Everyone remembers the movie The Goonies, right?  As a child of the 80′s, the film is a firm fixture in my pop culture memories. The off-road race along the beach in the opening sequence… the jagged rocks that Mikey aligned the medallion up to… the creepy restaurant with Sloth in the basement… 

A lot of the beach and ocean footage for the movie was shot in Cannon Beach in Oregon, a mere jaunt down the coast from The Goonie’s home town of Astoria. Being such a fan of the movie, this was a natural destination for my husband and I to visit, during our vacation in Oregon a couple of years ago.

Haystack Rock is the immediate and dramatic fixture of the area that draws visitors and residents to the beach year after year. Upon reaching the beach (at the base of some very steep dunes), my husband and I couldn’t help but walk toward it, and get as close to it as we could. It was inhabited by terns, puffins, and seagulls vying for territory on its crest. To stand directly across from Haystack Rock is to be nearly deafened by the cries of the birds.

Of course, in my humble opinion, no ocean view is complete without a lighthouse. This is the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, as seen from Cannon Beach:

From the top of the aforementioned dunes (and rather close to those FORTUNATE people who own homes right on the beach), the entire beach can be seen:

Cannon Beach is located on the northern coast of Oregon, and can be accessed via Highway 84 if coming from the East, or Coastal Route 101 if coming from the North or South. Or, well, by boat if coming from the West. The town of Cannon Beach offers excellent shopping and dining, welcome refreshment after an afternoon spent in the sun, wind, and sand of the beach. Seasonal events, such as the annual Sandcastle Contest, offer another draw to the area and a new, fun idea to liven up your weekend.