One of the signs near the Goonie house.

When Catherine Fuller’s grandmother received a letter from Steven Spielberg requesting to use her two family homes at the top of the hill on 38th Street, she thought it was a prank. It wasn’t until a check came in the fall of 1984 that she believed and then agreed.

Thirty years later, “The Goonies” cult following doesn’t seem to be diminishing and the owners are profoundly aware. An estimated 800 visitors per weekend during the summer months trek up the gravel hill to see the iconic homes.

Most snap a quick couple of photos and walk back down, but others have left more lasting impressions on the current residents.

“Mikey said the ‘Truffle Shuffle’ never gets old,” said Fuller, who lives in character Data’s home. “He was wrong.”

People with raised shirts wiggling fat in front of the homes is only one of the daily nuisances that comes with owning one of these homes.

The homes are both privately owned: neither is a museum or operated by the city. Maintenance is up to the owners.

Owner of Mikey’s house Sandi Preston said she had her cellphone stolen out of her car, her dogs kicked and people frequently confusing the property with an outdoor toilet.

“It’s a small percentage of people, but they’re the ones who make it difficult,” she said.

Winter slows the crowds, but Preston said there is usually at least one person on even the worst days.

As annoying as the people peering into the windows of both homes may be, they present a hazard when residents want to leave or come home. The driveway leading up to the homes at the top of 38th Street is steep and unpaved. There is a blind corner halfway up where pedestrians run a risk of being hit if unseen.

Preston, Fuller and the immediate neighbors must drive up the hill at a certain speed to avoid being stuck and creating divots in the driveway, which creates more work when new gravel needs to be placed. But, if a Goonie fan is in the middle of the road, hitting them seems out of the question.

Before Preston placed a sign at the bottom of the hill, visitors would drive vehicles to the top and find little room to turn around. Her signs have been stolen many times before, but the most recent one, painted by a fan in Colorado, was placed in concrete to deter thieves.

The signs are not fool-proof, however. Fuller said a neighbor told her just the other day a bus was in the driveway.

With so many visitors, parking has become a neighborhood problem. The street leading to the house is narrow, and parking is only permitted on one side. The “Goonies never say die” attitude makes the rules seem arbitrary, though.

Some residents are angry and others are proactive. The angrier residents post signs in driveways warning visitors away.

City Councilor Russ Warr has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years and has heard many complain of visitors blocking private drives and letting dogs out on yards without cleaning up after them. One neighbor’s car was hit by another vehicle.

Warr said his attitude about the intruders takes a more inquisitive tone.

“I want to talk to them, ask them where they are from, what they’re doing here and why the hell they’re coming to a house from a movie filmed 29 years ago,” he said. “Their answers are fascinating.”

Neighbor Heather Davis lives a few blocks away and is affected by lost Goonie fans. Grand Avenue splits at a slide in line with 37th Street. There is a small deer trail that connects the two, sort of.

The trail takes pedestrians from Grand Avenue onto Davis’ driveway, where she usually goes to greet the trespassers with a “Can I help you?”

“Most are very nice,” she said. “They usually just say ‘We’re looking for the Goonie house,’ and I tell them where it is.”

Davis moved in with her husband Jason a little more than a month ago. One weekend gardening, Davis had five people wander onto the trail.

Part of the issue is some GPS devices do not recognize the split in the road. Once drivers reach the dead end, they park and continue on foot. Davis has worked to submit corrections to as many programs as she can. She took the task as part of an eight-person neighborhood committee.

The situation leaves open an awkward delegation of responsibility. The Goonie homes are privately owned, but the driveway is a public street. Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen recognized an official “Goonie Day” and the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce advertises the house as a sightseeing stop. The parking is a city issue, but it’s difficult to tackle all at once.

Neighbors organized meetings and decided to get the city involved in the parking issue. Astoria Police Department Deputy Chief Brad Johnston, City Engineer Jeff Harrington and Chamber of Commerce Marketing Manager Regina Willkie joined the meetings and spearheaded signage for the streets.

Since signs have gone up, everyone has seen an improvement, except maybe those people farther down Duane Street where parking has migrated.

The neighbors decided to have a committee of eight brainstorm ideas from the larger group to present to the city officials, who will bring back possibilities to the neighborhood meeting tonight.

“What the Chamber of Commerce has done for signage and what the city has done has relieved pressure on the citizens,” Public Works Director Ken Cook said.

“We’ll bring (paving the driveway) to the council in the fall, and if approved, it would happen in the spring.”

As far as parking goes, summer crowds will be directed to the John Jacob Astor Elementary School playground, which fits about 30 cars, he said. When school is in session, the street will have to do.