next variable ...
var breadcrumbs = $('#trail').html();
... contains:
<href="page1/">Page 1</a> <strong>»</strong> <a href="page2">Page 2</a> <strong>»</strong> <a href="page3">Page 3</a>
How can I replace each <strong>»</strong>with something else?
<strong>»</strong>
Just plain old replaceshould do it. Be careful with », it can be written as »a markup or something like that.
replace
»
»
breadcrumbs.replace( new RegExp("<strong>»</strong>", 'g'), "something else" );
breadcrumbs.replace("<strong>»</strong>","new string");
or, depending on how you wrote the character
breadcrumbs.replace("<strong>»</strong>","new string");