Crabbing on a Beautiful Oregon Day

Sunday morning, Greg and I decided to do some shopping at the antique shops around Reedsport.

There are quite a few antique and vintage shops in that little town, which is actually kind of surprising. We wandered through several of them, looking at everything and hoping to find something interesting.

The only thing we ended up buying was a handful of DVDs.

We’ve been slowly adding to our DVD collection for the camper at our property. There’s no cell service out there, let alone internet, so if Greg wants to watch something at night, DVDs are pretty much our only option. He likes to watch a movie or show before bed, and he was starting to get tired of watching the same things over and over.

Most of the other stuff we found was just too expensive for what we were looking for.

I wish I could tell stories the way Scott does. He’s such a good storyteller. He and Jen had actually been to one of the shops we visited, and before we went he told us a story about it. He described the people and everything that had happened so well that when we walked into the shop, I felt like I’d already been there. I could practically see the characters he had described.

That’s a talent.

After we finished shopping, we headed out crabbing.

We were incredibly lucky with the weather. It was sunny, there was hardly any wind, and it was just a beautiful day to be out on the water.

Greg handled the crab pots, throwing them out and pulling them back in while LaRee and I took approximately a zillion pictures.

I had brought my long lens because I was hoping we’d see some birds out on the water.

And we sure did.

I absolutely love being out on the boat with my camera. There’s just something about being surrounded by all that water and scenery and having the chance to photograph whatever happens to come along.

The surprise of the day, though, was when LaRee announced that she wanted to pull one of the crab pots because she’d never done it before. I couldn’t believe it, in all the years we’d been going crabbing. She’d never pulled a pot.

I was honestly impressed.

She pulled that thing up all by herself, right until it reached the top of the water.

Unfortunately, there was one little casualty.

My phone.

I’d put it in my back pocket and somehow, while I was sitting on the edge of the boat, it fell out.

Dang it!

There wasn’t much I could do about it, so once we got back to the house I just ordered a new one.

Thankfully, everything on my phone is backed up, so I didn’t lose a single photo. That was a HUGE relief.

Once we’d reached our limit, Greg and I traded spots with Scott and Jen so they could head out for a while. We went back to the house, and Greg cooked the crab.

That night we had crab, potato salad and cheesy bread.

A feast for just the few of us.

Greg’s friend Brady also stopped by and visited for a while.

It really was such a great day.

I just love being out on the boat, and I was so glad the weather cooperated enough for us to get out there. Sunny, calm water, crabbing, birds, my camera, good food and time with family and friends.

Even losing my phone couldn’t ruin it.

It was a fantastic Oregon day and overall a great trip.

And as much as I loved this trip, it did feel different.

For so many years, Labor Day in Oregon meant having all of the siblings and their families there. It meant cousins running around together, lots of noise, activities, kids everywhere and a house full of people. There was always something going on.

This time it was just different.

I missed all of that. I missed having everyone there and watching all the cousins together. I missed the noise and the chaos and the activities that came with having the whole family together.

But at the same time, we had a wonderful time, got to spend some good time with family and friends, explored places I hadn’t been before, spent time on the boat, took a ridiculous number of pictures and just enjoyed being in Oregon together.

I’m really glad we decided to bring our old Labor Day tradition back, even if it looked a little different this time around.

Monday morning we packed up and headed home.

Wouldn’t be a trip to Oregon if I didn’t see a deer over in the orchard.