A Crabby Weekend

On Friday night we went to look for ghost crabs at a local state park. If you are going to be spending time at the Delaware beaches, you should check out the events that are held at the state parks. The events sound like a lot of fun.

We got to the ranger station at 8:30 but had to wait until it was dark at 9:00. I am not complaining; I love the long days. It was a full moon so it was a perfect night for a walk on the beach. The park rangers told us about the ghost crabs and what to expect and do on the walk. We did the same walk two years ago but we didn't see any ghost crabs. Of course, we still had fun because it is always fun to walk on the beach and little kids always love flashlights.

This year we saw several ghost crabs. I rotated these pictures on my computer and they are saved that way but for some reason they are uploading sideways.
I actually spotted a crab running in front of Wesley but I wasn't sure if it was a crab or spider. John and Wesley quickly confirmed that it was a ghost crab.

So, on Friday at the beach Wesley found sand crabs and that night we saw ghost crabs. On Saturday he went with Chris, Lang, and John to catch crabs with traps and try fishing for the first time.

The chicken used in the crab traps was left outside for over 12 hours. Apparently the crabs don't like fresh chicken.

Here is one of the crabs they caught. All of the crabs were released back into the water.

Wesley has been wanting to go fishing for a long time but Chris doesn't fish.

Lang was gracious enough to let Wesley try fishing and show him to how to cast the rod. The guys didn't catch any fish that morning. Chris manned the camera and made sure he didn't touch any equipment or animals since he didn't have a license.

Here is Wesley pulling up a crab trap.

And Wesley holding a crab.

Lang purchased steamed crabs on Sunday for all of us to eat. In the 90 some degree heat on Sunday, he cooked potatoes, corn, onions, scallops, mussels, and claims in a deep fryer (like a turkey fryer) to go with the crabs. The meal was delicious. I was so happy to eat it that I forgot to take a picture of all of us enjoying the great food.

So, it was a crabby weekend in the best sense.