PORT ANGELES — Hey, Bruce Springsteen:
Port Angeles is cooler than your Asbury Park, N.J., and cooler than at least three more American towns.
It’s just not as cool as 15 other smallish cities across the United States that include Marfa, Texas, according to the Web-based Matador Network.
Matador recently released its list of the 20 “coolest towns” in the nation that it says have distinctive downtown “hearts” amid natural splendors that range from the rockbound coast of Maine to the sand-strewn coast of Southern California.
What makes Port Angeles cool enough to hold No. 16 is “the most diverse wilderness access of any town in the U.S.,” a place where “you could possibly surf and snowboard in the same day,” the website says.
Beneath a photo of the city’s waterfront set against an Olympic Mountain panorama, Matador also cites what it calls a “short drive” to LaPush and Olympic National Park’s wilderness coast.
The website says a “perfect day” in PA would start at Cafe New Day, 102 W. Front St., and proceed to a surf spot or hiking destination.
If you’re still wondering why Port Angeles is so cool, Matador continues, “Port Angeles is one of those places where the landscape is in your face and the traditional methods of getting fresh food on your table (mussel harvesting, salmon fishing) are alive and well.”
Who is Matador Network?
If you’re wondering who the heck the Matador Network is to make such a call, it bills itself as “a travel and lifestyle brand redefining travel media with cutting edge adventure stories, photojournalism, and social commentary.”
According to www.matadornetwork.com, it attracts 9 million monthly visitors.
That’s what makes its mention valuable to merchants, who treasure such online advertising.
Edna Petersen, president of the Port Angeles Business Association, agreed with Matador’s assessment.
“We are indeed as unique as any place could possibly be,” she said Friday.
“Our winter weather is only boring, never bad,” said Petersen, who owns Necessities & Temptations gift shop at 217 N. Laurel St.
“And we all look younger than we should because of the moisture in the air.”
Russ Veenema, executive director of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Matador’s mention would have been impossible to duplicate with an advertisement in a travel magazine.
“It’s really helpful,” he said. “Press like this is hard to put a dollar figure on because the Internet reaches hundreds of thousands of people.”
Surprise
At Cafe New Day, Kelli Hammond, who co-owns the eatery with her husband, John, said the mention was a complete surprise.
No one from Matador identified himself or herself while visiting there, she said, or called to ask about it.
“I like to think it’s because our food is good,” she said of the restaurant that the Hammonds have operated for three years.
“We try to do everything homemade. Fresh.”
As for the rest of your “perfect day,” Matador advises, “check swell/surf conditions, then choose spot accordingly (Elwha River mouth, Crescent Beach), or, if you don’t surf, hike up to the Elwha hot springs.”
On your way, you could play Springsteen’s “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”:
This boardwalk life for me is through
You know you ought to quit this scene, too.
You said it, Boss.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com
