Welcome to our Book of Adventures

The first time I watched The Goonies, I was hooked and preceded to watch it easily 1,000 more times. In fact, we watched it with the kids a few weekends ago! Nate and I love sharing our favorite movies from when we were kids, brings back a lot of great memories. I know the lines, I know the scenes, and I love that it is all about pirates, treasure hunting, and friendship.

Fast forward to planning our wedding and mini-moon right after. I immediately thought of Cannon Beach, Oregon. I had gone there for the first time with my parents in 2017 and was hooked on the scenery, the beautiful ocean and beach, and the food. I also knew that Goonies had been filmed there… Astoria wasn’t too far away, either, which is where they all lived in the movie. The rocks sticking out of the water like mini mountains are famous… that’s where one-eyed Willy hid his pirate ship. There was one particular place in Cannon Beach that I didn’t get to see and it was Ecola State Park. I sold Nate on the idea of getting away for a wonderful long weekend in Willamette Valley (the wine!!) and spending a day in Cannon Beach 🙂 First on my list? A hike at Ecola State Park.

Ecola State Park

What a BEAUTIFUL state park. The entrance to Ecola State Park is just a few minutes outside of the Cannon Beach main street where all the restaurants and shops are. It’s a perfect spot to take in the majestic ocean views of the West coast. We did some hiking there, but would love to go back and do more and experience the Oregon Coast Trail, which is about 8 miles. This park is also ideal for a picnic…also on my list 🙂 To learn more about the trails, click here.

You’ll see the views below, which are quite famous. Haystock Rock is well-known as Cannon Beach’s most famous ‘sea stack’ and is also featured in the movie The Goonies. It is usually covered in birds, which is quite something to see. When the tide is low, you can walk right up to it…. something I have yet to do!!!

The Goonies

Are you a Goonies fan??? Me, too!! As soon as we got to Ecola State Park, we had to see the spot where the Fratelli’s hideout was located. THIS was cool 🙂 If I’ve seen Goonies once, I’ve seen it a million times. It had all the things…pirates, treasure, friendship, bad guys, good guys, adventure, riddles, booby traps, car chases, and a great ending! Below you’ll see some of our pictures… the restaurant that the Fratelli’s took over was a set. They built it and then took it down. It would have been AMAZING if they had left it standing…

I’m standing where the boys discovered the Fratelli’s hideout…pretty cool. If you are a passionate Goonies fan and are interested in all the many filming locations (we never made it to Astoria…but next time!!) you can read all about them here

The view of Cannon Beach from Ecola State park shows where the famous Fratelli police chase on the beach occurred. This whole area is worth seeing and spending an hour or two …. or all day if you do the hiking!!! Then head down to Cannon Beach and eat a fabulous seafood dinner at one of the many restaurants. We had a wonderful, memorable day here…we love adventuring through state parks, this is one of my favorites. The beauty of this place has to be experienced in person. And once you’re there, you’ll see what I mean. 

Cannon Beach

From the shops, to the restaurants, to the beautiful view and state park….Cannon Beach is adorable and the quintessential seaside town. Side note: for the treasure hunter in you, there is a treasure STORE!! It’s called All Buried Treasures and it’s the coolest shop I’ve ever been in. I love it here and will never forget the first time I walked down the main street. That first visit was in June and it just so happened that there was a big sandcastle competition on the beach! Now that was something to see…

Oregon is one of my most favorite states to travel to. I love the forests, the ocean, the ice cream (Tillamook!!), the wine, the food, the waterfalls, the people, the outdoorsy-ness of it all. If I could convince Nate to go there every year, we would. If you’ve never been, I hope this blog gives you the inspiration needed to adventure here and spend some time at one of my favorite state parks and beach.

Set up a flight alert, snag that reasonably priced flight to the west coast, and escape and breathe the air of new places!

#GoAdventure

Heather and Nate