Howards in Astoria

My family made the trek all the way out here to the west coast so we could explore Astoria together.  We hit the usual hotspots and found some surprises along the way.

First stop, the Goonies jail.  How could we resist?
You probably have no idea how many times I wish I had a cell like this in my own house for this very purpose. 

 Chunk is the best character in the movie by a long shot.  Brandon and I got to see the actor when he came to Weber State for convocations.  He pointed out that he set cinematic history by being the first fat kid to wear a Hawaiian shirt and plaid pants simultaneously.  In order to prepare for our trip we re-watched it with the girls and Daisy was completely terrified.  She couldn't care less about the skeletons but Sloth got her.  Once again I am reminded of the fact that I have no business being allowed to raise children.  I hope she won't be scarred for life. 
And on the topic of being traumatized, I think that this Chunk in the photo is one of the scariest things I have seen in my life.
While the rest of us explored the Flavel House across the street and marveled at the opulence Brandon worked on making a movie on the mini sets on the other side of the jail. 

 It was the weirdest thing, the back of this car had bullet holes the size of matzo balls.

 We enjoyed our downtime at Fort Stevens State Park which just happens to be the largest campground in Oregon, and apparently the most popular because even though we made the reservations months ago we couldn't get campsites that were next to each other.  Due to some confusion we had to switch campsites by carrying our tents across loop K, much to the interest of our fellow campers. 

 Rocky got people started on scary stories and then she told one of them herself.  By the end of the night we had to outlaw the phrase Jake the Alligator Man so that nobody would have nightmares.

 Even though we just barely saw them all the kids were super excited to see their Oma and Opa. 

We stumbled upon a pinball bar/shooting gallery that turned out to be a hit.

 Rosy was pretty annoyed that she was wearing this babyish strawberry jacket the whole time but it was the only warm thing that I brought for her.  Every time we go to the coast I think to myself that I should make sure and be prepared for cool and wet weather.  I even called my mom to make sure that everyone knew it would be cold.  Then I went ahead and packed nothing for any of my children.  Once again, stellar parenting.

 The view from the Astoria Column makes it worth the terrifying ascent up the stairs.
And this moment with the planes was my favorite.  I never would have guessed that those little balsa wood gliders could be so much fun.

 And here it is, another truffle shuffle at the corner of the Goondocks.  Too bad that Brandon is so svelte these days and doesn't compare to the original.

 Hiding out at Fort Stevens.

 There was also a lot of this...

 and this

 which paid off because we saw whales, sea lions, and a bunch of birds which included puffins.
We also saw this rare breed of adorable little girls.

My camera ran out of batteries at this point so you will have to imagine Haystack Rock and the tide pools.
Thanks family for coming.  It was truly a blast.