Goonies never say die

My new job will start on Tuesday right after Memorial Day weekend. I remain very hopeful that this job will signal the end of my bouncing around trying to find myself. I can't honestly say I'm not any closer to finding myself now than I was a year ago. What I do know, I need a job. I can always look for myself when I have a regular paycheck and can afford the search. In the last weekend before going back to work, it seemed only prudent to spend the last two dimes I was rubbing together on a little fun. So, in the spirit of frivolous spending, we packed up the steel steed and headed out to Astoria for the day on Saturday.

We enjoyed this day with my Dad and his Wife and my step sister. For those of you that read my parent's blog,  http://therapytravels.blogspot.com/ and are now trying to figure out my lineage, just sing to yourself the theme song from the Brady Bunch and will have the jest of the story. That said, the Dad portrayed in this post is not the same Dad you met in the Therapytravel blog. At any rate, we were also briefly joined on this adventure by my Sister, her Husband and my Niece.

For those of you that are not familiar with Pacific Northwest geography, Astoria is located far up in the Northwest point of Oregon where the Columbia river spills into the Pacific Ocean. It is area that is rich in history and wonderful sights. If you ever get the chance, it is a must visit destination where you can learn many things about Lewis and Clark, river transportation and military history. As for us, our fascination with the region always seems to lean a little more towards more recent movie history.

Kari re-enacting the jail break

 Back in 1984, Goonies was filmed in Astoria. in the 26 years since it was released, it has gained a cult following that keeps a steady stream of "Goonies" making a pilgrimage to all the filming locations in and around the city. The jail in the film was recently converted to a film museum that pays homage to the many films that used Oregon as a backdrop to their stories. We had to revisit some of our favorite sites and also make vain attempts at re-enacting some of the most memorable scenes.

We also had the pleasure of stumbling across a new restaurant, Cecil's Trolley Stop Grill that was on it's second day of being open. They were doing a soft opening and not yet doing any advertising. As you can imagine, We had most of the place and the staff to ourselves. They treated us like old friends and we were even paid a visit from the chef. Food was great at an affordable price with a view of the Columbia River that was just amazing. I look forward to visiting Cecil's again the next time I'm in town.

Bekah in front of the Goonie House. She refused to do the Truffle Shuffle!

The view from Cecil's Trolley Stop Grill

After visiting several other sights in Astoria, including a terrifying 144 step climb to the top of the Astoria Column, we decided to head south to Tillamook to visit the birth place of our favorite cheese. Yes, I'll admit, we are a strange crew. In an area that is so overly abundant with history and scenery, we seemed obsessed with our movies and our cheese.

Headin into the Cheese Factory

As luck would have it, Joni's Mom and Aunt were in Tillamook for the day from Eugene. We hooked up with them at the cheese factory and Joni got to spend some time visiting. We also loaded up on all our favorite cheeses and some ice cream.

Joni with her Mom and Aunt

Since my Dad, his Wife and my step Sister are all recent transplants from Southern California, we are hoping that we have many chances this summer to visit new places to show our recently inducted Oregonians all the beauty this place has to offer. In my opinion, you could spend a lifetime exploring the great Northwest and never take in all it has to offer. I am excited about starting my new job on Tuesday and hopefully having a little more money to spend on enjoying site seeing.

More soon
-Red-