Chaos and a Lobster Roll

Chaos and a Lobster Roll.

There are places I’ve been that I knew next to nothing about before arriving. Recently, those places have been on the east coast of Canada. I knew the names and could point them out on a map but other than that, nothing. I didn’t know what kind of people or food to expect. This is where you find the gems. For me, one meal can make or break a place. Right now, I find myself in a very small town in Nova Scotia. Not much happening in these parts, but something happened today. I had the best fish and chips of my LIFE. A small shack with a 4 item menu and one guy doing it all. These are the places you must seek out and try. There is a very good reason he runs out of fish by midday. There are spray bottles of vinegar on the counter to dress your fish (very efficient) and off you go to the nearest picnic table. The crust is light and crunchy and the fries perfect. This is what you do in a small town with not much happening, slow down and enjoy some damn fish. There is a certain level of respect to be given to people like that, the ones who make 4 or 5 things so well they make you remember a town that probably would have soon been forgotten. 

There has been quite a few instances of these as of late. Prince Edward Island being one of them. I had zero expectations or plans upon arrival, other than to eat as many oysters I could get my hands on. I had a week of some of the most unexpected experiences of my life. PEI from my very limited outsiders view seems to be a wonderland of places that wouldn’t survive elsewhere. People have no problem driving 30 or 40 minutes to a restaurant that does a handful of things well (previous point applies here too). Local ingredients are so celebrated and common you forget a lot of the world doesn’t function like this. It’s such a cool thing to see people so excited about what makes their part of the country great. Strawberries have been ruined forever for me now. Mussels that were harvested just a couple hundred meters away? Don’t bother anywhere else. The most poignant thing though, a lobster roll. I thought I’d had some decent ones before this. I was wrong they were complete garbage in comparison. This is another place that has a handful of things on the menu, all simple and done so damn well. Do you see a trend here??! Good company, a hot day, cold beer and a lobster roll. These are the moments that make you sit your ass down and forget the chaos for a second. 

Chaos seems to be a trend in my life. Not one I had expected but I suppose it’s there for a reason. Thriving in chaos is what most humans that have any sort of obligations have to do. It’s part of life. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the stresses of the day and to forget to take care of yourself or enjoy it for a second. The beauty in my chaos is that it forces a deadline. Knowing I’ll be leaving a place soon makes me get out there and explore a little more aggression. I think the reason I thrive in chaos is this - I can’t survive in monotony. I used to work a 9-5, had a “normal” life and should have been happy with that. I had a beautiful apartment overlooking the ocean, shared with a great human, but it wasn’t working. For me, that routine was certain hell. The predictability was mind numbing. Auto pilot is a very dangerous thing. I give a lot of credit to the people who can find ways to survive in that environment and find joy in those circumstances. I wish I could have a little more of that but I don’t. My relationships suffered, I was less likely to do things spontaneously and just wanted to be home doing nothing most of the time. It wasn’t until I joined yachting and began traveling full time that I realized one very important thing. If I had looked at my old life with more of a deadline, maybe I would have done more, explored more often. That in turn would have broken up the monotony a bit, but hey, hindsight is 20/20 blah blah blah. Anyway, my point is, get out and go a little further than normal, you just might stumble on something you’ll never forget. I’ll do the same.

xx

J

Follow me on Instagram!