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Photography: Astoria, Oregon

“It’s OK, you’re a Goonie, and Goonies always make mistakes.”

When I was a small child I’d always watch “The Goonies” when I was sick or sad. It was my comfort movie and I can practically recite it for you word for word. This week I moved my mom from northern California to a small town in Washington very near Astoria, Oregon. When I found out it’s the home to several filming locations for “The Goonies” it felt right. I’m sad and I need my comfort movie.

After taking two days to drive here and get my mom settled in her new place, we spent the day exploring all the filming locations around the area. We had deep conversations about our connection and my mom told me she was proud of me. It feels like a big moment in my life. We always want our mom, but she needs to do this for her.

“Don’t you realize? The next time you see the sky, it’ll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it’ll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what’s right for them. Because it’s their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it’s our time. It’s our time down here.”
—Mikey, The Goonies

The jailhouse from the opening scene. It’s now a museum filled with artifacts from the film.

I was just a wee bit excited! “Out in the garage, ORV, four-wheel drive… …bullet holes the size of matzo balls!”—Chunk

Chester Copperfield’s wallet, the skeleton key, doubloon, and a Lou Gehrig baseball card.

They had Data’s complete outfit including his pinchers of power! Data is played by Ke Huy Qua who just won an Oscar for my new favorite movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

“Yo. Hi guys. How’s it going? This is Willie… One-Eyed Willie. Say hi, Willie. Those are my friends… the Goonies.”—Mikey

“Goonies never say die!” The actual house. It was less than a minute from our hotel.

This is the window at the beginning of the film where Chunk presses his pizza and milkshake against the glass to watch the police chase the Fratellis.

The building is now a bowling alley and was closed but we all took turns reenacting it on the outside. Isn’t my mom cute?

This coffee shop is featured during the opening scene when Rosalita is crossing the street.

The Flavel House Museum is where Mikey’s dad waves to the kids when they are riding through town on their bikes.

It’s an interesting and slightly creepy house. My daughter did some research after we left and found out they left out some big parts of the family history.

What a thrill to stand here.

Beautiful beach. Not sure if those are the rocks that lined up with the doubloon, but I choose to believe they are.

My daughter and mom.

After our Goonies exploring we visited two spots my mom loves.

Flying together down the path in the wild winds.

  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW

72 thoughts on “Photography: Astoria, Oregon”

  4. Beautiful! I’m going to have to fire that movie up again, just for the memories. My eldest thought it was just okay when I last watched it, but maybe the twins are now old enough to enjoy it. Fun trip down memory lane there for me as well as you.

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    • My daughter thinks the film is a bit cheesy, which it is, but it’s part of the charm. My son loves it as much as I do, but couldn’t make the trip with us. It was a lot of fun to visit these sites and feel like I was part of the movie. It sure helped soften the blow of the purpose of the trip.

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      • Well, to be fair, *most* family movies from the 80s were a bit on the cheesy side, and quite a few intended for teen consumption as well. But this was one of the better ones out there, IMHO.

        Fun trivia, I was a barista in DT Minneapolis when “Beautiful Girls” was being filmed locally and regularly served drinks to Martha Plimpton and Timothy Hutton while they stayed in the hotel adjacent to the café. She was a great tipper, but Timothy was even better about dropping a few bucks into the tip jar. I had to restrain the urge to point and shout, “Stef! Stef!”

        She already was giving me the eye like, “are you in need of some medication?” so I thought it was best to keep my mouth shut. 😀

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      • For real! I happen to think “The Goonies” is one of the bests sitting alongside “Labyrinth” and “The Princess Bride.”

        Oh my goodness! How fun! I would have had the same problem. It’s so odd to meet a celebrity in real life. You feel like you know them, but you really don’t. It’s an odd mix of familiarity and just plan awkwardness.

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  6. Wonderful photos and souvenirs! Astoria, Oregon is close to where I live in Victoria, Vancouver Island. I hope your Mom settles in well. I’m sorry to say that I’ve never seen that movie although we Canadians are well steeped in American films. I had a cousin involved with American movies, Alan Thicke, now deceased. His brother, Todd, wrote for America’s Funniest Home Movies for years and I believe it’s in the Smithsonian now. I’ve had rare contact with them through the years. My daughter, Alissa, had a similar ‘happy obsession’ with ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ productions and saw a performance in Toronto once. We may all someday be called ‘The Entertainment Society’. 🤣🥰😁🤗💕✨

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    • What?! I’m surprised by how many people have never seen it. It’s a silly 80s movie produced by Steven Spielberg—kids on a search for pirate treasure to save their family homes. Happy Easter to you too! We drive back today and then I’ve got to scramble to get everything together for Easter 🙂

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    • We watched it in the hotel room before setting out to refresh ourselves, but I still remembered a lot of the lines. My daughter got a laugh out of seeing me so excited about all of it. It’s fun to let ourselves be silly sometimes.

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    • Thanks, Tom! Yes, it was such a fun day. I’m so glad we got to spend that time together before we had to say goodbye. I’m still on the road but should be home today. It was so hard to leave.

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      • It really was! The strangest part about the house was that they said the original family was George Flavel, his wife, and two daughters. Neither of the daughters married or had children, yet a great granddaughter donated the house to the city. When we left we did research and found out a ton of stuff they left out including a son and a great grandson who was known as “Hatchet Harry” for chopping of a neighbor’s arm in the house!

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  17. Interesting to me that these are some of the best photos of yours (as a group). And I am not a Goonies fan, haven’t seen the movie. I’m thinking that the emotions we bring to our camera is captured in the final result? When I was 23 I interviewed in Ilwaco, but I presume your mother isn’t living that far away.

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    • What a kind comment! I think you are right. In some of these photos I’m overjoyed and in others I’m close to tears. It was such an emotional trip. We drove near Ilwaco, but my mom lives across the bridge in a tiny town just inside the Washington border.

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  21. Very nice & interesting sharing for Goonies movie.
    Excellent photography. Very nice you sharing your mother’s house surrounding area. So pretty looking with mother photo. . I like, Bridgette 🌹

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  23. Sorry Bridgette, don’t know that movie. Made me think, what was my equivalent when I was a kid. Then realized I’m ancient & we didn’t have home view movies back then… dinosaurs & all, like that: ) Most of Oregon I know is Portland where I worked for a year, but changed a lot since then. But moreover enjoyed your travelog with mom & daughter. Glad your trip went well enough.

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    • Thanks! It seems from the comments that “The Goonies” isn’t as well known as I thought it was. It’s a silly 80s film, but it always brought me comfort. The kids are outcasts and they band together to try and save their parents. I always liked the idea of weak helping the perceived strong. I also just wanted to find pirate treasure!

      Oregon and Washington are very beautiful. We spent some time on the peninsula and even drove my van on the beach. It’s so green and lush in parts, but most of the cities didn’t look very different from where I live in Northern California.

      I’ll be posting more photos either today or tomorrow. Thanks for your kindness!

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      • Place, yes, it matters a lot to me. Still a California boy, down there, in my shoes. Used to swear I could tell the difference betwixt CA and Oregon rain within a mile, two at most, of the borderline. Look forward to more from you.

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      • Ooh ooh, one more time. I forget my own (rule), expand a pic as far as it goes. I like big. Like getting closer, huh. That first picture expanded now (& I got big screen)… made me gasp, the clouds, the dark hills… gosh (I like that word).

        Think I’m gonna beg using that picture too. Well suited to a poem I’m working on right now. Pretty please (oh, I like that phrase too). Maybe brief (don’t know) (but feels like a second childhood). Oh (I get it), thanks for that too. neil

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      • Go for it! I can’t wait to read what you write. I’ve been away from writing for a bit over a week and I’m really needing to sit down and fall into the words.

        I love all your sayings. You always make me smile! Happy Friday.

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      • Oh, and another thing about photographs. Not a rule, but it is the way I lean. Pretty pictures abound, beautiful vistas, some of them, but what I like, what I want to see again – are pictures with people in them. Human-centric? Suppose I am.

        In contrast, as a child, taking pictures with my little brownie camera – didn’t want people in my pictures, just things instead, please. Boy, was I wrong!

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  24. These are all such wonderful photos, Bridgette. I love the crystal-clear ocean scene and the one of your precious daughter and your lovely mom. I’m another of your readers who has never heard of the Goonies. I’m guessing it’s an American thing. That aside, I really enjoyed reading about your trip, although I know it must have been hard to leave your mom so far away. Your daughter looks so like your mom. I love the photo of them flying down the lane as if they were launching into freedom. Was your mom living near you before the move?

    My Mum lived 40 miles (65 km) away from me for all of my adult life until the day we lost her. I never learned to drive, so we saw very little of each other in later years. Nevertheless, our relationship remained strong and very close, as I’m sure will be the case with you and your mom, although I appreciate she is a lot further than 40 miles from you now. Thank goodness for technology – you may be able to Facetime or Zoom together. I do this with my sister in Australia and also my best friend. It’s not quite as good as being together, but it’s a close second. Sending you heartfelt love, my friend Xx 💖

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    • Thank you, Ellie. I’ve been far away from my mom off and on, but this time felt a lot harder. I guess with all the stuff going on with my daughter it felt like I needed her close. I understood why she wanted to make this move and I’m trying hard to be supportive. Facetime will definitely be a regular thing and I’m sure we will be able to travel to see her again before the year is out.

      “The Goonies” is definitely an American thing—80s flick about pirates and treasure. I had four VHS tapes when I was a kid that I played on repeat, “Labyrinth,” “The Goonies,” “The Princess Bride” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” All of these movies bring me great comfort. Do you have films like that? I wonder what the British version of these are?

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      • I don’t think we ever get to an age where we don’t need our mums nearby. Even if we can’t be near physically, we will always be near in our hearts and minds. It must be tough for you, given the situation with your daughter and her troubles. I hope you will be able to connect virtually, at least in between the occasional visit. I don’t remember ‘Labyrinth’ or The ‘Princess Bride’ at all.

        I wondered whether The Goonies was an American show. I remember VHS tapes, although I no longer have a VHS tape player. We definitely had ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ by the late Roald Dahl. He wrote some fantastic books, many of which became films and appealed to children and adults alike. I think my favourite UK TV series was a comedy called ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ starring Dawn French. I could and still can watch episode after episode of that programme. Love to you, my friend Xx 💖

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    • I forget not everyone know who the Goonies are, but I’m glad you could enjoy the photos anyway. It was thrilling to see the spots where my favorite childhood movie was filmed.

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