your house. Indeed, in a recent Daily Maily article, the owner lamented that it is a “difficult place to live.” If you decide to go to The Goonies house, be respectful. Only stay a few seconds, take your picture and be respectful about the owner’s personal property. And dear lord, don’t knock on the door (apparently people do that).
Update to Blog; August 19, 2015: The recent onslaught of fans at The Goonies 30th anniversary celebration in Astoria has prompted owner Sandi Preston to petition the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce to limit access to her property. As of this date she has put up tarps on the front and sides of her house to prevent people from entering the yard. The city and Chamber are engaged in discussions as to how to tackle the problem that the heavy fan traffic is causing the neighborhood. Read more here.
Our next stop was the old Clatsop County jail which is now the Oregon Film Museum located at 732 Duane St. It is known for the famous opening jail break scene in The Goonies.
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| Hey there, Don. You jailbird, you. |
Andy and I limited our Goonies tour to the house and the jail. But, for all you really die-hard Goonies fans, here are other locations to see in Astoria related to the movie:
Data’s House: 304 38th St.
Flavel House: 441 8th St.
Bowling Alley: 8th St. and Marine Dr.
Mouth’s House: Skyline Ave. and Valley St.
Stop and Snack Store: 37th St. and Highway 30
Chase scene: Gower St.
Right near the jail is the Flavel House, which stands for Captain George Flavel, a Columbia River bar pilot who was Astoria’s first millionaire. In The Goonies, Mikey’s father works here as a curator. Today it is a very beautiful museum, owned and operated by the Clatsop County Historical Society.
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| Flavel House Museum |
We still had a couple hours before we could check into our hotel, so we meandered down to the wharf to hang out with the sea lions.
I grew up near Santa Cruz, California and one of my favorite things to do in the world as a kid (and still is), was go to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk with my father. We would get seafood, ride The Big Dipper roller coaster, and check out the sea lions. Sea lions are hysterical. They’re huge, floppy, uncoordinated, and accident prone. They have no sense of personal space, exercise, or the fact that they might be sitting on their fellow sea lion’s face. Their iconic yelp sounds like a dying dog mixed with a car horn which they shamelessly blare in each other’s faces. They’re the best.
By the time we were done hanging out with the sea lions it was time to check into our hotel. Andy and I have stayed at our share of hotels, and this one (along with the one in Cannon Beach in the next blog) was hands-down one of the best. Called the Cannery Pier Hotel, it sits on 100 year-old pilings that used to be the Union Fisherman’s Cooperative Packing Company. The history of this Packing Company is an interesting one; in the late 1800’s, fisherman were sidelined in favor of wealthy cannery owners. Fish prices became a forefront issue which led to fishermen striking in 1896. The strike became violent and elicited help from the Oregon National Guard. Eventually some of the fisherman got together and formed the Union Fisherman’s Cooperative Packing Company. By 1904 it was the largest cannery in Astoria.
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| Cannery Pier Hotel |
Described as “an experience not to be missed” by Northwest Travel Magazine, the hotel sits almost directly beneath the Astoria-Megler Bridge right at the mouth of the Columbia River. It’s posh and inviting. I could have lived there!
With three floors of rooms, the hotel boasts deluxe rooms, one-bedroom suites, and the Pilot House, a private 5th floor residence. The hotel has a beautiful little jacuzzi, a sauna, and spa facilities, including massages, hot stones, aromatherapy, facials, body treatments, and waxing.
The hotel also has two beautiful antique cars that serve as taxis for hotel guests. If you reserve one with the front desk, they will take you anywhere in the area you want to go, free of charge.
The downstairs lobby was gorgeous. Numerous chairs and tables adorned the beautiful wooden floor pointing towards a view of the Columbia River. Each evening they had a wine and cheese table for guests.
Our room was BEAUTIFUL, with the most amazing bathtub I have ever seen!
The room also had a really nice seating area with a gorgeous view of the Astoria-Megler bridge and the Columbia River.
Andy and I enjoyed a bottle of wine and used the complimentary binoculars to check out the birds, barges, ships, and seals that came moseying by.
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| Don and Donna enjoyed some private time near the river. |
After partaking in the nice spread of wine and cheese at the hotel we made our way to dinner. We both wanted to take one of the antique cars out that night, but the restaurant we had been recommended to dine at was just across the parking lot from the hotel. We selected it in part due to its close location (we were pretty tired), but we ended up being vindicated in our laziness. Called Bridgewater Bistro, located at 20 Basin Street, this restaurant features riverfront dining 7 days a week with fanciful menus and a fun atmosphere. Check out their clam and mussel chowder, cranberry salad, duck breast, and portobello burger. The Chef is Geof Gunn from Hawaii; he graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Western Culinary Institute of Portland specializing in Pan-Asian cuisine. Intelligent, unique, and award winning, this chef’s menu can’t be missed.
The donkeys and their new friend Heidi said goodnight. Tomorrow was more Astoria exploring and off to Cannon Beach!
