Sunday, January 18, 2009

Bandon Pier revisited...


Dungeness holding fast to the remains of a turkey drumstick

Fifteen years ago, during our cross-country adventure with the kids, we crabbed from the town pier in historic downtown Bandon, (Or.) I was glad to see the old tackle shop, Bandon Bait, where we bought a crab ring and several frozen fish heads years ago, was still in operation. By mid-morning it was a hubbub of activity; despite January being the off-season for sightseers. Perfect weather (and hopes of crab cakes for dinner) brought a dozen people to the docks to toss in their traps. The tide was changing and I decided to see how my 'mates' were doing before tossing in a chicken wing myself. After a few hours, no one had any keepers! (The shell of the dungeness crab must measure 5-3/4 inches from point to point to be legal size and despite bringing up many crabs with every pull, all were too small.) Nevertheless, I was content to walk the length of the pier, soak up the sun and exchange stories for the afternoon.


Sunset from Cape Blanco shoreline


A word of advice

A fellow crab enthusiast is telling me how she has to be very careful when handling even the smallest crabs. Her job on the 'crew' (along with her brother and sister) is to toss back the crabs that are too short. She assures me that, "Getting pinched... really hurts!"

It was a busy day in the 'too-short' department which made for wet gloves, cold little fingers and a disgruntled crew! Her Dad told me he promised to buy them crabs in reparation for 'sticking it out!'


Bandon has a small, two-tier, outdoor performance area along the waterfront. The octagonal stage area of the concrete structure is decorated with a mosaic spiral design created from polished stones, glass beads, marbles, brass sea life and other durable curios.


If you guessed "macaroons the size of snowballs" you'd be correct... But it gets even better. After baking for 20 minutes, they are cooled and dipped in chocolate!! (To make them 'healthy,' the recipe calls for a pinch of all-natural sea salt.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm not surprised you've ended up crabbing in Oregon as all the SWH Thibodeaus have referenced that experience as one of the highlights of the Great Adventure! And the advice you received from the little crabber will serve you well!

I am also heartened to hear you are eating so well...dungeness crabs and all-natural macaroons...sounds healthy to me.