My first post-retirement trip was a short 2-day hop to one of my favorite places, and it didn’t disappoint. Sitting at the mouth of the Columbia River, Astoria is loaded with rich history, gorgeous examples of Queen Anne and Colonial architecture, great food and drink, and nice folks. AND it’s the locale where the ’80s film The Goonies was based, so the film and its history are a celebrated part of the city’s culture. We started staying there overnight more than a decade ago on our way either to or from our annual Oregon coast visit, and it’s since become part of our summer ritual. If you haven’t visited, I highly recommend stopping by on your travels.

This trip was ostensibly a “retirement party” for me, and we went with friends who had never been before, so it was fun to revisit local attactions as if we were seeing them for the first time. The bar and restaurant scene are quite lively; a couple of my favorite watering holes include Blaylock’s Whisky Bar and Dead Man’s Isle. The latter is a tiki bar with great food and drink, but for me the icing on the cake is their tiny Japanese-style izakaya called Yakimon upstairs. Featuring Japanese whisky and snacks and an impressive collection of sofubi (soft vinyl) characters from Japanese shows, Yakimon for me is worth the trip alone – those that know me can probably understand why. To top things off, when we wrapped it up for the evening, we were able to watch The Goonies on demand back at the hotel. Victory!