Newport Bay crabbing

One of my favorite things about being married to a berry farmer--besides the obvious perk of eating berries--is that fall is a slower season for them. Fall rolls around & Dar starts getting up just a little later, he lingers just a little longer over coffee with me, & he will randomly ask, "What are you doing tomorrow? Want to go ______?" The other week, it was crabbing. 

We headed over to Newport with his mom & dad, & all the kids that hadn't started college yet. And Riley. It is only natural that he get to come. :). He makes a wonderful deck hand.

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It doesn't get any better than the day we had out at the Coast. Which, just an aside, if you are ever out in Oregon, fall is the best time to go to the coast--it is the least windy, the most sunny, & likely to be somewhat warm. Anyway, it was a day perfect for crabbing. 

Crabbing is much more relaxing & enjoyable for me than salmon fishing. It's done in the bay, for one, where there are few large boats & waves. There isn't the constant jumping up for dancing poles, or chaos when there's a fish on. And, if I just want to sit in the bow of the boat, soak up the rays, & take a few photos when there's action, it's all good:).

For those of you who've never crabbed, here's the how-to: Drop the baited (raw chicken works great) crab trap in a promising spot.

Go drop all your other traps. Go back & check your first one. Pull it in. 

Hopefully, there's a few crabs in it.

Let them scuttle around the bottom of the boat while appointed First Mate measures them to see if any are keepers.

Let aforementioned First Mate show off the catch.

Repeat from step one. Enjoy the rest of your day, cruising around the water. It's a lovely past time.

It was Fee's first time on a boat. She performed well. I probably won't take her when she can start crawling. 

This boy & his dad. It's very sweet to see them together. 

The crabs need to be kept alive until you're ready to cook them. You boil them in salted water for 20 minutes. Then the Sinn's prefer to eat them chilled, dipped in melted garlic butter. I don't see why you couldn't eat them warm though, too. (Also, here's a glimpse of Edie's wonderful "fruit room" where she has row upon row upon row of beautiful canned bounty.)

I am so glad Dar & his family take time to enjoy life. It's too easy to get stuck in the grind, or think it takes too much effort to pack up the boat & equipment for just a half-day of crabbing. But they do it. It's such a good example for me to follow when I think I can't _____ because ______ needs to be done. There are few things that will truly suffer from being put off for a day. So, go do something today that will make a lovely memory to think back on & turn over in your mind instead of laundry! What will you wish you had done in 20 years?