Funny thing about the bay front in Newport, where these vessels are docked – the docks are open. Tourists and families walking their dogs abound, many hoping to get up close and personal with the sea lions. At the same time, workers are busy offloading their catch.
The tourists weren’t much fun to be around. The crabbers, on the other hand, were quite friendly. I got into extended conversations with more than a few, both on the docks while I was shooting and at a dive bar I visited later.
I rarely go to bars, and never just to hang out. This one was known to be a local favorite. It also happened to be a Saturday night after a lot of crabbing vessels had to come in because of an impending storm. The place was packed. Folks were delightfully friendly.
One thing I thought was funny, was two drunk guys about an hour apart had very vocal ideas of where my clothes said I was from. The first was convinced I was an Oregonian. (I was dressed in Carhardts, a black down jacket, a wool hat, and Chacos.) The second was absolutely convinced that my clothes said i was from California. I half-jokingly took offense at this and as a result, we ended up talking for a few quite a while after.
All in all, it was a fun night. I got some decent photos of the docks, the songs folks were choosing for Karaoke were great, and the vibe was quite cheery and friendly. Almost makes me want to visit bars more often…almost.