The Coastal Life

08/01/2025

IMPORTANT COASTAL LIFE UPDATE: As you may have noticed, the Coastal Life continues to evolve. The biggest shift, for now, has been merging the video series with the podcast to create The Coastal Life Story Lab. Think of it as an immersive audio documentary project introducing you to fascinating coastal people and places.

Yesterday, I released episode 7 of The Coastal Life Story Lab. Additionally, I've gone back and re-edited a couple of previously released episodes as a story lab episode. I invite you to check out episode 3, The Coastal Slice of Life: Sean Marsiglia, to experience Sean's coastal story. You can listen on Apple by clicking below or wherever you listen to podcasts. Three Brothers Pizza

Podcast Episode · Coastal Life Story Lab · 07/11/2024 · 26m

07/31/2025

NOW AVAILABLE - Episode 7 of The Coastal life Story Lab. “Porsches and Coastal Pizza: Ryan Vander Zanden and Little Italian Pizza (Clearwater, FL).

Listen on Apple Podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coastal-life-story-lab/id1750370785?i=1000720001844 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Podcast Episode · Coastal Life Story Lab · 07/31/2025 · 21m

07/28/2025

Who's ready for a new episode of The Coastal Life Story Lab? In Episode 7 my buddy Ryan finally takes me for a ride in his Porsche as we embark upon a coastal pizza pilgrimage to reunite with a cherished pizzeria with a great backstory. Also, you'll hear about Ryan's vision to start a Project Garage with a purpose and a special cause. Episode 7 "Porsches & Pizza" releases on 7/31.

Eye on Dunedin Little Italian Pizza

07/02/2025

This ‘youthful’ piece of fossilized coral is a mere 350,000,000 years-old. Found along the shores of Lake Michigan near Northport, MI (and polished by a professional). It’s a Petoskey stone. What’s a Petoskey stone?

The Petoskey stone is a fossilized coral called Hexagonaria percarinata that lived over 350 million years ago during the Devonian Period, when Michigan was covered by a warm, shallow sea. These corals formed vast reef colonies, and after they died, their skeletons were buried and slowly turned to stone. During the Ice Age, glaciers unearthed and scattered the fossilized coral, which eventually washed up along Lake Michigan’s shores. Each hexagonal pattern in the stone is the preserved skeleton of an ancient coral polyp. A beautiful snapshot of prehistoric ocean life and a reminder to slow down and cherish every moment of our brief time on this coastal planet.

06/23/2025

10:10pmET tonight.

06/22/2025

To my Coastal Life Community, I personally invite you to also join me on my writing journey, “The Exhausted Dream Chaser”, now on Substack at:

https://substack.com/profile/328596512-the-exhausted-dream-chaser/note/c-128312543?r=5fmyow&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Eye on Dunedin David Jordan Gary Reilly Angela Brown-Ligon Tracey Short Jennifer Barilla Sean Marsiglia Valerie Sladki Powers Micki Long Carolyn Grunenwald Pucks&pizza Kerry Gentry Viardo Dave Pettitt Voice Over Don Dunlop Kay Valentik Rebecca R Nichols Edith Mendez @

Despite every accomplishment, I didn’t feel extraordinary. I felt tired. Tapped out. Surviving. Performing. Pushing. Putting myself last. Flying on auto-pilot. Running on fumes. Failing to even notice. Gambling and wishing away precious gifts. Justified mistruths. Buried in a mound of duty. Drowni...

06/20/2025

Who loves lighthouses? During a recent trip to the Old Mission Peninsula along Grand Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan, I captured another Coastal Life Story Lab episode with my new friend Brit who taught me about this charming old lighthouse, one of 129 lighthouses along Lake Michigan. Stay tuned!

06/17/2025

COASTAL FAMILY LIFE - Grand Traverse Bay, MI

05/25/2025

Jensen Brothers Seafood has/had cold water lobster meat and some monster U12s so I couldn’t resist. To my Northeastern friends, how’d I do with these warm butter and cold traditional lobster rolls?
Eye on Dunedin @

05/24/2025

05/23/2025

The Coastal Life Story Lab on another story-filled adventure last night. Stay tuned!

05/22/2025

THE COASTAL LIFE STORY LAB MANIFESTO: Everything changed the day I quit law school. I thought a prestigious and affluent profession was the answer. But deep down, prompted by my youngish mother’s lost battle, I knew it wasn’t my calling.

Then came the moment I couldn’t ignore. Something I knew I had to do. A path far less certain. Placed upon it with a purpose. A relentless desire to tell stories. Not perfect stories, but honest stories. The extraordinary inside the ordinary. The best stories.

27 years later, I’ve somehow managed to not starve. Somehow carving out a wonderful life. Fueled by storytelling across multiple mediums. Fascinating client projects affording me time for my own projects. Film. Music. Photography. Podcasts. And, yes, writing. My lifelong coastal dream finally awakening right here in Dunedin, Florida.

I’m done with algorithms. ‘Reel’ stories engineered for addiction. Zombie scrolling that ‘feeder bar’. Cheap thrills. The viral drug du jour. The digital world’s lost art of longer form storytelling.

I’m here to reclaim what’s truly important. Honest stories. Human stories. Stories that matter. Stories that make a difference. Stories that make us smile warmly. Stories that elicit a stray tear. Stories which make us feel less alone, not more alone. Stories designed to connect us. Not divide us. The United States of Shared Humanity.

The Coastal Life Story Lab is an evolution of my storytelling. An independent passion project. A penniless project. Digging for something extraordinary. Lurking beneath the ordinary. Immersing you in the moments of life. The coastal life. Daily rhythms. Deeper reflections. Examining life. Purpose. Fulfillment. Meeting others who call the coast their home. Embracing the rewards. Weathering the challenges. Living it to the fullest.

If you’re still with me, and I hope you are, welcome to our shared journey! Today, the story evolution continues. The newest chapter awakens. Meet the extraordinary David Ufer. Venture into his cherished Sandpiper.

David walked away from the corporate world to roast coffee. His new office a charming hundred-hurricane-seasons-old house. Just two short blocks from Gulf waters. Trading computers for something that finally felt real. Showing us that true success is rooted in a slower life, brewed with intention.

Oh, and by the way, if you’re enriched by what you hear, tell a friend. A stranger. An enemy. A former enemy turned friend. A former friend turned enemy. We could all use something real about now. Future episodes will be fueled by your encouragement.

I now invite you to meet David. After all, he’s been waiting patiently. Simply open the door and walk right through at https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ep-6-from-corporate-it-to-coastal-coffee-roaster-meet/id1750370785?i=1000709471394 OR, as the worn expression goes, “wherever you listen to podcasts”.

This is The Coastal Life Story Lab. Where real stories live. And the soul of storytelling still breathes.