No Surf in Cleveland? Sure, There is!

by Iva Skoch on

Having spent a good amount of time in Cleveland, Ohio (but never having heard Eric Carmen and the Euclid Beach Band’s “There’s No Surf in Cleveland,” which I’m assured is a real song), I was surprised at today’s NY Times article, “Yes, You Can Surf in Cleveland.”

Apparently, groups of die-hard Clevelanders can’t wait for the start of winter because that’s high time for Lake Erie waves. They work night jobs, and, during the day, grab wetsuits and big boards (Lake Erie is, of course, freshwater). And sometimes, the waves hit almost…10 feet.

The only real drawback for these guys: the nearest surfboard shop is on the coast of Lake Michigan, 285 miles away.

Hawaii, eat your heart out!

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of November 12

by Adrienne Wilson on

Settle down and settle in as I take you on a spin of our five favorite’s from the week that was… You’ll love it – I promise!

5. MTV Launches Travel Guidebook Series:
My MTV days are just about over and done, but the memories will last forever. (Not that I did any of the crazy stuff you see on the network these days.) If you’re off to Ireland and looking for some place hip, spunky, spanky, no, no, spunky and cool with more pubs than humanly possible to crawl you may want to check out this blurb from Neil.

4. Travel Insurance for the Over-65:
There are two peak times in one’s life when the opportunity to travel should be seized; in youth and old-age. During each time frame there are many things to consider before taking off into the wilderness. One of the most important is travel insurance and while you may only need it in your young age to cover really silly and naive mishaps, it’s a little different in your golden years. See what Iva found about the situation for the over 65 and start planning ahead if you don’t think they’ll be giving you a break to take a break.

3. Procreation Vacations:
We’ve talked about ‘Babymooning’ and heading out on vaca to go half on a new baby boy or baby girl, but surely it is time to think about it again. Why? Because it’s getting colder. Because the holidays are coming. Because babies are just too darn cute not to have! You decide and if you think your clock is ticking maybe it’s time for a moonlit stroll on the sandy shores of Tonga.

2. Craig Duff Blogs from Egypt:
Gadling is a travel blog and we point to other travel blogs that we like from time to time. Erik points us to his pal who blogs from Egypt. Craig is his pal and all, I’m sure, but as an outsider and unbiased set of eyes reading I’d say it’s swell. Go check it out if you need info or fuel to get your own travels to Egypt going.

1. Surfing Alaska:
Can’t say that I’ve been to Alaska or that I’ve been surfing and I can’t say that I wouldn’t try it out, but this isn’t about me. This is about an article found in Outside mag on surfers who do brave the icy waters and their experiences. If you can’t take the cold get off the board. Yuk,yuk, yuk….

Surfing Nicaragua

by Erik Olsen on

Just a month or two ago we did a podcast with a good guy named Josh Berman. Josh is one of the writers of several guidebooks to places like Belize and Nicaragua. In fact, he is also recently the author of a how to live abroad in Nicaragua book. The reason I bring all this up is that Josh talked a lot during our interview about the surfing in Nicaragua. Now, we’ve mentioned Nicaragua as one of the top global surf spots in several posts past, but Josh was adamant that Nicaragua is the place to be now, and that means now, since it won’t take long for Americans and other to swarm that place and make it a tourist nightmare, stripping the place of its authenticity. I was lucky enough to pass through Nicaragua years ago on my trip through South and Central America, and at that time it was hardly the kind of place that average tourists would enjoy. I liked it because it was rough around the edges…actually it was rough right down to the center…but that was fine by me. It made the place more interesting. Personally, I’d love to return, and so I figured I’d peek around a bit to see what people are writing today. Here, for example, is a fine site about surfing there. As well as a site dedicated entirely to surfing in this wee CA country. And finally, a piece in the SF Chronicle about surfing throughout the region.

Surf’s Up in Cali!

by Iva Skoch on

Californians, Oregonians, and Washingtonians had a brief tsunami scare this morning, if anyone was awake and noticed. Yes, the National Weather Service actually posted a tsunami advisory at 6:05 AM PST, before canceling it.

This was because of tsunami activity at multiple sites in Japan and even Shemya, Alaska. Now, granted, the wave height noticed was only 20cm (.65 ft.) above mean sea level in Alaska, but that, apparently, qualified as a tsunami. It was no joke in Japan, however, as some areas were evacuated.

We’re not sure how long the wave activity lasted, but it was probably not long enough to get out your board, and it was certainly not long enough for anybody to get through any TSA line.

Key Buoy

by Neil Woodburn on

Perhaps the greatest tragedy to befall a water sports vacation is when your keys slip out of your pocket and disappear deep into the waters.

Naturally, some bright inventor has designed a way for this to never happen again.

The Key Buoy is a small key ring device that automatically inflates and floats to the surface shortly after hitting the water. It is powered by sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid which combines to inflate a bright orange, 14 inch tube.

Hmmm… So what happens when the Key Buoy is in your pocket and it rains?