Scenery on the path to Dominica's Emerald Pool

I celebrated my birthday yesterday – a year after blogging about my great present. It was a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4K,digital camera with a wide angle lens. Now it’s available for under $175.

I’ve put it through quite a workout the past year, hauling it from Chile to California, but I almost lost it last week. I was hiking through the incredible Caribbean island of Dominica, climbing through rainforests and crossing a field where volcanic-heated water bubbles to the surface.  It was the Boiling Lake hike, one of the highlights of the island.

I was crossing a river, picking a path across slippery rocks, when my boots slipped from under me. Next thing I knew I was in the (nicely heated) water and my camera, which was tucked in a pocket, was soaking wet.

I jumped up and pulled it out, but it seemed too late. The camera wouldn’t turn on and the lens was permanently extended. I finished the hike with a heavy heart. But I had a plan. When I had a water mishap with my cell phone, my son told me to put it in a bowl of dry rice. I thought he was nuts, but the rice absorbed the moisture and a few days later the phone was fixed.

Would it work for a camera?

In the latest issue of Coastal Living, editor Lindsay Bierman mentions a documentary he's recently seen called "Addicted to Plastic."

He writes, "Basically, [the film] says that chemical compounds from plastic bottles, containers, utensils, and anything else you can think of are poisoning our oceans and food chain. The filmmaker traveled to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to find out just how much toxic refuse has accumulated in the waters, and it's truly shocking. I'll take paper, please."

I thought of this when I came across this tongue-in-cheek tote on printbrigade.com.

We're committed to actions big and small that have an positive impact on the sea. You can do your part to help too.

Take part in the Ocean Conservancy's 24th annual International Coastal Cleanup this September. For more info, click here.

And stay tuned to "Daily Catch" for more ways we're working to help save our seas.

Last week, one of our favorite swimsuit labels, Marysia Swim, debuted its 2010 collection at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at The Raleigh Hotel in South Beach. We can't get enough of the retro-inspired suits. Click here for more information...and stayed tuned for a look inside Marysia's Charleston home in an upcoming issue of Coastal Living.

This week the best surfers in the world are gathered in Huntington Beach, dubbed Surf City, USA for its ideal surf conditions, for the Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing. Spectators have come from all corners of the country to fill the grandstand built on the beach. With the junior competitions and men's trials completed, the men and women's championships get started Monday. Also on tap for the week: concerts, a fashion show, and hall of Surfers Hall of Fame inductions. Click here for more information.

We love to see animals enjoy the coast as much as their owners. Check out these images from The First Annual Surfin Paw Dog Jam recently held at Huntington Beach's Dog Beach. The event raised money for the Orange County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OCSPCA). If you missed this year's festivities you can continue your support by participating in the 12th Annual Walk for the Animals fundraiser in Huntington Beach Central Park (behind the library) on October 4th. For more information visit the OCSPA Web site.

Images courtesy of Luann Petrix

In this month's issue of Coastal Living, we bring you the coastal stylings of Robert McKinley, who designed the hip Surf Lodge hotel. We give you a sneak peek into the hotel's unique look and show you how you can shop the look (see below).

 

Could it be Barack Obama reads Coastal Living? President Obama recently tapped Alabama native Dr. Regina Benjamin as his choice for U.S. Surgeon General. While many in our nation are hearing her name for the first time, she's been on our radar for years.

Dr. Benjamin gained notoriety after founding the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in rural Bayou La Batre on Alabama's Gulf Coast. We saluted her efforts in our November/December 2002 issue. Here's what she had to say then:

She’s “the Angel of Bayou La Batre,” not just for her personalized medical care but also for a demeanor as sweet as Alabama’s royal red shrimp.

On any given day, in her nonprofit clinic near the fishing docks of Bayou La Batre, Dr. Regina Benjamin busily tends to an uninsured fisherman with diabetes or a tourist attached to a hook. Her good work is also recognized beyond Mobile Bay. This year the Alabama native became the first African American to become president of the state’s medical association and the nation’s first African-American ­female to hold the spot. Regina shrugs off accolades, preferring, she says, hugs from the “down-to-earth, genuine people” around her.

On her patients: “A lot of my patients don’t have insurance, so by the time they see me, it’s really late in the game. That’s tough. Everyone seems to just want to talk honestly with someone who cares about them.”

On her goal: “Right now I’m trying to recruit a doctor who can help me here, but it takes a special kind of person who’s not in the business as much for the money as the personal rewards.” (Regina sometimes gets paid with a bushel of peas or cooler full of the day’s catch.)

On the seafood-rich Gulf: “I’m just like Bubba Gump––I could eat shrimp all day, any way. Especially boiled. I love to spread newspaper out on a table with seafood I’ve seasoned with whatever’s in the cabinet.”

On coastal Alabama: “My family has been here since the early 1800s. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. I love the breeze, the smell of ­wisteria––the sunsets, especially. There’s nothing like them. And the water here is so calming. Every day it’s different. Sometimes blue, sometimes gray, sometimes muddy. It’s like a person with an ever-changing personality.” —Denise Gee

For more on Dr. Regina Benjamin and her accolades visit Time.com.

Many of my fellow Coastal Living staffers naturally flocked to the coast during the 4th of July holiday, but I spent the long weekend hanging out with family in Washington D.C. While they may have come back raving about incredible seafood dives, but I was the only one who could claim to have eaten the absolute freshest food on the planet. Jealous? Don't be. Just head to D.C. and prepare for a feast.

Located downtown on Pennsylvania Ave., Founding Farmers commits to provide customers with products "from seed to harvest, and from farm-to-table," according to their Web site. They're owned by a collective of American family farmers and strive to also lead the green movement by being good stewards of natural resources down to the last detail of their building design. For more on their mission and philosophy visit wearefoundingfarmers.com.

Despite being in D.C. on one of the busiest weekends of the year, when my brother and I arrived for brunch we only had to wait 15 minutes. The customer service was excellent, and the food? Well, we still can't stop talking about it. We split the New Orleans Style French Toast and Skillet House Hash—crispy potatoes sautéed with your hash choice, with two eggs poached or scrambled, served with our house-made English muffin, fresh fruit preserves and choice of: country potatoes, farmer’s salad, fresh fruit or tomatoes. Everything from the fresh squeezed orange juice to the English muffin were absolutely worth every penny. And the knowledge that you're supporting American farmers, well, how patriotic is that?

Courtesy of Founding Farmers

As if the sweltering heat wasn't reason enough to cool down with a fruity drink, today is National Piña Colada Day! Celebrate by mixing up a pitcher of this great recipe.

Image courtesy of thebar.com

According to mypunchbowl.com, this tasty frozen beverage was first created in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The drink's name actually translates to strained pineapple—one of the main ingredients. I don't know about you, but I'm going to grab some supplies and start blending.

FYI: July is also National Ice Cream and Grilling month. So if a Piña Colada isn't enough to satisfy your summer appetite, try out some of these other favorite recipes.

If you've picked up our July/August issue (and if you haven't, get crackin'!), you may have read Dorothea Benton Frank's essay about her passion for the coast, specifically Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. Dottie is a prolific author, and during the editing process we just fell in love with her wit and wisdom. In short, as we say in the South, she's a hoot!

So I was excited when this announcement arrived in my inbox this morning:

For the interview site and call-in number, click here.

To order Return to Sullivan's Island, click here.

And to read a Coastal Living exclusive sneak peek—the first chapter of Dottie's new book—click here.