Greetings from Germany! (Wow. That's odd to say.) I should let you know in advance that this is a rather long missive ... but I'm sure you will forgive me this once.
Think back, if you will, to the days of your childhood to a moving picture entitled "The Goonies." I am certain you must have seen it because of your similar film experiences such as "Gremlins," "Legend," and "The Lost Boys." (I suppose these films have nothing in common besides the decade in which they were created, but I think that is enough given the decade in question.) You may recall that the story of "The Goonies" takes place in a booming metropolis known as Astoria, Oregon. ("Booming" may be an overly generous term.)
As it happens, my husband is an avid fan of "The Goonies." It also happens that we currently live about 175 miles from Astoria, a distance that is easily traveled in the course of a morning. So, naturally, it made sense that we should embark on a journey to see this historic location. I arranged the trip as a surprise Christmas gift for him, and we were finally able to take advantage of it this past weekend. My parents decided they would meet us in Astoria so as to have one final opportunity to see us before we leave for Germany.
I should like to title the following account, "Morenos Never Say Die: A Goonies Adventure."
Our adventure began on a gloomy Saturday morning, not too different from the beginning of the Goonies film. Knowing the time it would take to get to Astoria and the variety of activities we planned to enjoy once we arrived, we left at the early hour of 7:00 a.m. We made only two stops on our journey: fuel for the car and fuel for ourselves (many thanks to Starbucks). Along the way, we encountered varying levels of precipitation, unexpected detours related to road construction, and a driver from Kansas who seemed to be terrified of driving on a curved road. (For you know, in Kansas they only have long, straight roads through long, straight plateaus - not a curve or mountain to be had. I think.) Fortunately, none of these things cause us any great loss of time and we arrived exactly at 10:30 a.m. My parents arrived shortly thereafter, so we collected our museum passes from the hotel clerk (many more thanks to Groupon) and ventured out.
Because the museums were not yet open, we decided to drive across the Astoria bridge, and imposing green structure that crosses the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. To do so, one must drive up high onto the large green section pictured below, followed by a long stretch of bridge that quite literally floats on the water.
Once on the other side, we saw signs for such locations as Cape Disappointment and Dismal Nitch. As these are not particularly positive names for locations, we agreed that we should turn back and begin seeking our tourist quarry.
Our first stop was the Oregon Film Museum, located in the former county jail. 
The museum is largely dedicated to memorabilia related to The Goonies, although it does include some history about the building itself. It also gives visitors an opportunity to film some impromptu scenes. To do so, however, one must be able to not only read instructions, but to maneuver the necessary equipment. While the four of us are perfectly able readers, it would seem we were not quite up to the task of the technology provided, and our exquisitely acted and directed scenes were not recorded, much to our dismay. 
Our one consolation was the purchase of some goonies merchandise, which we proudly displayed on our persons for the rest of the day.
We walked directly across the street to the Flavel House Museum, the historic home of Captain George Flavel, noted businessman and citizen of Astoria. 
As with many historic homes, the mansion was beautifully restored and a lovely tribute to times gone by. I remarked to my mother that I felt as if I should be in an episode of "Downton Abbey." The crowning moment, however, was as you see below: 
Nothing more need I say on the subject.
The next part of our adventure was obvious. We had to go to the Goonies house. Nothing could deter us. The location was marked on our map and the path was clearly laid before us. As we parked down the street from the hallowed location, my husband took a deep breath and said, "I'm not gonna lie. I'm pretty excited right now." We eagerly made our way to the bottom of the driveway where we were met by the following sign: 
A few steps further placed us directly in front of the house itself! Some changes had been made to the exterior of the house and it became clear that some shots from the movie had been filmed elsewhere, but none of these things could diminish Lou's excitement at seeing the house of his childhood memories. (At least, his cinematic memories.) 
Similar experiences took place at the bowling alley ...
And at the Heritage Museum.
We followed our Goonies Location Extravaganza by a visit to the Astoria Column, although we like to refer to it as the "totem pole." Built high on a hill above Astoria, this column is covered with artwork depicting the history of Oregon. And, after having climbed all 164 steps inside the column, one almost feels as if they have physically traversed said history. We were rather tired. Once you've reached the top, you have the opportunity to send a smalll wooden glider out into the wind and watch eagerly as it sails to the ground. (It sounds more exciting than it really is ... As my father likes to say, "It doesn't take much to please the simple.")
The rest of the day found us in various antique shops, a trading company with records that gave me pause, a Finnish/Scandinavian store, and a pub where the employees continually tried to serve us stout. All in all, it was a highly enjoyable (and successful) day. My husband was thoroughly pleased to have had his own Goonies adventure, and I was thoroughly pleased to have given him a successful Christmas present. Cheers to us.
Well my dear, that is, as they say, the long and the short of it. I suppose it could always be longer and it could always be shorter, but that is the beauty of our little exchange - it is whatever we want it to be!
Love to Phongster and Midgey-Poo,
Mandar the Magnificent
No comments:
Post a Comment