To the left, to the left...

So, on my last weekend in Portland, Mary and I decided to take a day trip to the coast. It was a great 2 hour drive to the quaint town of Astoria. You may recognize the name... it's known for such films as Kindergarten Cop and most famously The Goonies. While we were very excited about enjoying a day out of the city and at the sandy beaches... we were most giddy about seeing 'the Goonies house'. Being that both Mary and I are 'P's', we brought neither a map or a camera. Thankfully we are resourceful...we found the Visitor's Center, got our map to the cafe, the beach, and (cue excited grin) the location to the Goonies House. After a delightful lunch and a long stroll on the beach side boardwalk, we got in the car and headed to the house. Mind you it's been YEARS since either of us had seen the movie, but I really thought that once we saw the house we would recognize it. (For some reason the map didn't include a house number). As we parked the car in a very unassuming neighborhood and began to trek up the unpaved road we approached a row of homes. Apart from this sign.... we saw no other hints as to which one was the actual home. Can you believe it... it's like everyone just moved on with their lives since 1985?! Using our mighty process of elimination skills, we identified the famous home, snapped our photos and headed back to Portland in awe. We called our friends and family... "Melissa, you'll never guess where I am.... That's right- the actual home!" "Dad, can you believe it- yes, of course we took pictures!!" After a great day, we returned home with our prize photos... ...only to find that we took a picture in front of the wrong home! The Goonie's House was actually two houses down on the right. I noticed it on the way up the road, but was distracted by the two huge flags waving on the porch. That's so my life... something extraordinary is right there in front of me... and there I am, grinning, three feet to the left... in the wrong direction. "Mary... Layla... You Goonies!"