TWEET TWEET!
A beautiful specimen from the birding banding excursion near Snow Hill, MD

Resting Gaucho
A wooden model of a resting cowboy in the Marvel Carriage Museum

Assateague at Sunrise
Waking up to the buzz of bugs isn't so bad when you wake up to this...

Bird Bander
Bird Banding master, Richard Roberts, enlightened Coastal Stewards and a Ward Museum photo group on the world of Eastern shore bird banding and migration. Here, he has the bird in "photo grip."

Ooey Gooey
Sinful dessert eaten in downtown Lewes, Delaware

Rackliffe House
Visible from the near Assateague, this plantation house is pre-revolution

Doggie-Friendly Assateague
Did you know dogs are allowed at Assateague Island National Seashore's non-life guarded beaches?

Dogfish Head Brew Tours
Not only does Dogfish Head try unorthodox methods of brewing, but they also work with molecular biologist to learn and recreate ancient recipes. (You can hear all about it on a brew tour.)

The Future of Chesapeake Bay Farms
These cute little critters welcome the farm's visitors as they taste fresh ice cream and stroll around the grounds.

The historic Julia Purnell Museum in Snow Hill, Maryland

Lavender bundles from Lavender Fields near Milton Delaware

Cornbread
Stop by Trappe Creek Restaurant for their all-you-can eat crab special and cornbread when you're in the Berlin, Maryland area.

Blueberries
Good Earth Market not only sells organic goods, but also local fresh fruits and veggies.

Local Honey
Good Earth Market boasts LOCAL HONEY!

Busy Bee
Lavender Fields Farm has keeps its five hives of bees very busy with creating lavender infused honey, a French delicacy.

Two local musicians work their craft outside the opening of the Delmarva Discovery Center in Pocomoke City, Maryland

Days Gone by Museum owned and operated by Mr. Jack Knowles of Woodland, Delaware. The museum is actually in Mr. Knowles backyard.

Fishing boats
A pair of fishing boats sitting in the Ocean City Commercial Harbor.

Lunch
We witnessed a live horseshoe crab (you guessed it) feeding. That is a minnow in its mouth!

Hermie
This Assateague tour boat shared their pets with us and even let their hermit crab run around a bit.

Female Horseshoe Crab
A female horseshoe crab as she moves back to sea

Sunset Over the Bay
A beautiful sunset at our Makai condo after a long day of rain storms.

Mar-Va Theater Volunteers
The theater's volunteer-only staff takes care of all aspects of the facility, from selling concessions to cleaning up after shows. These local girls will gain community service hours in the next school year.

Local Man Power
Around here, its used for getting two-ton hard tops in place.

Pylons serve as a beautiful perch for the local gulls. What a great view from the DuPont Nature Center window.

Alex, the DuPont Nature Center's mascot, watches over the beaches where his fellow red knots fill up before their long migrations. This giant model bird is sponsored by the DuPont's Clear Into the Future Initiative, a program of the DuPont Company, and the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife.

TIPS FOR AN EXCELLENT HOST OUR COAST APPLICATION

Posted At : February 4, 2010 3:27 PM | Posted By : Paul
Related Categories: news

Check out this great post on "Wayward Winos" from Paul & Mel, our 2009 Host Our Coast winners. They offer fantastic pointers on creating the perfect video submission that will be sure to get you a shot at making Round 2.

Who better to learn from than last summer's Hosts? And remember -- the 2010 contest has two rounds of video submissions and voting. Round 1 videos must be submitted by March 15, and this is followed by two weeks of online voting. The judges will then select finalists, who will be given 3 days to complete a themed video assignment. Then 2 more weeks of online voting before the 2010 winner is chosen.

39 days left to apply! Good luck!

HOST OUR COAST LAUNCHES TODAY!! $15K AND FREE PLACES TO STAY!

Posted At : February 1, 2010 8:59 PM | Posted By : Paul
Related Categories: news

Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences (DLITE) is looking for the perfect person to Host Our Coast, exploring Delmarva's beaches and bays this summer, and reporting back daily with online videos, photos, and blog posts. We're PAYING the lucky winner $15,000 to play on Delmarva's Coast all summer and we're providing living accommodations at our hotels, B&B's, and campgrounds where he or she will live FREE for the entire three month assignment.

DLITE is accepting online applications through March 15 for Host Our Coast, an online contest created to select a summer travel journalist. The application process includes posting a 60-second video to YouTube, and submitting a headshot, brief bio, and sample travel blog post. The successful applicant will spend the summer exploring the parks, small towns, events, museums, and heritage sites of Delaware and the Eastern Shores of Maryland and Virginia, and creating an online video and photo gallery, a daily travel blog, and a social network through Facebook and Twitter.

In exchange for the lucky winner's reporting, the new Host of the Delmarva Coast will be paid $15,000 and be provided with free accommodations in our Delmarva resorts and small towns. This contest is sponsored by a partnership developed among DLITE, the Rural Development Center at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Worcester County Tourism, Southern Delaware Tourism, Full City Media and OceanCity.com. Please contact DLITE for additional sponsorship opportunities.

DLITE will provide the selected travel journalist with daily assignments to report back on Delmarva's coolest coastal events, people, and places. Assignments will include kayaking, cycling, hiking, wildlife watching, beachcombing, and fishing - if it involves water, sun and fun - it will involve the Host Our Coast winner!

The successful applicant must have an adventurous spirit, passion for exploring Delmarva's nature and heritage, and excellent on- and off-camera communication skills. Initial applications will close at midnight on March 15, 2010, and online voting for applicants will occur for two weeks. Selected finalists will be asked to provide another video submission between April 5-8, and a second round of online voting will occur for two more weeks. A winner will be selected by May 7, and the lucky Host will be publicly announced and will start working for DLITE on May 27. For more complete rules and guidelines, please visit www.hostourcoast.com.

The inaugural Host Our Coast was conducted from April through August 2009. 74 applicants from around the U.S. competed in the contest. The 2009 contest winners, Paul Cox and Melanie McLean, spent the summer exploring Delmarva and posting amazing stories and images of their travels on the interactive Host Our Coast website. By the end of August 2009, Host Our Coast had more than 6,000 unique visitors, 3,000 regular online followers and 600 Facebook fans. Articles written about Host Our Coast were valued at more than $50,000. In November 2009, Host Our Coast was awarded the prestigious Visit Maryland Award by Governor Martin O'Malley and the Maryland State Office of Tourism, and the Professional Impact Award from the Maryland Tourism Council.

To apply for the Host Our Coast, please visit www.hostourcoast.com. Please forward all questions to:

Jim Rapp/DLITE: 443-614-0261 dlitedirector@comcast.net

Lisa Challenger/Worcester County Tourism 410-632-3110 lisac@co.worcester.md.us

Scott Thomas/Southern Delaware Tourism 302-856-1818 scottT@visitsoutherndelaware.com

AND THE WINNER IS... HOST OUR COAST!

Posted At : November 5, 2009 2:20 PM | Posted By : Paul
Related Categories: news

While at the Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit in Ocean City, Maryland, Host Our Coast was announced as a winner of the prestigious "Visit Maryland" for a "unique and interactive approach to bringing in new and relevant tourism."

As you know, we at Host Our Coast have proudly involved ourselves in both natural and historical adventures that may lay a bit off the beaten path and sometimes even combining the two.

Through Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and of course the the Host Our Coast blog, we've shared our stories, tips, and discoveries with you, the good reader.

So thank you to all who have followed us thus far and who continue to peer into our past summer experiences. Keep your eyes open; round two is quickly approaching!

Host Our Coast

HostOurCoast: a BEAUTIFUL spring-like day on Delmarva, and more on the way! 10 days left to apply for HOC..$15K and free places... http://bit.ly/ct9JNd

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