I know, it doesn’t look like it’s anything special..but believe me. I have enjoyed sitting in it since the MINUTE we arrived home.

(I have also enjoyed the dishwasher….and having my own washer/dryer…..nothing like 7 weeks away to make you REALLY appreciate what you have at home, right?)

I honestly NEVER in a million years thought that I would get to visit Astoria, Oregon — where my ALL TIME favorite movie was filmed. THE GOONIES!

I know it sounds kind of geeky – but it really was so fun for me to see the sights around town. And now, I can’t wait to watch the movie AGAIN (for the 176th time..or so).

You will have to bare with me as we walk through a 25 year old movie (Goonies just celebrated their 25th year at the beginning of June with a BIG celebration in Astoria — it would have been SO fun to be in town for that!)

First stop in Astoria was the Visitor Information Center — I wanted a map and guidance on all the things in town to see. Wouldn’t you know it..they had Goonies T-shirts on sale at the Vistor’s Center. (Oh and of course, NCL sees the computer and has to sit down to see what it’s all about…just like Daddy had done 2 minutes prior).

It was lunch time by the time we left the visitor’s center, so we headed down to the Brewery that Joe found — and wouldn’t you know it….a “Goonies Burger” on the menu!

NCL got the fanciest milk he has ever had at a restaurant…with an umbrella!

After everyone was full…it was time to head out and see ALL the Goonie sights (too bad I left my very cool map, highlighted by the Vistor’s Center helper, in the restaurant — and when I walked back to get it, they had already thrown it out while cleaning the table. I was SO bummed!)

First stop was exciting — two big sights right across from each other. The jail house (opening scenes in the movie) and the building where Mikey’s Dad worked/raised the flag as the boys rode by on their bikes (obviously I have seen the movie too much — and if you have only seen the movie once, you will have no idea what I am talking about).

(Mikey’s Dad, Mr. Walsh, raised a flag on the porch of this museum)

(The jail house was so little. I couldn’t believe it. They have turned it into a Film Museum inside and I just HAD to pay the $4 to check it out — especially after the girl said that there was Goonie memorabilia AND the cell where Fratelli “hung” himself in the movie)

(The hallway walking into the jail cells — and NCL running out)

(They had a cutout of Fratelli in the cell..but this is the REAL cell where the scene was filmed — and the guard read the letter..”You smuck, did you really think I was stupid enough to kill myself….Kill myself?”

(Data’s “outfit” from the movie..so cool!)

(The Chester Copperpot newspaper article Mikey found in the attic)

(The map!!  I wish I had a little more time to look through all the stuff, but Joe had the baby outside and he was hungry..so, I had to race through the jailhouse..but it was still SO awesome!)

(The David statue that Chunk dropped on the floor….”That’s my Mom’s most favorite piece!!!”)

(The key Mikey found around Chester Copperpot’s neck)

(Do you think I was just a little bit excited?  I had a nice lady take this picture on our way out of the jailhouse.)

(I told NCL that this was the ONLY time in his life that I want to see this sight)

After the jailhouse, we went over to the Flavel House Museum – across the street (the building pictured above – “Mikey’s Dad’s work”) and I fed the baby on the beach outside. The weather was REALLY nice in Astoria (I have a feeling we were there on one of the nicest day they have ever seen).

And THEN, it was nap time for the boys…and time for us to see the GOONIE HOUSE! I was SO excited.

I guess the lady that lives there is TOTALLY find with people going up to the house and taking pictures, but you can’t drive up the driveway. You have to park down below — and walk up the road driveway if you want to see the house up close.

And here it is!

It looks a little different than it did 25 years ago, but I still recognized it

And I also recognized the house next door.

(The next door neighbors — where the girl with the pink bike lived..”My bike! My bike! I want my bike, I want my bike!”)

The front yard isn’t there anymore (where Mikey had the obstacle course set up to open the gate) but you can still picture Chunk doing the Truffle Shuffle

There were a few more sights in town – the bowling alley where Chunk squished pizza and soda on the window (we drove by it but I didn’t get a picture) – and the football field where the cheerleaders were practicing (we didn’t have time to drive by — and since I lost my awesome map at the restaurant, we would have had to stop and ask for directions).

I k now it sounds totally geeky but I was SO glad we got to spend 4-5 hours in Astoria. Oh – and guess what?! The house just on the other side of the neighbor’s house (2 houses down from the Goonies house) was for SALE!  They were having a big moving sale and we talked to the girl — she said her fiance was selling the house for $285K (and it was right on the cliff with an amazing view!)  I told Joe I was tempted to put down a deposit right on the spot. The view was so awesome. And the house looked SO neat.  Tempting….

On our way out of town, we passed by the school where they filmed Kindergarten Cop (with Arnold S.) — I was feeding the baby, so Joe snapped this picture.

* Another fun fact about Astoria — Free Willy was also filmed there (We just watched Free Willy 2 with the Johnson kids in Turlock and we totally recognized the city.  Short Circuit was also filmed in Astoria — and there were a few others — I guess it’s a popular place for movies (it really is a pretty place — just too gray for us).

]]> http://www.lagrecafamily.com/2010/07/07/heyyyyy-youuuuu-guyyyyssss/feed/ 3 http://www.lagrecafamily.com/2010/06/16/another-rainy-afternoon/ http://www.lagrecafamily.com/2010/06/16/another-rainy-afternoon/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:31:55 +0000 elagreca http://www.lagrecafamily.com/2010/06/16/another-rainy-afternoon/ When you don’t have WiFi and you have something to say – you can always trust Word to open up…and you can type away.

It’s Tuesday afternoon, and all the boys are napping.  We are parked for the night at Canyon Hot Springs – in BC (just West of Glacier National Park Canada).  Joe got up at 5am this morning and drove over 2 hours before the rest of us got up, so we arrived at our destination well before lunch.  NCL and Joe went swimming for a few hours before lunch – and AJ & I napped.  It was wonderful. We are the only RV in our little wooded area and it’s mostly peaceful (we can hear the highway traffic beyond the trees, but I guess that is ok – hopefully that means we won’t run into any bears down here!) Oh, and there are train tracks just behind us – so, when NCL gets up from his nap we will have to walk to the station and check out the trains. He will enjoy that.

NCL has been much better the last few days. We have been really paying attention to his schedule and TRYING very hard to get him to bed at a decent time (even though it’s DAYLIGHT until 10pm).  We black out our bedroom in the back and put him to sleep back there.  Works out so much better for everyone – because then Joe and I  have the livingroom/kitchen area to do what we want.  We give the baby a bath, clean the dishes and study maps to figure out where we are going next.

It’s quite fun to just “go with the flow” on this trip.  We can pretty much do whatever we want. We don’t have to be anywhere at a certain time.  We can stop whenever we want. It’s so much better than a “real vacation” –– normal vacations usually have you on a strict timeline because you have to be back for work.  It’s nice that we don’t have to be back for anything!

But…of course, there is a price to pay for this fun “go with the flow” lifestyle –- I never forget that we have a 7 week old on board and I still have to get up in the night and take care of him.  It’s been increasingly difficult to have him sleeping right next to me. As most of you know, I had NCL in his own crib/bedroom at 2 weeks old, so I barely remember what it was like to have a baby in the same room.  Anthony has been sleeping next to me for his entire existence – 7 weeks!  I have to admit that I am a bit excited to get home so that he can sleep in the nursery. I have a feeling that transition might be rough – but in the end, it will be good (for everyone, hopefully).

I miss having a little more room AND the comfort of home.  My glider is at home collecting dust – and I certainly wish I could have packed it.  Rocking in a glider with a baby is so much easier than sitting on the couch in the RV while driving (or feeding the baby in bed, with a small flashlight.  And what do you do when he won’t go back to sleep after his 3am feeding?  You attempt to “rock” him in the bed – and then you hold him until he goes to sleep.  THAT is why I am so tired today – because I was awake most of the wee hours feeding/rocking/holding Anthony.

Joe asked me yesterday:  “Despite the bad days and the hardships with the kids, are you enjoying the trip?”  The answer is: MOST DEFINITELY. I honestly can’t even imagine NOT going on this trip.  I mean, we have an awesome RV – we have a TON of time and we have a LOT of country (2 countries) to see!  We would have been crazy to stay home (that would have been the easy way out, right?)  I know there are still many of you who think we are completely NUTS – and that is ok.  You will still enjoy the movie/slideshow I put together – and maybe even start planning your very own Road Trip Adventure J

We have seen more country in the last 3+ weeks than I have seen in my whole life (of the US and Canada, that is.  I have seen LOTS of Europe). The snow-capped mountains are beautiful. I am loving the trees – there is nothing like camping in the forest.  I wish we had cool places like this closer to San Diego.  I like trees/forests a MILLION times better than the desert (most of you know how I feel about the desert).

Montana was awesome.  This my sound strange but you know what my favorite part of Montana was?  The wood fences that everyone had.  I would post a picture if I had one (I could probably find one), but you know the ones I am talking about?  The simple wood fences around the yards, used to keep large animals in or out.  They are amazing.  I find them symbolic of the “real country” – cowboy country J  I love it.

Well, 2 of the 3 boys are up (Anthony and Joe) so I better wrap it up. I am also almost out of battery on my computer and we don’t have hook-ups tonight. I will post more pictures as soon as we have a faster connection.

I have had an incredibly busy week. It’s been good – just really busy. Chores and errands mixed in with some time for “me”! I choose to spend my “me time” walking at Lake Murray with other Mama friends. Since NCL is in preschool 3 days a week – I figure there is NO excuse for me – I have to at least walk on those days, right?

My other “me time” is my shower (which I certainly plan on daily – but that doesn’t always happen). It really is amazing how awesome a shower feels in the first few weeks of having a newborn. It was the same treat after I had Nicholas.

And today, since I was incredibly productive (picked up a few things at Babies R Us after morning coffee and our 4+ mile walk, then did laundry and the dishes, changed the sheets on our bed, paid bills, and made dessert for small group), I decided I deserved to get a much needed pedicure. Especially since we are leaving soon. I didn’t want me feet to look bad for our trip

In other “me news” — for those that care — I am super excited to say that feedings are going a million times better with Anthony. No more tears – very little pain – yah! In record time — it took 9 weeks with NCL, so under 3 weeks with AJ is a huge improvement.

I have my postpardum apointment tomorrow (usually it’s 6 weeks after delivery, but we will be long gone). I think everything has healed well, since I am feeling good. Hard to believe I had a baby 3 weeks ago. It doesn’t feel like it!

I can’t blog about me without saying that I am exhausted. Of course I am, right?! I get up quite a few times a night — and sometimes I am up/awake for more than 2 hours at one time. Ouch. Those nights are painful (and that’s when I hand the baby to Joe and beg him to leave the room because I really have to get some sleep).

I think that’s about it for me. And, I think I did it – a blog post about me. I will leave you with the ONLY pictures I have “about me” (sorry, they aren’t actual pictures of me).

My Mother’s Day roses (from Breastfeeding support group & Church), my Mother’s day card from NCL and the little keychain he made in school. Treasures

I got to attend the lovely weekly event this morning – thanks to Anthony complying to a good night time routine and getting up just in time this morning.

A few pictures of the girls holding the new “Birchcreek” family member.