Goonies Day!

Hooray for GOONIES DAY!!!

When we first showed Isla The Goonies we never realized just how much she would come to love it! She makes references to the story, recites quotes, and it is often her first request when we ask if she wants to watch a movie.
We are so fortunate to live just a few hours from Astoria and Cannon Beach, two of the places where the movie was filmed. I had so much fun coming up with a day trip inspired by The Goonies! We visited different filming sites and enjoyed other aspects of these charming beach towns as well. We’re excited to share details from our trip, in case any other Goonies fans out there are looking for a fun way to spend the day!

We left Portland mid-morning and headed to Astoria. The drive takes just under 2 hours. On the way we listened to the movie soundtrack– on repeat.
1. First we stopped at The Bowpicker for lunch. It’s a food truck— well, a food boat— and it serves the BEST tuna fish and chips ever. It is well-worth the long line! The Bowpicker has nothing to do with The Goonies, it’s just a really fantastic place to eat before you start exploring Astoria.

2. After lunch we visited the Oregon Film Museum. This former county jail was where the opening of The Goonies was filmed, and is now set up as a museum that pays homage to The Goonies and other movies made in Oregon. The kids loved exploring the jail, seeing props from the film, and making their own mini movie! Parents with little wiggly kiddos, it is worth noting this place is small, and if it’s a busy day there is no way your strollers will fit in there! So, plan accordingly 🙂

3. Next we visited the historic George Flavel House, which sits across the street from the jail, and is the Museum where Mikey’s dad worked in The Goonies. You can buy tickets to tour the museum (both on site and as part of a package at the Oregon Film Museum). With two busy kiddos, we opted just to view the house from outside and played around in the yard, but would love to tour it in the future.

4. We hopped back in the car to try and get a peek at the house where the Walsh family lived in the movie, often referred to as “the Goonies house”. Visitors used to be able to walk right up to the house (we did the Truffle Shuffle in front of it 10 years ago!), but there is now a sign posted saying the house is off limits to the public, so we respected the rules and pointed it out to Isla from afar. Isla looked at the Walsh house and immediately said, “But Mom, the trim isn’t purple!” This kid and her crazy attention to detail.

When one celebrates Goonies Day, one must wear the appropriate attire…

Seriously though, how FUN are these shirts?! I was a little worried Cole’s might be taken out of context, but we actually lost count of the number of times people stopped us in Astoria and Cannon Beach to compliment it! Ma Fratelli, bringing people together!

Isla’s Shirt | Cole’s Shirt

5. Before leaving Astoria we took a few minutes away from our Goonies-inspired outings to walk along the waterfront and watch the barges carrying goods along the Columbia River. Astoria is such a charming town and we can’t wait to get back to explore some more!

For the second portion of our Goonies Day we headed south to Cannon Beach. The drive only takes about 45 minutes.

6. We stopped in for some Tillamook ice cream at Suzy’s Scoops– again, not a specific Goonies-related stop, but a day on the Oregon Coast certainly calls for an ice cream cone!

7. Next we spent some time playing on the beach, with the iconic Haystack Rock (featured several times in The Goonies) in the background. We went to the north end of the beach, but you can easily get much closer to Haystack Rock.

We headed home with sandy toes, happy hearts, and once again, the movie soundtrack blasting. When we arrived we enjoyed pizza (because it’s delicious and referenced numerous times in the film), Goonies-inspired s’mores (recipe here), and watched the movie together before bed. Hey yooooooou guuuuuuys, we’re SO glad we went on this Goonie adventure!

A few additional thoughts to planning your own Goonies Day:

• Pack lots of snacks and water. This is SUCH a “duh” parenting move for a long drive, yet somehow we found ourselves on the road without anything to munch on. This lead to some very cranky kids at various stages throughout the trip.
• Pack a change of clothes and towels for after playing on the beach. Again, I’m not sure how something so obvious alluded us. Thankfully we had towels in the car from our Car Sickness Emergency Box. Woo hoo!
• Add Ecola State Park, in Cannon Beach, to the line up. This is the forest the boys ride their bikes through at the start of their adventure, and such a beautiful area to explore.
• Start earlier in the day than mid-morning. We found ourselves getting a bit rushed towards the afternoon/evening, and thought it would have been nicer to have an extra few hours to fit in all our stops and activities.
• OR– plan to stay in Astoria or Cannon Beach. Reduce your drive time and focus on the fun. We truly had a fantastic experience, but by the end of the day we were feeling worn out, and truth be told, I was acting more like Ma Fratelli than I’d care to admit. We will definitely go on another Goonie adventure, and we will definitely take the above points into consideration as we plan our day.

Oregon friends (and those planning a visit), we hope our Goonies Day inspires you to explore our beautiful coastline and go on a Goonie adventure of your own!