Northwest Tour: Day 3

Here we are on Pier 11. Look closely. Can you see me in the picture?

I had coffee with my sister Bekah while the rest of the Horses had a leisurely Sunday morning. We left Grays Harbor around 11 and headed toward the coast. The drive was beautiful, and we arrived in Astoria, Ore., around 2 p.m. I wanted to take the Horses to Pier 11, a restaurant my family had frequented for its superb clam chowder. The restaurant had stopped serving lunch, so we picked the Silver Salmon Grille instead, which was located downtown (or in this case "uptown" from the piers). There I indulged in the best fish and chips I have ever had (the group can vouch for me on this one). Good seafood is scarce in Colorado, so I always take advantage of it when I'm visiting the Northwest.


The delectable Silver Salmon Grille.

Our server, Heidi, told us how to get to the house where "The Goonies" was filmed. We had several very excited people at this point. After lunch we headed out of town, turned right at Geno's Pizza and drove up the hill. Elisa was particularly excited about seeing the Goonies house and was even willing to brave "No Tresspassing" signs to do so. This meant that our actual inspection of the house was short-lived, but I managed to snap this picture from the top.


We were afraid the owner might emerge with a shotgun, so this was the only picture I got. Goonies never say die!

Then we drove the 45 minutes to Clatskanie, Ore., where my brother and his family live. The Horses went to "Humps," the one sit-down restaurant in town, while I visited with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew. Ben has hair and is very athletic. He's only 18-months old, but he can already kick a soccer ball and execute a pretty mean batting stance and swing with a wooden spoon.

Our show was in the Clatskanie High School auditorium. Matt did a great job of having everything ready to go. There was a great turn-out at around 100. Most of them from Matt's little church. This was our best audience. They shouted out great suggestions, laughed heartily and gave us a generous love offering. So what if Hunter referred to their town as "Clat-skan-stine"? They loved us anyway.

One of our more memorable audience members of all-time came to this show. After the performance, Cheree, a short, red-haired woman in her 60s, approached me and pulled out a small notepad. "I need your autograph," she said. She proceeeded to get all of our autographs and then insist that we pose for a photo with her (two, actually, in case someone blinked). She had seen our poster in Safeway, where my brother had posted it, so she had no connection to the church.

I introduced her to my brother, telling her he was a pastor at the church, and she said: "Oh, well I need your autograph, too!" We found out she had a lot of cats, which didn't surprise us at all. After getting hugs from each of us, Cheree left with a euphoric smile on her face. "I think God loved her through us tonight," Elisa said.

I had the privilege of staying at my brother's house, which gave me a little more time with Ben. Jared and Hunter stayed with Bing and Debbie, who made them Trader Joe's muffins and gave them coffee to go the following morning. Elisa and Dianne stayed with a family that lived in a "gated community" (it was actually a cattle gate). The family had two teenage sons, who had us all sign the door to their rec room. We felt loved in Clatskanie, and it was probably our favorite show—if for nothing else, Cheree.