Goonies Never Say Die!

So, I am a big fan of the 1980's and that includes the music and definitely the movies. In my car I constantly listen to the 80's channel on Sirius. For some reason I just love the 80's, so when I found out the Goonies movie was filmed 20 minutes from where we were staying in Oregon I was super pumped. I mean that movie was my all time favorite when I was a kid. I believe Pam informed me of the infamous movie location a while back and I knew that if I was to ever visit her in Oregon it was a must to see where the Goonies was filmed. When I received the wedding invitation in the mail my first thought was happiness for Pam and Garrett, but my second thought was the upcoming visit to the Goonies site. Yippee!

So, the Wednesday before our flight was scheduled to leave I got online to check out the locations of where my favorite childhood movie was filmed. I found that the beach with the rock formations was filmed at Cannon Beach, which is 20 minutes south from our hotel, and the rest of the movie was filmed in Astoria, which is about 20 minutes north from the hotel. Astoria is also the location of many films including Free Willy, Short Circuit and Kindergarten Cop. I noticed we could do tours of all the major film locations, but I was only interested in the Goonies, so the whole tour was not for me. I figured I could give myself a tour just by using my best friend Google. I sent directions to Cannon Beach to my roomie, Kim, and then proceeded to inform her of my big self-tour plans and invited her to join me. I figured it wouldn't be as much fun without her. I think she just felt sorry for me and gave in after I forwarded her about 10 emails of different sights to see on the Goonie film tour.

So, our first stop was Cannon Beach. This was absolutely beautiful, but quite chilly. I did get a shot of the beach for the video. After Kim and I walked around and took a bunch of photos it was time to head to our hotel to check-in. Once we stopped in at our tiny little cabin (or love nest) we got back in the rental car to head north to Astoria to finish the tour. I was such a geek as I was overly excited and Kim could tell so of course she made fun of me just a little bit, but I am sure I deserved it. Once we arrived in Astoria we stopped at the visitor's center to get specific directions to the house that Mouth lived in. This was the house that was shown at the beginning of the movie before they went on their journey of looking for the buried treasure. The guy at the visitor's center said we must be from out of town because we are so tan. I was wondering who he was talking to because we certainly are not tan, or at least Kim is not. I was thinking it could be either the so-called tan factor or the fact that we are in a visitor's center...mmmm...interesting concept! Anyway, he provided us with a handy dandy map to take us up the road to the house. People actually live in the house now so we had to park at the bottom of the short hill and walk up to take pictures. They welcome Goonies fans, but want people to respect their privacy too. The view from the hill the house was on was amazing. After the house we stopped at the jail they used at the beginning of the film where the brothers broke out of prison. This jail was used in a few movies and is now used as a film museum. There were many other places to check out like the football field that was used at the beginning of the film and the arcade where Chunk watched the police chase from the window, but I didn't want to put Kim through that torture. I figured if I saw the beach, the house and the jail then I was pretty happy. We could have actually done the whole beginning of the movie where they film the police chase through town. I only know that because I found all the directions online, but I am not that big of a nerd! Right?

Here is the film I put together with my handy-dandy Flip. First you will see Cannon Beach with the amazing rock formations, then I take you to the house and show the sign that is displayed at the bottom of the hill and then we go to the jail. I also inserted the song from Cyndi Lauper, Good Enough, that was played at the beginning of the movie too! So, if you can't tell I had a fantastic time in Oregon giving myself, and Kim, a self-guided tour of the Goonies film making.

Dear Pam

Dear Pam,

Thank you for inviting me to your wedding reception in Oregon. Everything was so beautiful, from the bride, decorations and definitely the location. You and your family did such a great job at putting together all the details of such a fabulous reception. I loved the "farm theme" and all the details that you put into it. My favorite detail was the tractor with ice that filled the tractor's bucket and held the water and soda. The wheel barrel in a different location with ice and beverages was also neat. The bails of hay for the sitting area was also a nice touch. I loved the guest book and it was something I had never seen before...and I have been to a lot of weddings. You provided five wine bottles for the guests to sign for you to open for the next five anniversaries was super cute. I don't know if I was supposed to sign them all, but I did. Hey, I want you and Garrett to think of me on every anniversary for the next five years and not just one of them, so I signed them all.

The food was also to die for. I am not sure where to begin...the amazing salmon dip, the awesome salsa bar, chicken wings, the very tasty meatballs, and who could forget the cupcake tower. I must tell you that I had my first steamed oysters at your wedding reception. YUMMY, is all I have to say. Thanks for providing me with a first and a very yummy first might I add. Who would think of having someone steam and prepare oysters right on site? Only Pamela!

Besides the wedding reception I must give you props for a fabulous evening prior to the reception. Thanks for organizing such an entertaining evening. I never would have thought about a candy night at Bruce's Candy store. Besides the lesson on taffy making you provided your guests with thirty minutes of a free-for-all in the store. I thought the candy guy was joking when he handed everyone a bag and said we would keep whatever we could stuff in the bag, plus we could eat whatever we wanted in the store for the next thirty minutes. As tired as my butt was I dived into the dark chocolate behind the counter and stuffed my face. I also thought of Andy as I stuffed my bag of candy that he likes a lot...and he was appreciative of it when I got home.

Don't forget that I brought my Flip with me and I would like to share what I captured at your reception. Not much, and not perfect, but here you go!

Thanks again for a fabulous weekend in Gearheart, Oregon!

Love you guys!

Tree Hugger State

So, I had an amazing 48 hours in Oregon for my friend’s wedding reception. This is the trip that I discussed earlier about conquering the impossible task of traveling with a carry-on bag only. I am proud to announce that I did it. I did something I didn’t think was possible. When I got home on Thursday evening to pack and saw the small bag I started to doubt myself. I mean, how was I supposed to get everything in that tiny black bag? I was a little scared, but I thought it out. I packed clothes that could roll up small and that was jersey material so it could roll up small without worrying about too many wrinkles. Some people think I am being ridiculous by making such a big deal over traveling with a carry-on bag for my first time, but I am a worry wart and get anxiety over activities that I am unfamiliar with, so you can imagine what this did to me.

I met Kim at the airport and it was early so of course I didn’t even look at the monitor to see what gate I was in, but instead just got in the longest security line ever for Gate A. After a couple minutes and thinking how I will be cutting it close if I ever get through this line I realized that I didn’t look at the screen so I have no idea what gate I am in and I could even be in the complete wrong line. I get out of the security line and check the screen to find out I needed to be in the line for Gate C. Thankfully, I figured that out early enough. Once I got to the line for Gate C it was super short and this made me very happy. That is what happens when you get up at 5am for an early flight. I got through security fine with no issues with how I packed my carry-on bag and no issues with my quart sized plastic bag. Kim, on the other hand, had issues with her carry-on bag, nothing that was a big deal though. It was so nice to arrive in Portland and go straight to the car rental place instead of waiting a half an hour for our bags. I am now a big fan of this carry-on bag thing that I will always do it for short trips…long trips not so much.

Once we got our rental car we learned that in the state of Oregon you cannot pump your own gas because it’s illegal and you could get a ticket. This is strange to us, but it’s because Oregon is very environmentally conscious and they do not want one drop of gas to be spilled on the cement so they have a professional pump your gas. Mmmm…I found this very interesting and it’s so true! If you try to pump your own gas the attendant will come out with flailing arms yelling at you. So far Oregon is holding up their stereotype of being a state of tree huggers. In the airport bathrooms they have water saver toilets. How do these work you ask? Well, if you go #1 you will pull the handle up and if you go #2 you push the toilet handle down. This will save on water since the toilet knows how much waste you are flushing. Ok, this is interesting, but I must say it is a good idea. My last example of the tree hugger state is when I asked the waitress for a straw for my water (because I don’t like to drink without a straw) she told me they don’t automatically hand them out unless patrons ask because of the environment. Ok, Oregon definitely lived up to the stereotypes of their state. I don’t care though because it is a beautiful place to visit and I have so much more to blog about. Stay tuned this week for posts on the Goonies tour and the Parks wedding reception. Plus many photos!

Sweet Izzy

Andy and I spent the weekend with his mom as she was in town. Laura arrived on Thursday and left this sweltering heat today. While she was here we went out to dinner, had drinks and saw the movie "The Other Guys" with Will Ferrell. I was not impressed with the movie. I would put it under the rental category. It's worth adding to your Netflix Queue, but not worth theatre viewing. I know Laura also got some shopping in while she was here. We also got the chance to discuss wedding details like my dress, bridesmaid dresses, flowers, etc. and that was a lot of fun. We also spent Sunday in the 110 degree heat out by the pool and I have captured some activity which I have shared below.

For my birthday this year Andy got me a Flip Video so I can record stuff for my blog. I finally got to use it this weekend and tonight I learned how cool this little gadget really is. I was able to shoot multiple shots, create a movie, and add music and a title to the movie. It fades between the two different clips I put together...how neat is that? It's so neat that I am sure you will be seeing a lot of video on this blog going forward.

I have blogged before about Izzy going crazy with the sprinklers in the backyard and I even added photos in the previous blog. The photos did not do her justice, so I created a movie of her going nuts. She's running around from sprinkler to sprinkler and jumping in the air between sprinklers trying to catch the water. Actually, Izzy isn't going nuts like she normally does; she might have been tired that day, but it's still funny! Here is my sweet Izzy. Enjoy!

Conquering The Unthinkable

Yes, that is right. I am going to accomplish something I never thought was possible and I am going to do it next week. This big unthinkable act is traveling with a carry-on bag instead of checking a bag. I never even thought this was possible for me so I don't even own a carry-on bag. I need to borrow Andy's carry-on bag, which technically will be 50% mine in approximately nine months. So, I guess you can say I almost own a carry-on bag. Anyway, I am heading up to Oregon for my girlfriend's wedding reception next weekend. The kicker is that I will only be there for 48 hours, so I am thinking I can do the unthinkable...get my clothes, shoes and bathroom necessities all in one small black carry-on bag. Mmmm...sounds tough, but it will be me against the bag! I think I will win the war...ok, I hope I don't give in and bust out my nice large bag that holds all the shoes (and extra hand bags) in the world.

So, to get ready for the big accomplishment I went to Target yesterday to buy all the mini-bathroom products to get through security. I also bought the small containers (less than 3 oz.) to put my shampoo and conditioner in. I am not sure what to do about perfume. I guess I could go without and that way I would feel like one of the tree hugger locals. Sorry Pam for the tree hugger reference. I also thought that I could completely skip the small bathroom necessities and nix the shower all together for the weekend so I can be one with the locals....but seriously, that is NOT an option for me. Just packing super light for me is a HUGE step so let's not go over board by taking away my perfume and shower. Plus, my roomie, Kim, might want me to shower while I am there.

I am pretty excited about this NEW JAIMI. Well, I will give everyone an update on my war against the small suitcase and let's hope that I don't cave and bust out the large suitcase. I must say though that if I accomplish that I would like to be downgraded from medium-high maintenance to just medium maintenance.

Shoes & Save The Dates

Well, today I got two things accomplished…new shoes and mailing our Save the Date letters.

It was a must that I find dressy black wedge shoes today for a reception I am attending in Oregon in two weekends. My girlfriend is getting married and her reception is held outside under a tent. This equals grass which cancels out heels. Well, I am not into wearing flats, so I had to start a hunt for wedges. Not really a huge fan of wedges, but I was determined to find a super cute pair that I would just love and that would go with my dress that I am planning to wear. I had to find the shoes this weekend since next weekend we are busy and then I am off to Oregon. Andy and I started out in Macy’s and I found a super cute pair of Coach shoes, but I was not willing to pay $170 for them. Hey, even a medium-high maintenance girl has her limits! We ended up at DSW where I came across the perfect pair. Now I am all set for the reception in Oregon. My only worry now is the weather. I might freeze while I am there especially at the outdoor reception, but that is where my cashmere wrap comes in handy.

The other thing I got accomplished today was dropping our Save the Date letters in the mail. Last night we went to the D-backs game with some friends and didn’t get home until sometime after 10pm, but that’s ok because I let Andy know that we were going to get our envelopes stuffed with the letters and magnets, labeled and sealed before we go to bed. After some whining Andy was on board and we were moving full speed ahead. We got it done in less than an hour. Now that is what I call team work. We went to the post office this morning to get stamps and we started to wait in line because I just wanted to make sure they didn’t need extra postage due to the magnet. After being in the dirty post office for two minutes I decided there was no way it could call for more postage so we purchased stamps from the automated machine and started sticking them on and we were out of there in a hurry. Granted they are not the love stamps like I originally wanted, but I didn’t think love stamps were worth waiting an hour in line in such a dingy building with a bunch of scary creepers. So, one wedding task down, only a few more to go…right?