Jennifer Burns Bright

Nothing beats freshly caught seafood on the Oregon coast, but without knowing which restaurants support local fishermen and farmers, diners may be surprised that dinner has traveled farther than they have. Although the last year of the coronavirus pandemic has impacted business along the coast, several restaurants, bars, and breweries continue to serve Pacific-Northwestern-caught seafood to locals and day-trippers. This guide highlights 15 outstanding restaurants along coastal Highway 101 fro...

Sample the best oysters -- influenced by their habitats and cultivation methods -- in Oregon and Washington.

Spending the day at Sue-meg State Park in Trinidad, California, located about 30 miles north of Eureka, allows visitors to experience massive redwoods at refreshingly cool and foggy days on the Trinidad Coast, as well as to explore up close a cherished cultural site for local Yurok community.

The simple canning jar might have seemed like one of the more unlikely supplies to be hoarded by consumers and profiteers over the long pandemic summer, but I wasn’t surprised to see the canning shelves gutted, picked clean except for flotsam like a lone box of liquid pectin and a crumpled twin-pack of silicone sippy cup tops.
The disappearance of jars—or more specifically, canning jar lids—happened just as the summer harvest was coming on. Though jars can be recycled for years, lids can’t be...

With soaring cliffs, views of Mt. Hood and a rolling landscape that evolves from golden hills to craggy, forested cliffs with cascading waterfalls, the Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge region is one of Oregon’s most sublime natural areas. Though simply experiencing the thunderous power of water tumbling down into rushing rivers or hiking through alpine forests are luxuries, you can elevate any experience with special tours, restaurants and accommodations to make the trip even more unforgetta...

We all love supporting local businesses on the Coast and eating succulent, freshly caught seafood from Oregon-based fishers and crabbers. But sometimes it’s hard to tell if a fish is caught locally and sustainably. We’ve developed some tips to help you select the catch of the day. [For Oregon Coast Visitor Assn.]

Whether you’re an independent traveler or a cruise visitor in Juneau for the day, it’s possible to get away from it all. Skip the tourist-oriented restaurants and sites. Adventurous visitors can wander in Juneau’s back hills and experience nearby Mendenhall Glacier's wetlands, or explore the area’s mining history and spot a whale or two on Douglas Island.

All of Oregon’s wine regions produce lively rosés, each with their own distinct character and appearance — ranging from pretty pink tones to pale apricot to robust ruby. Next time you’re swirling your glass on a sunny tasting-room patio, think about the incredible journey the grapes took from the vineyard.

Alaska's fish aren't the only wild foods gathered for centuries. This article investigates berries, seaweed, and other summer delights, and how the visitor might access them on hills, shores, and at restaurants.

interview by Jennifer Burns Bright
Nestled in the Tiger Mountain foothills 40 miles from Seattle, Sunny Diaz and her dog, Stella, hunt truffles professionally from November to March. Formerly in health care, Diaz made the shift, she said, “out of sheer hedonism.” It turns out she’s a visionary businesswoman, and the truffle career took off. In the past few years, she’s increasingly focused on working with chefs, both with special truffle dinners and leading forays specifically geared to culin...

To the joy of foragers like me, wild berries that flourish each summer mean you don’t need anything more than a bucket and an identification guide to collect pounds of juicy, jeweled fruit. With homemade berry pie or jam on the horizon, many families head out to their special spots for a time-honored tradition from July to October. Though you can easily buy farm-grown blackberries at markets or mountain-foraged huckleberries at stands or through CSAs in season, there’s nothing like the incomp...

If you love the ocean, any getaway to the Oregon Coast can make you feel like a million bucks. Breathing in the salty air, catching a whale spouting from a cliffside trail, digging clams for an impromptu dinner over a campfire: All these experiences are Oregon luxuries with little to no cost. But for special occasions or just an unforgettable experience, the state’s 363 miles of coastline provide many ways to splurge.

Pacific Northwest natives know that almost any ecosystem in the region — flowing rivers and living estuaries, lush valleys and orchards, forests and sea — produces great food. Those who move away realize their mistake when they inevitably yearn for native delicacies like huckleberries, wine grapes and razor clams, and those who are just passing through want to keep coming back for more of these...[Appeared in AAA's Journey magazine print version Jul/Aug '21.]

Accessiblity is more than wide paths and railings. This feature focused on national, regional, and local parks (including playgrounds) and was based on the recommendations of experts, advocates, and builders who are creating the next generation of friendly, public open spaces for all abilities.

“Life should be a party and everyone should be invited!” says G Cody QJ Goldberg, whose daughter Harper inspired the adaptive innovation of Harper’s Playground in Portland and many parks that followed. No longer built with dangerous materials such as concrete and sharp metal, these new inclusive playgrounds sport softer surfaces and ADA-friendly play equipment to welcome all children of all abilities.