Portland February 2015 - Day 4

 

 

 

When we got back to Kelly's house, she took us to the neighborhood bar that she likes to frequent. She said that they have good food and drink specials. Like I previous mentioned, IPAs are all the rage out here, but after discovering that I could get Rainier Beer, I stuck to my guns. I also decided to stay true to myself and ordered a shit ton of tater tots. Some things never change...

We instantly went from the 80s to the 90s when we visited John Jacob Astor Elementary School, also known as Astoria Elementary School where John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger) taught in Kindergarten Cop. This is one of my favorite comedies of all time, so even standing outside of this place was enough to make me smile. True, only the exteriors were filmed her (as well as Joyce + Dominic's house, the hotel and the restaurant), but it is a recognizable landmark to a movie lover like me. Glad I made it out here.

I didn't spend a lot of time here, but Astoria looked like a really beautiful place. I can see why The Goonies were upset that Troy's Dad and his smug ass business partner wanted to foreclose on their houses to trash the Goondocks. But from what I read on the internet (which is always true), Astoria has some of the highest crime per capita in the US. So maybe things have changed since the 80s. Oh yeah, ya think? What tipped you off? Because every 80s movie got the future wrong?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This. Was. Amazing. I got to see Mikey’s House (and Data’s next door) from The Goonies. If I hadn’t seen the Ghostbusters Firehouse when I was in New York City, this would have been the coolest place from a movie that I actually went to in real life. But this was easily a close second. This is Mikey's House from The Goonies! How cool is this? When we decided to come out here, this was on my Oregon bucket list. I would not leave until I saw this place with my own eyes. And it did not disappoint. Although we could only walk up to the front of the house (there were signs mentioning to respect this private property) I felt just like one of The Goonies who was allowed to hang out here every day. I guess that would make me Chunk. No. Captain Chunk! HEY YOU GUYS! This was one of the best days ever. And I even got to Truffle Shuffle. Like I said. Amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s actually about a 45 minute drive from Cannon/Goonie Beach to the city of Astoria (where the Goonies live). I know they spent a lot of time underground, but they made it seem like they are right next to each other. The kids rode their bikes from Mikey’s house to the old restaurant where the Fratelli’s were holed up. After the excitement of the beach, Stone slept. But Jenny and I couldn’t rest now. For us the excitement was far from over. This was no time to sleep as adventure was waiting just up the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had been to 31 of the 50 US States. Thanks to this trip, I was able to cross off 2 more. This was my first time in Oregon and thanks to us driving home from Astoria, we crossed over the border into Washington. But I needed to get out of the car and prove that I was there. When we passed by Washington State University of Vancouver (yes, there is also a Vancouver in Washington), I decided this was a perfect place as any in which drop a line from the Chris Farley classic Black Sheep. I remember the first time I saw this movie with Timmy in the car on our way out West in 2001. I laughed at it then and I laugh at it now. Seeing as this was my first time in Washington, I had to say hello. There is no need to be rude and dispense with pleasantries.