Zublog

The Zufall experience usually comes from rolling two dice but sometimes we only need one.  We’ve used the blue (we call it letting blue decide)  when we have two options and just can’t make up our minds. We let blue decide by assigning each option either odds or evens.  Well, once in a while we use only the directional dice.

We told you about finding a hotel on St. Martin (a part of the French West Indies in the Caribbean) by chance – but the rolls didn’t stop there:   

I had heard that Anse Marcel was a nice, secluded beach that not a lot of people ended up at -perfect. When it comes to beach time, we are DIYers. So, we packed up our cooler, our towels and our umbrella and headed North.

The drive was very pretty, with the final stretch, up a winding road, providing a stunning preview of the little cove known as Anse Marcel. Arriving at the end of the road, we discovered free parking and plenty of signage to get you to the beach. The walkway led us straight to an area where beach chair and umbrella are for rent at $15 each. It’s smack dab in between the white loungers of the Radisson and the orangey-red of Hotel Le Domaine de Lonvilliers (jhee jhee).

We walked right past those haute chairs to the southwest side of the beach – which was wide open. It likely won’t stay that way very long based on the bulldozers ripping up the ground behind that portion of the beach. We stuck our umbrella in the ground and set up our towels…but a few minutes later a white clad waiter informed us that we were not welcome to stay. A small white plastic fence stuck in the sand was apparently the divider between public and private beach and we were in the domain of Le Domaine. A local had told us that all beaches on St. Martin are public and that regardless of how fervently a resort might try to protect its guest from having to look at riff-raff sitting directly on the sand (gasp), you had every right to stay put. But, we weren’t in the mood for putting up the good fight – we wanted to swim and chill and if that meant moving three feet to the left, so be it.

Once settled, we broke out the picnic and had ourselves a nice cold beer. We frolicked in the gentle surf (the drop off is quite gradual, so it was a great location for bobbing in the water), read our books, and watched the people walking down the beach (most of whom were actually wearing bathing suits – a rare thing indeed on a French beach). 

It was the perfect last day on an island that we had truly enjoyed and thought we had fully explored.  Thanks to the dice, we found one more cove worth discovering.  And, that is why we never go on vacation without our Zufall dice.

I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out how I could write about this topic without confessing that it was spawned by my attendance of New Moon, The Twilight Saga.  But, eventually I decided – why fight it.  It goes to relevance…and the sweet level of innocent romance that we should all be grasping for.

So, I was at New Moon and noticed that no less than three of the movie previews were for films that seemed to have a common theme.  I shall sum it up as this – girl is in love with boy (but is frustrated / jilted), girl tries to get what she wants through determination, some magical/mythical force interferes, presents alternate boy crush, girl falls for new boy harder than the first – all thanks to fate or chance or whateveryouwannacallit.
In the first trailer, it was a note left in an ancient Italian wall addressed to Juliet (named, what else, Letters to Juliet).

In the second it was infatuation attached to coins in a Roman fountain (When in Rome).

And finally it was some myth about proposals made on February 29^th (Leap Year).

Can you spot the difference?

What it got me thinking was not that Hollywood seems to be repeating itself (really, nothing new about that) but that romance is nothing without the unexpected twists and turns.  That the magic we are all drawn to and looking for when we buy into these ideas of myth are really about women wanting to know that their true love is fated – that best laid plans are always usurped by the magic of love. What is love if it isn’t a surprise?

I don’t want to spoil everything for those of you who might be planning to go to these films under the pretense that the girl won’t get the guy in the end – but the happy ending always comes when fate intercedes.  Life is never how we plan it, and it always works out better when we let go of the plan and leave the crucial things, like love, to chance.

Sometimes waiting until the last minute to book a hotel can leave you sleeping on the beach. It’s true that we like to leave things to chance, but there are varying degrees of that practice. Case in point; we’re traveling to the island of St Maarten / St. Martin in the Caribbean, thanks to a kind offer from a friend to use his timeshare there.

However, the accommodation doesn’t cover the full stay – so we were still in need of a place to stay. As hotels can get pretty expensive on the island and, although the $7000 a night villas look lovely, we wanted to make sure we grabbed a reasonably priced place before they were all gone. But, we weren’t prepared to completely give up on our favorite pastime – Zufall. So, we pulled up a Google Maps shot of the island and imagined we were right in the middle. We set our base value at 1km as the crow flies. We rolled an E/4 … so directly east from the centre (Dutch Cul de Sac) we ended up at Oyster Pond.

We found a great little place on line that is right up our alley (not a big hotel resort) It’s called Les Balcons and it’s a small, family run establishment with bungalow style rooms equipped with a kitchen. The interesting thing about Oyster Pond is that half of it is on the Dutch side of the island and the other half is on the French side. It’s a less touristy destination and I doubt we would have bothered to look there for accommodation if we hadn’t rolled our way there.

Our reservations are set, and we’ve got our fingers crossed that the dice are leading us to yet another great adventure by chance.

I should know better than to chastise Tim for missing an exit while Zufalling. We had rolled a NW 3 with a base value of 10 minutes driving. By the map it looked like we would end up in Horseshoe Bay.

Horseshoe Bay is always a great place to go for a stroll on a sunny Saturday afternoon – so I was looking forward to it. But, Tim missed the exit.

Here’s the thing – you can’t make a wrong turn when you Zufall because you don’t really know where the roll is leading you until you get there. Tim took the next exit, and we ended up driving through the neighbourhood of Horseshoe Bay instead of visiting the village – where all the tourists go. Of course, I knew there was more to Horseshoe Bay than the village, but I had never seen it.

We drove up and along Marine, checking out the million-dollar homes that cling impossibly to the cliff-side to deliver the spectacular view of Howe Sound to its inhabitants. It was inspirational, breathtaking, and completely unexpected. As we descended down toward the yacht club we saw some local kids playing soccer – it seemed like the entire community had come out to support the young superstars. We carried on along Marine, having gotten a little turned around by the zigzag of the road.

Suddenly, on our right was a sign for Lighthouse Park and we pulled into the crowded parking lot. I don’t know where those car’s owners were because it felt like we had the park to ourselves. The smell of pine and dirt, the glint of sun off the rolling ocean and the majesty of one of the province’s first light houses – it demanded a long walk in the forest and some scampering up the rock faces. We even ran into an old friend as we were leaving and got caught up.

It was another spontaneous afternoon that could have been very different if Tim hadn’t missed the turn. It was also a great reminder for me to not try to plan the unplanned adventure.

“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” ~ so said philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche back in the latter part of the 19^th century.  Fittingly, he died of a mental breakdown at the age of 44 – so he knew a little about what he was speaking of.

And while I’m sure that Nietzche wasn’t suggesting that you fill you life with adversity in order to become a person of fortitude, I’m going to encourage you to do this to your relationship…in small doses.

I think a good relationship is strengthened when it is challenged.  I’m not suggesting adultery here, rather something a little milder (plus, note I said a ‘good relationship’).  I’m saying couples should get lost together.

This all stems not from ponderings of Nietzsche’s philosophy but from catching an old Canadian classic on the radio – Lost Together by Blue Rodeo. I Googled it in my nostalgic state, and while seeing the video on YouTube made me feel old, hearing it reminded me of why being lost together is so magical.

You see, being lost is rare these days.  With GPS, Google Earth, and lifestyle schedules that mark every minute of the day, it’s pretty hard not to be exactly where you expect to be. But, when you do find yourselves somewhere else, that’s when the strength of the relationship comes out. You learn to work as a team again, you’re solving a problem together, you’re facing adversity and winning (assuming you aren’t completely directionally challenged). And, in some cases, you let go of expectations and rediscover each other and the space you are in.  Romantic, right?

The song itself is talking about love, about being in each other’s mess and it not mattering because you are together. So, get lost together! It will remind you that, to paraphrase Blue Rodeo (and I guess quote The Beatles) ‘Love is all that you need’.

A friend of mine found herself chowing down on the same old Subway sandwich during her lunch break from work.  It was the same one she always gets, at the restaurant she always goes to.  It occurred to her that she really should have rolled the dice to find a new place to eat.

She remembered thinking about where to go, wondering for a moment about searching something new out, but then laziness and routine kicked in and before she knew it she was asking a sandwich artist for extra olives.  It was an uninspired decision based on ease and little else. I suggested that she keep a kit in her desk for the next time an opportunity for a lunch-time adventure presented itself.  She went one better and said she was going to put one in her purse.  I like how she thinks…you never know when a drone moment will hit that can only be remedied by a bit of chance.

Coca-Cola has just released a Canadian version of their song “Open Happiness” (featuring Kardinal Offishall, Jay Malinowski of Bedouin Sound Clash, and the amazing Beatrice Martin of Coeur de Pirate).  It’s a catchy little tune that ultimately is meant to help you equate happiness with opening up a bottle of coke.  It’s certainly not the first time an advertiser has used happiness as a tool for sales – in fact, it is behind most pitch lines when you think about it just not quite so blatantly.

When I see happiness as a tagline, it always gets me thinking about the elements of that state of being.  How can we really find happiness?  Now, that is the question of many a philosophy debate and the motivation for most movements and religions – so I am not going to attempt to answer it here. 

However, I do think that we loose sight of happiness the more deftly we pursue the things we expect to deliver it.  So, I’ll borrow from the likes of the Dali Lama and Buddha to say that three of the key elements of happiness have nothing to do with physical things but rather letting go of the things you can’t control.  These three elements are: being present in the moment; appreciating what you do have; and letting go of expectation.

Kardinal Offishall

Sadly, these things can be very hard to achieve and they alone won’t result in a full life of total happiness – especially when you are up against Western society and culture.  But, if you can find moments of it…then you’ll find slices of happiness.  So, can you find it opening a bottle of Coke? Listening to a jaunty tune? Rolling the dice? The truth is, you can find it anywhere – the real trick is to keep finding it over and over no matter what you are doing.

I’ve always said that there are a lot of creative ways to use Zufall…but I have to say I never imagined this one. A zufaller recently confessed that she and her husband had used the dice to pick a page in the Kamasutra on date night.

My jaw is still recovering from dropping so far. I’m always curious to hear about the different uses for the dice but let’s just say, that one’s not going on the label! After I got over my initial shock…I suggested they use the directional dice to help them pick the room in the house where they would, errrr… read the book. She loved the idea.

It shouldn’t have surprised me so much because romance and chance have always gone hand in hand. And who could blame anyone for wanting a little more spontaneity and fun on their date night? I’m just glad we haven’t seen that adventure show up on the I zufalled page!

The weekend roll was NE/2 – we had set our base value at 10 minute driving and we thought we were headed for deep cove.  We put on clothes fit for kayaking and hit the road.  Much to our surprise, the traffic delayed us and after 20 minutes of driving (a roll of 2 times 10 minutes driving) we weren’t yet at Deep Cove. The next place to turn off Dollarton Hwy was Cates Park.  The parking lot was crowded but we found a spot in overflow.  Lots of families were picnicking and settling in for the late afternoon free music performance that the sandwich boards advertised.  What a place to end up – right on Burrard inlet with an amazing view of Burnaby Mountain!

We were happy to discover that Takaya Tours rents double kayaks (and they’re $10 cheaper than Deep Cove) and launch you right off the beach.  It’s a new service at Cates Park that only started last summer – who knew?

We had a lovely time on the water, checking out the beautiful mountains, dreaming about the waterfront mansions and we even managed to make it to Deep Cove.  Ninety minutes later, we returned to the pebble beach much more relaxed and joyful. There was only one thing left to do…eat. 

Cates Park had one more surprise for us – the recently opened Wally’s Burgers.  This place was an institution in Vancouver and when the original drive-in style restaurant on Kingsway shut down in March 2008, many lamented the loss of a great burger joint.  Well, it’s back and it’s busy.  Tim had the Deluxe Burger with onion rings and I had a mint chocolate chip milkshake made with real ice cream.  Deee-licious!  We sat at the picnic table taking in the view and watching the people come and go from their day at the beach.  

It just goes to show, even when you think you know what is going to happen on your Zufall adventure – you have to be ready for it to be totally different. We definitely made the most of Cates Park today!

By the way, we’d love to hear about your adventures by chance…please share them with us by clicking on the orange banner on the main page and check out the experiences that other people have had.  Each adventure is always unique.

On a recent Zufall adventure we found ourselves in Osoyoos, BC.  It was a scorching hot day in the desert and while a dip in the lake seemed tempting the variety of wineries we passed along HWY 3 had been tempting us for longer.  It was late afternoon, but we still managed to visit two tasting rooms, all with in a few kilometers from the downtown area. 

The first on the list was Twisted Tree, a relatively new winery (established in 2004) just a few minutes North East of Osoyoos on Hwy 3. The tasting room had a real Southern French flare and we soon found out why. All of their varietals are from France. We tried three whites, two of which were blends. We are not usually Chardonnay lovers, but theirs was a subtle Chard, its oaky-ness softened by a hint of honey. That was the bottle we bought.   

Our next stop was just east on the East Bench above Lake Osoyoos, and is quite a bit more established.  Nk’Mip Cellars is conveniently located just up the hill from the campground we were staying at giving us a gorgeous view of the vineyard (planted in 1968) rolling down to the lake. The winery is owned by the Osoyoos Indian Band and is adjacent to the still expanding Spirit Ridge Resort and Spa.

 Nestled into the dusty hill, the property boasts a contemporarily styled dining room, an outdoor patio bistro (with overhead mist jets – a delight on those punishing desert days) a pool (check into a cabana for the afternoon), golf, and some education with the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre. It’s a lovely resort with stylish, spacious suites and well laid out villas with a kitchen for extended stays or families. Plus, the place is riddled with metal sculptures…but back to the wine.  We’ve been fans of this vintner for some time. Tim is particular to the Qwam Qwmt Merlot but this time around we picked up the Reisling.

Nothing tops off a hot, dry day in sagebrush country like a crisp glass of icy wine.  What a treat that we rolled our way to this great, yet under appreciated, corner of BC’s wine country.