Coos Bay, North Bend, Charleston Oregon - Oregon's Adventure Coast

Crabbing Tips from Fishing Oregon's Adventure Coast

2009-12-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

Fishing Oregon's Adventure Coast is a fantastic resource for locals and tourists to get tips and valuable information about fishing, clamming, crabbing and boating in and around Coos Bay. Since this is still a great time to go Crabbing- we wanted to share their tips:

Fall is typically the best time to crab. Beginning in September, crabs tend to be more "filled out", meaning there is a higher percentage of meat. This is determined by the condition of the shell. Hard-shelled crabs contain 20 to 30 percent meat by weight, compared to soft-shelled crabs which can be as low as 12 percent.

At times after heavy rainfall crab tend to be less abundant in the bays.

Slack water (the time around high or low tide) are the best times to crab. During slack water, crabs are generally walking around and foraging since they are not getting pushed around by tidal exchange.

Businesses in Coos Bay, North Bend and Charleston Oregon rent crab pots and crab rings. Please see the boating and supplies page on this website for contact information.

Preparing for crabbing: Make sure you have your shellfish license (people 14 and older require a shellfish license for crabbing), crab measuring tool, pots or rings, cooler, gloves, bait holders and bait supply. Check all lines on pots or rings for knots or kinks to ensure they are durable and will allow gear to work correctly. Make sure your pots are properly marked.

Baiting your gear - Many different types of bait are used for crabbing: turkey, chicken, minx, fish carcass, shad, herring, clams, etc. Fresh bait is best. Keep in mind that seals and sea lions will eat attractive bait that they can access. You can avoid this problem by using a bait bag or avoiding areas where they are prevalent.

Setting your gear and soak time - Tie the end of your crab line to the dock or pier where you are crabbing. Throw your pot or ring into the water. Allow between one and two hours before retrieving your gear if you are crabbing with crab pots and 15 to 30 minutes if you are crabbing with rings.

Sorting crabs - Quickly sort through the crab, being careful not to break crab legs off or get your fingers pinched. An experienced crab handler will sort crabs by keeping them at ease. They want to get out, but they don't want to be forcefully grabbed. A quick shake of the pot is often more effective than reaching directly for them. Be sure to carefully and quickly release the crab, do not throw them from heights as this will often crack their carapace and kill them. It is illegal to retain only the claws on all species.

(Male on left, Female on right)

Making sure your crabs are legal - With a crab gauge, measure all male Dungeness crab retained. Retain no more than 12 male Dungeness crab per shellfish license that are 5 3/4" across (NOT including points) or wider. Female crabs are illegal and must be released immediately.

Keeping your crab quality - Store legal-sized (keeper) crabs in a cooler with ice or ice packs or in a bucket or cooler with water. If you keep your crabs in a bucket or cooler with water, make sure to change the water frequently to keep the water cool and oxygenated. And make sure the water is seawater - freshwater will kill crabs. (This information came from the ODFW shellfish section).

Oregon Coast Local Holiday Secrets

2009-12-17T09:46:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, I shared our recommendation for the Shore Acres Holiday Lights display- a true "Must See" for locals and tourists throughout the Holiday Season (the display will be open to the public through December 31. Here are some more local travel secrets to make your Oregon holiday adventure unforgettable:

Local Secret #1: On the way back from seeing the lights, a must stop is the Charleston Rural Fire Department on Cape Arago Highway where you’ll find a miniature Christmas Village: over 200 miniatures and trains representing Coos County, and of course cookies are available. This event is also free and has incredible detail to ooh and ahh over. Open every night thru Christmas Eve, 6pm-10pm.
Contact info: Rusty Shields 541.888.3268

Local Secret #2: Go Dock Crabbing! This time of year is the best time of year for dock crabbing, and the best part, kids can crab free! Visit www.fishingcoosbay.com for maps, tips and other details on Crabbing in Coos Bay!

Local Secret #3: Explore South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve which is the first estuarine reserve in the nation. Every month they host a class called Tide of the Toddlers where they teach little ones how to explore and appreciate nature. Every December they also feature a natural ornaments class for the kids. They will also be hosting the Gray Whale Obstacle Course on Saturday 12/19 from 10:30 to 11:30 am or 2 to 3 pm. Event is free, visit their site for details.

Local Secret #4: ATV’ing, dunebuggy’ing, or sand boarding on the Oregon Dunes is a must. For kids too small to ride their own vehicle, you can rent 2, 4, or 13 seater vehicles. Rain or shine, our dunes are active year round as there is nothing like it. The sand boarding is friendly to all ages but it best enjoyed in sunny weather as the boards travel better.

The Holiday events continue....You can cap the whole holiday season off with the annual Whale Watching week at Shore Acres Dec 26-Jan1st. A complete list of our events is available at www.oregonsadventurecoast.com

Who Has the Best Brunch in Coos Bay & North Bend?

2009-12-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

A travel writer contacted me recently to get some information on restaurants that served the Best Brunches in the Coos Bay/North Bend and surrounding area. It was an interesting enough question that I decided to post it on our Facebook Page and asked our followers in Twitter- and it fueled an interesting discussion!

Most of them agreed "The Mill" aka The Pancake Mill offers the best breakfast/brunch in town. Locals love their wide variety of breakfast, lunch, low calorie and meatless menu items. Home style soups, sandwiches, and pie specialties.

But what many of us REALLY love is the fragrant smell of delicious brewed coffees, pies, cakes and muffins when you walk in the door. When you go- you really must try a dish from their "eggg-tensive" Egg Menu or check out the Eggs a la Mill (Benedict Style)- one of their specialties. Great local spot, good food, and friendly service- you can't go wrong!

Pancake Mill
2390 Tremont Avenue (Hwy 101), North Bend
Cuisine: breakfast • Map & Directions
541-756-2751

Other spots our Facebook followers recommend:

Mom's Kitchen
1603 Sherman Avenue, North Bend
541-756-2710
From one of our Followers- "Mom's really takes you back in time and the food is great."

Dishners
2603 Broadway St, North Bend
Cuisine: american, breakfast • Map & Directions
541-756-2881

I recommend their Farmers Omelet! Yum!

Got any more recommendations? Let us know! For more Coos Bay/North Bend dining options- see our dining page!

Shore Acres Holiday Lights Display Are Back and Better than Ever

2009-12-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

Now in it's 23rd season, the Holiday Lights at Shore Acres State Park are back and more stunning than ever. What began as a 6000 mini light holiday display by the Friends of Shore Acres; this magnifcent collection of holiday decorations has grown to over 250,000 sparkling L.E.D. lights that feature sea and land animal lighted sculptures, Christmas trees and more.

Just this week- the event was featured on Examiner.com in the travel article:
Shore Acres State Park holiday light display overlooks the ocean in Oregon

Those who have come to the Shore Acres Holiday Lights in the past say it helps them capture the magic and spirit of the holidays. This event is perfect for friends and families to explore- and has cocoa, cider and cookies in the festive Garden House.

The holiday display is open each evening from 4pm-10 pm Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve and is made possible by hundreds of community volunteers and The Friends of Shore Acres in cooperation with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Shore Acres State Park is located off Cape Arago Highway. Call Shore Acres for more information 541-888-3732

See the 2008 video from ABC's Good Morning America show.

Here are some other local must sees.

On the way back from seeing the lights, a must stop is the Charleston Rural Fire Department where you’ll find a miniature Christmas Village: over 200 miniatures and trains representing Coos County, and of course cookies are available. This event is also free and has incredible detail to ooh and ahh over.

Look at the Christmas Village images

Contact info: Rusty Shields 541.888.3268

This time of year is the best time of year for dock crabbing, and the best part, kids can crab free, here’s a photo of my 5 year old niece that was taken last week: http://twitpic.com/qlva3

Explore South Slough Estuary, which is the first estuarine reserve in the nation. Every month they host a class called Tide of the Toddlers where they teach little ones how to explore and appreciate nature. Every December they also feature a natural ornaments class for the kids.

The Holiday events continue with Tree Lighting ceremonies, free christmas concerts, and theatre performances. A complete list of our Oregon Coast events is available at our website.

You can cap the whole holiday season off with the annual Whale Watching week at Shore Acres Dec 26-Jan1st.

Booby Watchers Flock to Coos Bay

2009-11-06T01:33:00.000-08:00

Best. Headline. EVER. That was posted on the naturaloregon .org website and on twitter. If that can't bring a girl back to her blog, then nothing can. Now lets just confess right now, its funny; we all try to be grown ups and pretend we can handle headlines like that, but come on. In my press releases and notices to people I try to be serious, but in the office and among friends, the jokes were flying.

The Booby actually refers to the Brown Booby, a rare bird sighting that occurred on October 29 in Coos Bay; apparently what makes this even more exciting was that the bird doesn't belong here, its a tropical bird that you'd have to visit the likes of the Galapagos Islands to see.

Now mind you, I personally am not a birdwatcher, not even a little bit. One of the dumbest moments I had was when I sent a photo of a bird to Russ from the Audubon society to try and find out what kind of bird it was, he responded back, you're joking right? Turns out it was a crow.

But back to the Booby - even a bird-idiot like me can appreciate that over 200 birdwatchers came running this past weekend to try and get a view of this lost little gal. And a press junkie like me loves seeing the numerous stories about Coos Bay. Thanks to some great email alerts from Russ Namitz we were able to post the very first photo taken of a living Brown Booby in Oregon far ahead of any of the traditional media outlets.

And in case you were wondering what my favorite behind the scenes joke was: I forwarded an email from Russ about the Booby alert; a friend responded back: "Are you sure they weren't referring to you in the Booby sighting email? I could see how you could get confused."

Small town profits from Murder of favorite son!

2009-05-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

After last year's notorious murder and kidnapping of Charleston's favorite son, Charlie; this small quaint fishing village along the Southern Oregon Coast struggled to recover from the shocking crime. What started as a simple prank, led to Charlie being hacked up by a chainsaw after the two youths who took him got scared by the national media attention that was caused.

Now, a year later, the town of Charleston, Oregon has seemed to move on, and in a shocking turn of events, have decided to PROFIT from Charlie's murder. Locals and visitors alike are aghast at this morbid turn of events. For the mere cost of $2, pieces of Charlie have been hacked up even further and canned and are available at Charleytown Market. To make matters worse, the pieces of Charlie are actually SELLING.

According to Charlie Senior, the family has been devastated. "The least they could do is give some of the money to the family, for gods sakes I could use a new hat, or a new pair of glasses; but do you think we got anything? NOTHING I tell you. Nothing. There should be laws against this."

We must warn you, the photos we are about to show are gruesome, please brace yourself before looking below ...

The Great Coos to Coos Fish to Desk Competition

2009-04-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Remember that episode of the Brady Bunch where Peter meets his look alike and they proceeded to exchange lives? Well that's sort of how I felt at the governor's conference upon meeting what must be my long lost cousin. Okay.. so we don't look alike, but we are both named Katherin(e); I live in Coos County, Oregon; she in Coos County, New Hampshire. We both love twitter and we're both fiercely proud of where we come from.

She's got me on the smarts department I'm sure, but those that know me, know I can make up for a lot with my sheer stubbornness and my gift for never knowing better.

This East meets West collision is surely unnatural and can lead to nothing but fun. Katie Paine has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged us to a Fish to Desk Challenge.

So what is this you ask? Its a competition to see who can start at their desk, and catch the first fish. Simple right?

Well this is where we need your help... what should the rules of this first fish to desk challenge? (I say first because I'm sure both of our competitive natures could never let it stop at just one!)

Should we limit it to just one fishermen?
Or can anyone with a pole and a video camera participate?
Can it be from any workplace in the county, or do we limit it to just one city?
What time of year? Any other ground rules we should consider?

Give your input, we'd love to hear!

I'm just a love machine...

2009-04-17T01:58:00.000-07:00

This has been an interesting week for me. Because of some of the fun i've been having on twitter, and some of the relationships i've developed with other tourism folks, i've had a lot of love thrown my way.

A tweet from Anne at Visit Chicagoland was one of my favorite compliments: @TravelCoosBay has a way of making people want to visit the area.

It reminded me of something my dear old boss used to say: Just do what you love, and the rest will follow. I get it, I totally get it; because I LOVE my communities, the towns of Coos Bay, North Bend & Charleston are all just a little different, a little quirky, and all equally as charming as the next. I love the people here, I love our little stretch of the coast, how beautiful it is, how I can let my dogs run free and even at the busiest times of year, walk just a little way and feel like the beach is all mine. I love that our part of the coast isn't lined with back to back houses, that the kids at Dutch Bros know me by name, that I have the fish market's phone number memorized, and that when a visitor asks how the crabbing is today, I can just call the grocery store in Charleston and they always have an answer.

It's my hope that people who follow me on twitter, or read this blog, or who talk to other folks from my area get just a tiny glimpse of all this, that it makes them want to come and fall just a little bit in love as well.

I just finished reading a blog at the Oregon 150 website from Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon; he says it best of course (that's why they make him CEO!)

"For all of her (Oregon's) diverse natural beauty, amazing culinary offerings, abundant outdoor recreation, dynamic urban centers, cherished rural communities and sweeping scenic vistas found along backroads throughout the state - to appreciative Japanese students, to the grateful tears of a New Yorker, and to millions of visitors who travel to Oregon each year on vacation from across the country and around the world - it is Oregonians themselves that are our greatest asset."

Doctor Doctor...

2009-03-31T00:57:00.001-07:00

So last week I was extremely excited to be hosting Ron Horton, a travel writer from PDX Magazine to show off our area. Ron seemed like exactly the type of writer I love, adventurous, outdoorsy, easy going, and a dog lover. Even better he didn't know the South Coast so it was the perfect opportunity to bowl him over and ensure the type of article that would lure all those wonderful Portland residents to our neck of the coast.

I had an outstanding day planned for him. He was traveling with his dog "Truck" who was also part of the story. He was going to spend the night at the Mill Casino; my favorite dog sitter Carol Shaw was going to pick up "Truck" (ha - okay, that was funny) at the hotel so I could take him out for a fun morning of riding ATV's in the sand dunes; a picnic on the docks, then he and Truck would head down the Cape Arago Loop to enjoy our fantastic hiking trails and beaches.

And then... the dog sitter got the flu; the don't bother trying to man-up type of flu; the do not lift your head off the pillow or operate heavy machinery type of flu. AND it rained; and I don't mean nice friendly Oregon Coast rain, go away in an hour type of rain. I mean rain and wind like lock yourself in the house and don't leave for nothing type of rain, rain that fell like it was never going to stop rain, rain and wind that would shred an umbrella type of rain. Not exactly ATV'ing weather, or hiking weather, or running Truck on the beach weather, or outdoor picnic weather.

So what to do? I took the advice of our last travel writer that visited, Nancy Brown. I left Ron & Truck to relax in their hotel room and hopefully write about the wonderful dinner he had the night before at the Hilltop House in North Bend. Ran to Empire Cafe to pick up fresh baked bread, met Ron at Fishermen's Wharf and got our crab and some crab crackers to go; and we proceeded to head out to the Storm watching Hut at Shore Acres. As luck would have it; there were volunteers from the Whale Spoken Here Program there and even at a small space heater plugged in. We proceeded to dig into our crabs and watch the waves from the sanctity of the hut.

Turned out; it was a great way to spend the day. Dungeness crab is really the cure all for everything. Ron & Truck finished out the day by driving the Cape Arago Loop and made their way back home.

And wouldn't you know it...the next day was one of the most beautiful and sunny days yet. Of course it was. So the moral of the story....

Always spend an extra day if you can...and eat more crab!

In the words of Nancy Brown...What a trip!

2009-03-06T03:07:00.000-08:00

We recently hosted Travel Writer Nancy Brown for a 3 1/2 day taste of our area. As I went over each day with her, I actually started getting jealous...not to toot our own horn, but we put together one heck of a fun schedule for her.

I'm going to list all her activities here, as she did them, feel free to copy her schedule or just get inspired by one or two ideas. At the bottom I'll list all the contact information to simplify your life.

I also want to take this opportunity to say to those who doubted, I was right...we really do have the best crab sandwich according to our expert and new favorite writer. Read on to find out where...

Day 1

Fly from San Francisco (SFO) to North Bend (OTH), arrive 2:15pm

Stop by Enterprise Counter at airport to pick up car. Be sure to ask the employees about things to do, they are full of fun suggestions.

Check into This Olde House Bed & Breakfast

Dinner at Hilltop House Restaurant

(please note, GPS directions to Hilltop House are incorrect. Drive North on Hwy 101 past bridge, just past Bay Bridge Motel, turn right, and another immediate right, you'll see signs that say Clausen oysters)

Day 2

Breakfast at This Olde House

Morning touring the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area at Spinreel Dunebuggy & ATV rentals.

Lunch to sample the Crab Melt Sandwich at the Plankhouse Restaurant inside the Mill Casino Hotel.

Check into Mill Casino Hotel in one of their luxury suites, with soaking tub and balcony.

Afternoon guided tour to Gold & Silver Falls with nature guide Marty Giles of Wavecrest Discoveries.

Dinner at Porta Restaurant

Day 3

Breakfast at the Mill Casino

Walking tour of downtown shops

Pick up lunch at Empire Cafe, bread and bottle of wine

Picnic at Bastendorff Beach

Slow afternoon touring the Cape Arago Loop

Check into Loft by the Lighthouse

(leave yourself plenty of downtime to enjoy private access to a little known beach)

Dinner at Oyster Cove Restaurant

Day 4

Breakfast and lazy morning

Late lunch at Portside Restaurant

Stop by Fishermen's at Dock D in Charleston to pick up Dungeness Crab. They will prepack in a carry-on ice chest. Pick up Canned Tuna to take home as well.

Stop by Empire Cafe to pick up bread to take home. Yes its that good!

Stop by Cranberry Sweets to pick up gifts for family

Return to airport by 4:15, return car to Enterprise

Fly to SFO at 5:08pm

RESOURCES

www.OregonsAdventureCoast.com

This Olde House B&B

202 Alder Avenue, Coos Bay

541.267.5224

www.thisoldehouse.com

Hilltop Restaurant & Lounge

93405 Willsey Lane, North Bend

541.756.4160

Spinreel Dune Buggy & Rentals, Inc

67045 Spinreel Road, North Bend

541.759.3313

www.ridetheoregondunes.com

Plankhouse Restaurant and the Mill Casino Hotel

3201 Tremont Avenue, North Bend

541.756.8800 or 800.953.4800

www.themillcasino.com

Wavecrest Discoveries

541.267.4027

www.wavecrestdiscoveries.com

Porta Restaurant

1802 Virginia Ave, North Bend

541.756.4900

www.portarestaurant.com

Empire Cafe

525 Newmark Ave, Coos Bay

541.888.5221

Loft by the Lighthouse

On Lighthouse Beach, Charleston

541.888.8386

www.loftbythelighthouse.com

Oyster Cove Restaurant

63346 Boat Basin Road, Charleston

541.888.0703

www.oystercovegrillebar.com

Fishermen's Wharf

D Docks, Charleston Boat Basin

541.888.TUNA

Cranberry Sweets

1005 Newmark Ave, Coos Bay

541.888.9824 or 800.527.5748

www.cranberrysweets.com

Quite possibly the best description of Coos Bay area I've ever read

2009-03-05T02:03:00.000-08:00

so today, i had fun playing on twitter and ran across 2 fun gentlemen who are doing a road trip to the west coast.

You can read their story here:

A new post on the 'entrapment' of two honest, decent bloggers in Vice Bay

The best part of all this, we had local folks send emails and I came across one of the best, most honest descriptions I've seen from a local vacation rental owner.

So my blog today, is actually the words of Annie Comfort from Annie's Cottage

Lee,

The absolute, number one reason to visit Coos Bay is it's authenticity. This town is real, it's charming, it's non commercial and it's rugged. When you go to the beach....you go to the beach and that is all. You are not inundated with flashy billboards beckoning you to stop and buy buy buy. Here you are surrounded by trees, sand, water, fresh air and real people who are here for the same things.

In Coos Bay, the grandest and newest homes stand right next to the oldest and simplest abodes. Delightful fine dining can be found here in unexpected places. Artists, Musicians, Poets, Engineers, and Dreamers all come here to join the Loggers and the Fishermen to retire and get away from it all...and it's no big deal.

Here you will find the very rich and the very poor, it's just who we are. You don't have to dress up to go anywhere here, but no one will mind if you do. You can wear the cowboy hat, the baseball hat or the bandana and you will get the same 'hello'.

We grow up here, we move away, and we come back. It's what we do, and we'd love to have you visit us.

Sincerely,

Annie Comfort of Annie's Cottage

Home sweet Home

2009-03-04T01:39:00.000-08:00

Wow.. I've been traveling all over Oregon this month. While I have fun visiting new places, I have to say being away made me appreciate how lucky I am to live here even more.

So in the spirt of Oregon's 150th birthday, I want to share the things i've missed most about my area:

1. Sunday drive to pick up crab at the docks in Charleston

2. Not feeling out of place in jeans and a sweatshirt

3. Watching the kids (aka dogs) run on the beach.

4. Friday night dates with my husband to get our favorite burgers at the Hilltop House

5. Knowing i won't get lost while driving! hard to get lost here as you'll either hit the ocean or the highway!

6. My favorite crab melt sandwich at the Plankhouse restaurant

7. Clam chowder...we have so many great places to get chowder, I can't pick just one, these are some of my favorites: Sozo's, Brickstone Restaurant at the Red Lion (2nd place at chowder and brews show!), Outdoor In pizza & burgers, The Hilltop House, and of course High Tide.

8. The coastline... yes I know I said that already but it deserves 2 what ups!

9. Tuna...you can never truly understand how great tuna is til you have it Oregon Coast style. And no.. its nothing like the store bought stuff... sorry Charlie, no offense

10. Watching visitors take pictures in front of our Steve Prefontaine memorial. You can't imagine how fun it is to see grown men get goofy smiles on their face as they pose... and then that inevitable oh crap look when they catch you watching...lol

So, how about you tell me what you miss most about the coast?

Literally...HOLY COW

2009-01-26T15:46:00.001-08:00

Okay.. first lets get out of the way that i'm a bad person. Haven't updated my blog in awhile, imagine me slapping my own wrists please.

now.. that's out of the way; let's get to the HOLY COW part; and this is strictly insider, local's secret stuff on the best flippin burger you are ever going to have in your lucky lifetime, thanks to me...and of course thanks to Joe at the Hilltop!

Me and my hubby have a new Friday Night date spot, its at the Hilltop House restaurant in North Bend. You won't find their burgers on their regular dinner menu, you have to go into the lounge (21 & over only, sorry kids, no burger for you).

For $8 you will get a half pound burger made from Filet Mignon and NY Steak, on homemade bread. Add the mushrooms for a $1 more and you're in meatlover's heaven.

The Hilltop House is a pretty upscale restaurant, but the lounge is very casual and laid back with a full bar and tv to boot. Watching sports and eating beef makes my hubby happy, and for me; their coffee alone is worth going.

Do yourself a favor and go, its a must, i mean it. Then send me an email to thank me and tell me how lucky you feel once you eat.

(another insider tip: watch our website for coupon/hotel specials; when you book the hotel special, you get a coupon book that has a free calamari appetizer at the Hilltop House with dinner, burgers count!)

Hilltop House

93405 Willsey Lane, North Bend, 97459

541.756.4160

Best to call for directions, online maps and gps devices will send you to the wrong spot. Its right off Hwy 101 east of the Bay Bridge Hotel, just north of North Bend bridge.

Shipwrecks and the back of a pick up!

2009-01-09T02:18:00.000-08:00

Got an interesting call this week from a gentleman named David, seems he's an avid beachcomber and was at Horsfall beach over the weekend and found a piece of shipwreck. Fearing that it might be washed off or taken by someone else, he and his sons packed it up in the back of his pick up truck and took it home!

He wanted to do the right thing and give it to the appropriate organization but couldn't seem to get the interest he was hoping for. So I called my friends over at KEZI news and talked them into coming out. Michelle did her story, I took photos and started emailing them out to the appropriate folks. Well... I got a reply from Calum at State Parks and he tells me he's positive its a piece of the mystery shipwreck from last summer, the George L. Olson!!! How exciting.

Now a piece of that historic shipwreck can be preserved and viewed by folks who can't make the 4 mile hike.

On top of that news, the recent winter storms while causing havoc in some places, have uncovered more shipwrecks on the coast! You can view more about the shipwrecks at http://kezi.com/news/70567

Whoa...Whale Watching update

2008-12-31T11:04:00.000-08:00

So I didn't make it out to the Whale Watching site until yesterday when I had to take Alex Drude from KMTR out to do a story.. and let me just say whoa. I've gone and spotted whales before, but it was NOTHING like yesterday. This week volunteers from Whale Spoken Here program are out from 10am-1pm helping people spot the whales. It was AMAZING! We saw so many whales spouting and saw their backs come out of the waters. The volunteers would set the viewing lens right where I needed to look and there they were! I've never seen as many in the last 3.5 years as I did yesterday. I highly recommend heading out to Shore Acres and taking advantage of their expertise. The whales will be running in large numbers through mid-January.

Whale watching or shopping?

2008-12-27T02:30:00.000-08:00

Just returned from a trip to California to visit family; wow am I glad to be back! As we crossed the border and saw the Welcome to Oregon sign, it made me so happy.

Two big things on my to do list this weekend...SHOPPING!!! I have to go and do my part to give back to the economy and cash in on some of the sales going on. I hear many of the stores at Pony Village Mall will be opening early so its a perfect time to spend some of the gift certificates I received.

After that, the big thing on the coast this week is Whale Watching! Now until the 1st of the year there will be volunteers on hand every day at Shore Acres State Park to help you spot the beautiful creatures and give pointers to novices like me. They'll be at the storm watching tower everyday from 10am - 1pm. If you miss those time frames, just head out to the whale watching site at Cape Arago, there is almost always fellow whale watchers on hand that can help if you need it, and its absolutely a GORGEOUS beach you shouldn't miss.

Happy shopping and whale watching to all!

a night at the mill casino

2008-12-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

As a Christmas present, one of my bosses was kind enough to give me a suite in the new tower rooms at the Mill Casino. My husband was hosting a basketball tournament at Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC), so we decided to use the room this past Saturday night to host a coaches party.

Let me just say wow! Our room was on the very top floor and had the most amazing view. The bellman and other staff were so hopeful in helping me get the room set up for the party and haul up all the cases of beer and food we had brought, they even brought me a refrigerator to put in the room. All the coaches who came told me the room was nicer than the Playoffs hospitality room in Washington.

I cannot say enough about what a great time we had! The new rooms are just beautiful, and comfortable with nice decor and this amazing wood ceiling. To make the night even better, we all went downstairs afterwards and played in the casino and i won $300! (hooray!)

I highly recommend treating yourself to a suite there, you will feel like a rock star.

Good day to plan your next vacation

2008-12-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

So as much as i love to have people visit our area, there are severe weather warnings today. its a good day to stay put and start planning your next vacation!

Be safe and use your indoor time by the fire to visit our website at www.OregonsAdventureCoast.com

If you can't avoid going out and about today, High Tide Cafe in Charleston always has a roaring fire and excellent clam chowder to warm your insides up. They are located just after the bridge to Charleston on the left hand side.

Take off your mittens & go to Benetti's

2008-12-17T12:19:00.000-08:00

Last night we had our annual Visitor Center Volunteer Christmas Party. Benetti's Italian restaurant was kind enough to host it for us for free. We had over 40 people there and a good time was had by all.

They serve their soup family style so you can have as much as you want, and dinner was excellent! I can't remember what my dish was called but it was this really amazing prime rib served in a marinara sauce with bell peppers and mushrooms over pasta..yummy!

Setting aside how generous the Benetti's are to us and our community, the soup alone is well worth a visit on a cold day like today. Above the food, my favorite part of going there is the service, the wait staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable and make you want to visit them again and again. Call for reservations though as they get very crowded this time of year.

Benetti's

260 S. Broadway, Coos Bay

541.267.6066

brrr

2008-12-16T15:41:00.000-08:00

Cheryl at the visitor center had a funny phone call from a reporter in Bend, Oregon. It seems its 8 degrees there and they wanted to know what us folks here on the coast were doing in our balmy 37 degrees. As cold as it feels to us, we were the warmest spot in the state!

On the plus side, it gave cheryl a chance to brag about the great crabbing and storm watching that's going on right now.

Tip for the day: If you want to go out to get some holiday cheer, but still want to stay warm, stop by the charleston volunteer fire dept. They have their fabulous train exhibit they do every Christmas that has over 250 miniature buildings, Christmas lights and for lack of a better word, is really neat.

The best part, plenty of coffee and warm drinks with cookies and its indoors! Every night from 6pm - 10pm. They are located on Cape Arago Hwy between Empire and Charleston.

baby steps

2008-12-16T02:19:00.000-08:00

So this is my very first blog....whoa. I watched a video on youtube earlier that talked about if you're going to dive into social marketing, go slow, and start with a blog.

Working for the Visitor & Convention Bureau, this blog is long over due. i tell anyone that will listen about what a great place I live. Through the coming weeks, I think time will shape my posts so forgive the slow pace.

I'll try to share insights and thoughts about the area, some insider tips, and maybe even perhaps what idiotic lesson i learned that day.

Thank goodness i have no readers so far because i can only guess what people must think if they ever run across this.

Just in case, my first insider tip: Go to Davey Jones Locker. Its located in Charleston, just a little place to stock up on supplies, you can buy toothpicks and beer, or you can have the best meatloaf sandwich EVER. i don't even generally like meatloaf sandwiches, but it was suggested to me so when i finally tried it.. well i may have actually let a little go.