A Little Crabby

Tonight we enjoyed fresh, local seafood for dinner. Ron loves the royal reds (shrimp) and has been talking about making some for as long as we've talked about coming back here for vacation. The kids really wanted to try some crab. So we drove away from the touristy areas to the area along the bay where the shrimpers, crabbers, & fishermen bring in their catches. We bought some live blue crabs and some royal reds. We also stopped by a local southern BBQ carryout for me since I don't care much for seafood.

The drive was a little longer than we had anticipated, and we didn't bring a cooler with us for the crabs. They double bagged the crabs in lots of ice, but we kept watching for movement all the way home. We made it without incident, though. In fact, the crabs were cold enough that they didn't move much before meeting their fateful demise in a pot of boiling water. I think the kids were hoping for a little more action.

The kids really liked the crabs. Danielle especially liked them and went back for seconds. She didn't even need her backup hotdog. Even I liked the taste (but I was still glad for the BBQ). Since the kids had just learned all about these crabs on our nature cruise earlier in the week, they felt the need to identify the sex of each crab. I was ok until Tyler said, "This one is a girl. See where she keeps her eggs." The insides of the crab were rather gross, too. I think I would have enjoyed the crab more if it was already shelled and served to me on a plate. Tyler tried the shrimp and said it was pretty good, too. Danielle and I declined, which was fine with Ron. It was a good experience overall. The kids were really excited about finding the food, cooking it, and trying it. We had a nice time together.