My daughter went to Hilton Head beach this past week. While strolling along the beach, she found a particularly beautiful shell. After taking a selfie with it, she decided to bring it up to her hotel room. There it stayed, causing no trouble at all.
But then at midnight, the strangeness began. My daughter was awakened by the sound of scratching. It freaked her out. "Wake up!" she called to her friend.
The friend groaned. "It's midnight. Quit playing with your makeup!"
"I'm not playing with my makeup! Something is making a noise!"
The girls grabbed their flashlights and investigated. And what do you think they found? A hermit crab! The shell had come to life and was rummaging through my daughter's makeup pile.
The girls screamed.
Their screams awakened the grandparents. "What's going on here?"
The girls pointed at their visitor.
The grandfather laughed, grabbed that thing, and placed it in a cup. That's where it stayed until morning, when it was released back into the ocean.
So much for the pretty shell.
Now that is too funny! Need to be careful what shells you pick up on our beaches.
ReplyDeleteShe said she looked inside the shell and didn't see anything when she picked it up. The crab must have been tucked in there really deep.
DeleteOh my gosh... that would have been scary and funny at the same time... I will be incredibly careful picking up sea shells in the future xox
ReplyDeleteShells should probably be left on the beach. :)
DeleteOh, that's hysterical! I can just picture the whole thing (having worked in pet shops). Glad it was returned to the ocean. :)
ReplyDeleteYes. I'm glad the crab survived its little escapade.
DeleteI'd be more than shell-shocked! Oh my. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhy it waited until midnight to make its presence know is a mystery to me!
Deleteso the crab didn't get the trip too?
ReplyDeletelol he must have been a bit crabby after that
ReplyDeleteHaha! I hope it didn't get too much powder or lipstick on its shell!
DeleteI remember looking for them when I went shell collecting at the beach. Unfortunately I never found a hermit crab, although I wanted one.
ReplyDeleteWe had pet hermit crabs a while ago. They are very stinky creatures. Pretty to look at, but that is about it.
DeleteSounds like the crab was just looking to get 'dolled up' before going out again. Such a cute story and one I'm sure your daughter will be telling her grandchildren one day.
ReplyDeleteIt must've had a hot date! ;-)
DeleteThe hermit crab just wanted to look even prettier. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love to collect shells from the beach, but I always make sure there's nothing inside them. Putting them under water and checking for bubbles is a good way to make sure. No bubbles means it's empty.
That's a good tip. I'll have to share that with my kids.
DeleteOh wow. I've never found a live shell before. That's going to be a story she tells for the rest of her life.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely!
DeleteOh, wow! That's one I never heard before. Cool incident and no harm done. I heard of someone shooting a deer, loading it in the truck and then having it come back to life. They had to jump in the back and slit its throat.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, blogging at Life & Faith in Caneyhead
Ugh! That's awful! Poor deer!
DeleteHi, Sherry!
ReplyDeleteThat exact same thing happened to Mrs. Shady #1. Shortly after we were married we vacationed at Myrtle Beach, SC. We went for a walk on the beach and she collected a few decorative shells and put them in a bucket. When we got back to the motel room we placed the shells on the table. A couple of hours later we noticed movement and found that two or three of the shells had sprouted legs and were walking around on the table! :) Shops on the boardwalk used to sell hermit crabs when we were in our teens and 20s. Do you think they still do? Have you ever seen vendors selling them?
Happy Friday and have wonderful weekend, dear friend Sherry!
That's a funny story! In Ohio, they sold hermit crabs at the mall. (It wasn't in a pet store, either.)We got our pet hermit crabs there.
DeleteHave a wonderful weekend as well.
That's a good story and a good lesson to check some things that you pick up.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Chrys's test about the bubbles is a good tip.
DeleteWhat a fright for your daughter, hope she dosen't get too many like that.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
No kidding!
DeleteGreat story! Yep, sometimes shells are alive! Glad they were still at the beach where it could be released and the thing wasn't cooking in a trunk on the ride home.
ReplyDeleteThat would have smelled awful!
DeleteCool!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Hilarious :) I love this! A spooky start that ends with a hermit crab on a pile of makeup.
ReplyDelete