oregon coast

Totally Tubular

So many people I have talked to rave about surfing the Oregon Coast.  Not too crowded, nice waves, quaint little towns.  All I can think about is the cold.  Even dipping my toes in that icy water makes me dream about senior beach week in Ocean City, Maryland.  But I digress.

I appear to be the only one who has those issues though, as the go-to-spot, Short Sands, is littered with very hip looking crowds, swathed in neoprene.  And I was more than game when long time friend and writer Lucy Burningham told me she needed a picture taker for her very first adventure into the waves.

Oh, and did I mention the Wall Street Journal wanted to hear all about it?  We grabbed Christopher to shoot video and our merry band of journalists headed West.

As typical of the coast, we were blessed with perpetually changing weather, but after a lesson with Lexie Hallahan of Northwest Women’s Surf Camps we witnessed Ms. Burningham ride her very first wave.  Almost made me want to jump in.  I said almost.

If you are feeling like you may want to take a dip and a trip yourself, read the article.

Lucy and I first worked together for Imbibe Magazine in Croatia, where we found ourselves racing around the country chasing down truffle hunters and infused liquors.  If that doesn't make for permanent bonding, I don't know what does.  Check out another one of our adventures involving sauerkraut here.  And if you are someone who like to bike and drink beer (this perhaps maybe everyone I know), then be sure to grab Lucy's fab book, Hop in the Saddle.

2013_08_17_cmyk_VICE_04

Learning to Surf on the Oregon Coast, with the Wall Street Journal from NashCO Photo and Video on Vimeo.

On Assignment - Wall Street Journal - Crabbers struggle with late starting season

The day after Christmas in Newport, the docks sat full of idle boats, as crabbers from northern California to Washington waited for inspectors to give them the go-ahead to fill their holds with the meaty Dungeness crab, the jewel of Oregon's seafood industry. I joined Wall Street Journal reporter and old skool music junkie Joel Millman on a trip to the coast to report on the crab season. For the second straight year, the eight-month crabbing season is starting late, after inspectors determined that crabs along a stretch of Washington coastline needed more time to get to 'meat' size.  The gods of sunshine and of reporters that have to work on holidays took pity on us and we had some gorgeous weather and some very tasty seafood (I had clams, not crab).  See the slideshow online at the WSJ.com WSJ-CRABS-57 WSJ-CRABS-58 WSJ-CRABS-59 WSJ-CRABS-60 WSJ-CRABS-61 WSJ-CRABS-62 WSJ-CRABS-63 WSJ-CRABS-64 WSJ-CRABS-65 WSJ-CRABS-66

Astoria...all the cool kids are doing it.

I love Astoria...I really do.  This is REALLY where hipsters go to retire, or at least this is where they go to open up cool restaurants and breweries and coffee shops and vintage stores where you can furnish your très cool 1910 Craftsman Bungalow.  And did I mention it is where the film, The Goonies, was shot.  I mean, really.  The New York Times apparently also agrees, such a smart group of folks.  I would worry that this place is gonna get way overrun with tourists, but the often, uh...wet weather takes care of that, with sunny days making you wonder if you've done something good in a past life. Astoria140 Astoria032 Astoria095 Astoria081 Astoria105 Astoria128 Astoria133 Astoria151 Astoria056