Monster Crabs and Happy Birthday, Tammi

Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless but because they are priceless.

There’s another birthday happening in our family today.  This time of year there’s just one of those right after another.  Today just happens to be the birthday of our youngest.  Now I’m not saying she’s young.  It’s just our youngest!   Happy Birthday, Tammi.

Happy Birthday to you.

Dungeness Crab

Guess what we did Saturday?  You’re right.  We went crabbing again.  It was another gorgeous day on the coast.  We had no choice.  We actually heard the crab calling to us.

The first plan of action was to get another 3-day crab license and bait.  Neither of those are sold at the park we are at.  We had to run down to Jetty Fishery again to do that.  We came back with fish heads and our licenses.  Thus, we were ready to go.

The difference between being on the water Saturday and earlier in the week when we had been in the area was that there were lot more boats and a lot more crab rings.  However, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and no huge swells like last time we made the trek in this direction.

We ended up with some nice sized crab this time.  There’s a lot of difference between crabbing off the dock and in a boat.  The ones off the dock were mainly female and small.  In the boat we got our share of small ones but we also saw some nice sized keepers.

Park crab cooker

Jerry learned to pull those crab pots up fast.  We sorted them on the bottom of the boat and tossed those back that weren’t legal.  Seagulls swarmed us for rejects.  We also had a couple Bald Eagles soaring over the trees.  It was definitely a nice day.

The park has a propane crab cooker.  We had it lit and waited and waited.  It was pretty slow in heating.  After about 45 minutes, it still wasn’t close to a boil.

Crabs are cooking!

Finally one of the other RV’ers parked next to the cooker set up his own crab cooker for us.  He has a nifty little burner for outside cooking and it heated up in no time.  If we were going to do much more of this, we’d certainly have our own little cooker.

The cleaning station

The park also has a fish and crab cleaning station down on the dock.  That was nice since it meant no mess at our site.

Our appetizer

We certainly had a mess of crab with enough left over for a crab salad the next day.

Clam for our neighbors

Our neighbors at the park brought over some samples of their day’s find.  We thought that was super nice.  First of all, we each had a large clam they had fixed for each of us,

They also brought seaweed they had collected and prepared Asian style.  I normally totally dislike seaweed.  I think I’ve had enough of that in my mouth over the years and not by choice.  The idea of eating it was never an option.  However, I felt compelled to be polite and try it.  Actually, I would have to admit that the way they had it fixed wasn’t bad at all.  At least I had a bite and tried it.  You realize, of course, that I still have no intention of having more in the future though.  It’s one of those mental things I guess.

Seaweed

This is how they dried the seaweed.  They hung it on their clothesline.  We’d never seen that before.  It was definitely interesting.


Events of Saturday, July 31st

On the Dock of the Bay .. Again

Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life.  You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.

With the weekend came tons of folks to the beach.  Everywhere we went there were people and more people.  Parking lots were full and the roads had many more cars than during the week
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Hey ... look what I caught!

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We decided to spend one more day “on the dock of the bay”.  Since none of us had thought about sunburns, we were surprised that Michael got one.  The weather had been nice but cool.  We doctored him up with a little aloe vera and sunscreen.  He also played it a little safe and sought shelter when available.
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A perfect day to nap in between checking crab pots

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Justin and Michael, being the pro crabbers they had become, were the teachers for Janice and Jerry.  Before long everyone was tossing the nets and sorting the crabs.  Saturday was a beautiful day.

Eating was another thing that didn’t take much convincing.  As you can tell, Michael and Terry weren’t that interested in it.  The rest of us were pretty happy that we didn’t have to share with more than necessary.
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You catch them.  You eat them.

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Sunday was the day the boys needed to head back inland.  So, after fiddling with WOW for awhile we all headed towards Seaside with them.  That little town was more than packed. Kids and their parents were everywhere.  Finding parking spaces was extremely difficult.

We returned to Pudgy’s for some of their “killer” chowder.  Isn’t it amazing that the first time we taste something we seem to like it better than the second time?  It was good but not quite so memorable the second time around.  Oh well …….. still in search of the perfect chowder.

Clam chowder bread bowl at Pudgy's.

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The boys were off north and we headed south to spend another evening enjoying life on the road.

Nehalem Bay - Let's Go Crabbing

I’ve learned when you harbor bitterness that happiness will dock elsewhere.

Wednesday started early. It was especially early for Terry. He was out of bed and ready to go way before his normal hour. We were heading back to Portland. At only 75 miles it really wasn’t a long drive. Lee was scheduled for surgery at 7:30 am. Construction crews were everywhere and they start pretty early in the morning. The drive may not have been long but it sure seemed that way with all the road work.

Full cover on the boat.

Lee’s surgery didn’t go as planned.  Actually, it didn't go at all since the surgery was put off until Thursday. There had been a small plane crash and the surgeon was going to be busy stitching them up first. I did get a picture of Lee in his cast riding the little motorized cart at Wal-Mart. The problem is I took the picture with my iPhone and it was very blurry. So, I thought best not to post it.

Previous crabs we got that we had to throw back since they were too small.  Hopefully, they are bigger this year and we'll be able to keep them.

We were also anxious to see the new full cover on the boat. It had been ordered while we were in Sequim. This was our first look at the finished product. We’re getting anxious to give the boat a try. We’ll be moving down the coast towards Nehalem Bay shortly and plan to have that boat filled with crab. At least that’s what we hope.

One of our "keepers" from last year.

The Electric Quilt software I ordered for designing quilts had arrived. I really get excited about new software so was pretty stoked to pick this up. I’ll probably have more fun figuring out the software than actually making the quilt. I find that designing is the hardest part.  It's amazing how many hours I can stare at a piece of fabric hoping for an idea. I think that’s because I want to consolidate everything into one busy quilt --- photos on fabric, embroidery and applique.  I have lots of ideas but thank goodness they are just ideas.  Our little motorhome isn’t big enough to store all the quilts that I imagine I'm going to make.  I'd have to give them away and who wants a virtual quilt? !!

Cute fabric I found but what am I going to do with it ??

While there we picked up a new wireless HP printer from Staples and visited the DSW Shoe Store. My shoes were getting pretty thin on the bottom. They needed to be replaced and I figured DSW was a good place to do it. I ended up with two pairs. Then, we made a quick stop at WINCO, of course, before we got on the road back to the coast.

Construction workers had gone home for the day on our return trip so it was a lot faster going back to the coast than heading inland.  Thank goodness!

In a few more days we'll be making another trip back to pick up the boat, our crab nets and fishing poles. Then, we'll be able to say Let's Go Crabbing.   The park we'll be at has a huge pot for cooking all the crabs we catch in the bay.   Hopefully, the next pictures I post of crab will be with us sitting at our picnic table and eating them.   We just need the weather to cooperate a bit now.  A cold front with a few showers seems to be looming in the near future.

Oregon Coast and Gifts For Friends

How things look on the outside of us depends on how things are on the inside of us.

The coast can be so beautiful during every season.  Sometimes the waves are crashing down and other times they just gently flow to the shore.  Sometimes the ocean appears gray under threatening clouds.  Other times it’s a bright blue as it reflects a gorgeous sunny day.  In just the few days we’ve been at the coast, we’ve seen it both ways.

We took a little drive down the coast on Thursday.  We didn’t go far.  It was a little cloudy in the morning but by afternoon the skies were just about as blue as they can get.  It was a gorgeous day.

Driving on Hwy 101 there are many places to pull off and just enjoy the view or even walk along the beach.

This is Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, a very popular spot.  We definitely have no plans whatsoever about being here over the 4th of July.  It will be packed.

The Pacific from a viewpoint along Hwy 101.

The beach is a great place to plant yourself for a while and enjoy the sounds of the waves while dangling your toes in the water.

Jetty Fishery offers boats for rent at Nehalem Bay.  It’s a great place to throw in those crab pots and fishing lines.  We’ve spent many hours crabbing in this location.  There are several quaint beach towns close to the Fishery that we enjoy.  Nehalem is small and on the Nehalem River and Bay as is Wheeler.  Rockaway Beach is the town to be if you are looking for a place to spend some time on a gorgeous beach.  However, again, we have no plans of being there over the 4th of July.

Little town of Nehalem

Now, I bet you’re wondering what in the world we are posting a photo of goats for.  Actually, we’re sending these goats to Lee just in case he finds another RV park where he’s required to mow just like the other one he was at.  The goats will take care of that for him.  He’ll have  more time for Bejeweled  (is that the right one?) !  It’s our gift to Lee.

And, now what are these fries all about?  These fries are for Sandie.  I know how much she loves French fries.  I've seen her eat them in Arizona.  We had the most fantastic fries in Seaside the other day.   Being the friend that I am, these fries are being sent to her in Montana so we can share.  It’s just another gift we’re sending today.  Enjoy, Sandie. We did.

Happy 4th of July everyone.  There is a great fireworks show on the beach at Seaside.  Thousands of folks will gather on the beach to view it. Since it doesn't start getting dark until after 10:00 PM around here,  the display probably won't start until at least then.  If you're going, I would suggest you save your spot on the beach early. If we had a window view, we'd love to see the show.  However, we won't be fighting anyone for a spot on the beach and most especially, a place to park.  Have a great evening.


God Bless America!