BODEGA BAY — Price disagreements between local fishermen and commercial buyers have stalled this year's crab harvest, meaning no crab-cracking at many Thanksgiving celebrations tomorrow.
But that's a problem Fred Stewart doesn't have. On Tuesday, the Central Valley grandfather was at his waterfront campsite at Doran Regional Park, standing over his and his grandsons' catch — 30 crabs stacked three-high for the length of a picnic table.
"You can't complain," Stewart said, looking out at his fellow sportsmen on the bay. "Everybody I look at they're all pulling out crabs."
It's as good an illustration as any to explain why the Bodega Bay campground has become such a magnet for holiday travelers like Stewart, who has been coming to Doran Beach for 33 Thanksgivings in a row.
Back when he started the streak, Stewart said he could roll up the Wednesday before the holiday and get a campsite, but those days have long since passed.
As of Tuesday morning, all but one of Doran's 138 campsites were taken, many of them snatched up months in advance, just as next year's spots are already starting to disappear.
"I just called in the other day for next year," said Stewart, who has seen the kids of some neighboring campers grow up and have their own children.
A variety of factors draw visitors to Doran and other Bodega campgrounds at a time of year when many folks prefer to hunker inside, said Ranger James MacMillan, who started working at Doran Regional Park in the early &‘90s.
It's close to Sacramento and the Bay Area. The fall weather is actually often sublime. And, of course, the beginning of crab season in early November brings in plenty of campers eager to share in the catch.
"People just seem to be joyful and having a really good time," he said.
Not everybody cares about the crab, though. Nancy Currey, 51, cares more for the natural beauty. She started coming to Bodega Bay as a young child, saying it's among her favorite places on earth, one that connects her to memories of her late mother and mother-in-law.
She has spent many Thanksgivings here with family, including the past 15 years, though there's no confusing her celebrations with those of others who come year after year.
Even if it's blowing wind and dropping rain, Currey insists on setting up an outdoor meal for as many as 30 friends and family under an awning with lace tablecloths, gold silverware, stem goblets and other accoutrements more associated with fine dining than car camping.
"People are walking by with hot dogs on a stick saying &‘What in the heck are you doing?'" she said. "They point a lot."
There's a price to pay for the pomp. The turkey, yams, casseroles and stuffing are usually chilled by the outdoors by the time anyone gets round to eating.
"I'm not going to lie," said her daughter, Chelsey Miller, 25. "The food is cold every year. But it's tradition."
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