The Night of the Crabs
by Pat
(Houston, TX)
An Uninvited Beach Sleepover Guest
The kids and I decided on the spur of the moment to drive the one hour jaunt to Galveston and camp overnight on the beach one summer. The weather was supposed to be clear and dry and so we took no tent, intending to sleep out under the stars.
Since it was a last minute trip, we arrived rather late and found an isolated bit of beach all to ourselves, so we gathered driftwood and made a fire. We cooked the steak we'd thrown in the ice chest and had the cole slaw and potato salad we'd grabbed ready made to go with them, eating with our fingers just for the fun of it.
Then we toasted marshmallows and made smores which taste even better in the salt air. We even had time for a little dip in the ocean before it got too dark, as there wasn't much of a moon.
It was great family fun and it was a great night to sleep on blankets under the stars. Later that night.... the squealing woke me up. My daughter was frantically trying to claw her way out of the blankets and soon her sister was joining the escape.... both howling about something trying to "get" them. I thought it was just nightmares until I felt something move and knew we were not alone under the covers.
I finally dug the flashlight out of the car and found we were sharing our bed with a whole herd of little hermit crabs who I guess thought our blankets were better than a plain old seashell as a new home. We counted at least six, and I have no idea just how many there were. It was really strange because normally you see only one. We ended up spending the rest of the night in the little station wagon, a little cramped, but crab free.
Morning brought another surprise. We'd arrived at low tide and now it was high tide, and the beach we were on had become an island! Fortunately the car was on a high spot and safe but we couldn't leave for quite awhile. I learned a valuable lesson about where to park on a beach. After the tide went out we were able to leave and go back home with some great stories to tell about the night of the crabs and the morning on the new island. It's great to live this close to the water for impulse family beach trips.
