the weekend

This past weekend we went crabbing.

I had been once before. Long ago with someone else.

After waking up, way to early for my first day off in 8 day, we set out on the 1 1/2 hour drive to the water. A few stops for snacks and drinks, then we finally made it to the jetty.

Gathering up all the gear from the truck then we made the climb across the rocks to find the perfect spot. One that wasn't already full of people. I immediately laid down on the rocks and basked in the sun while he set up the traps.

It was a continual checking of all the traps every 10 minutes or so, while I was not helpful at all, just laying down or taking photos of everything. I do not kill crabs. He does.

I was more impressed by the seal that kept swimming by, while all the crabbers hated it since it would steal all their bait or their catches. 

I was proud of the seal.

After spending about 2 hours out their, he already had a backpack full of crab, still moving around everywhere. So after the mini trek back to the car, they got dumped into the cooler with a bit of water.

We drove through the little town of Bodega Bay. We stopped at one of the Kites and Taffy stores and stocked up on sweets. After some coffee, we drove up the coast trying to find a campsite that wasn't full.We didn't have much luck at first. Everything was full and the ones that weren't were pretty much parking lots somewhat near the water. 

We ended up driving the 30 miles up the windy coast highway to Salt Point Campgrounds near the town of Jenner. The sites were all tucked away better the trees it was the perfect place. Their sign said 'campground full' but we went to talk to the rangers and see if something opened up. With a little 'magic' on their end and the promise of crab from us, we got a campsite.

After setting up the tent, the slaughter was looming. They all got chopped in half then cleaned out I guess. It was one of those horrifying but fascinating experiences for me. So weird I couldn't look away, or stop taking photos.

They got boiled in salt water with hot sauce and butter. 20 minutes in the pot and then they were ready to eat. 

I had a salad.

He started not to feel well so we went to lay down for a bit. It was only 6pm. We ended up just falling asleep, only to be awaked hours later to raccoons eating all of our bread and scavenging through my taffy. 

After he cleaned up and I went back to bed, we woke up at 6am. 12 hours of sleep it was a bit much.

A crab frittata for breakfast then we were on the road. We drove a different way back and made a few stops. A few by the Russian River and one to walk around Calistoga. 

Back to work the next day. He went home with still a mountain of crab to eat.

the next morning.