Chance — whose name is short for Crab Who Takes Chances — was a simple Dungeness crab on the Maryland shore for the early part of his life, but he always had a yearning to travel. In 2007, Naomi visited his beach and he heard her describing her upcoming road trip from Maryland to Seattle. It sounded like the perfect entrance for a young crab into a life of travel and adventure, so he did what he does best. He took a chance. Specifically, he scuttled aboard her Hyundai Elantra while she wasn’t looking, and hitched himself a ride.
Ever since she discovered him in the back seat on the first night of the road trip, Chance has been Naomi’s constant travel companion. As a creature who walks sideways, as well as one who has had to make his own adventures despite the handicap of being a small, penniless crustacean, Chance was the natural mascot for a travel blog about going places via indirect methods when direct ones don’t quite work. He’s accompanied her to Dominica, where he reunited with some old Blue Crab friends, and to a scattering of music conventions, where he enjoyed listening to the Fiddler Crabs fiddle. He’s looking forward to going with her to Africa this January, even though there will be no beaches involved.
Naomi’s cat, Brooklyn, is obsessed with Chance, and crab naps him every chance he gets. This is the only form of travel Chance does NOT enjoy. Dangling from the mouth of a cat is no way for a civilized crab to get around.