July: Bonfire on the Beach

So July was another one of those months where a great plan didn't quite work out as I had planned. The plan was to "have a bonfire at Ocean Beach in San Francisco". I have a difficult time trying to be flexible when things don't work out according to my plans, but I do the best I can. This time, my boyfriend was there to help reassure me that even though my plan didn't quite work out as I had envisioned it, he would ensure that the trip out would *qualify* for my 2011 Bucket List. Thank goodness for him! Looking back on it, maybe the last minute struggle will make it even more memorable. Sure is a funny story to tell and definitely something I had not done before! Let's get to the story, shall we?

So, the month was getting close to the end, due to my incredibly hectic work schedule. I had planned out a possible date for my Bonfire but hadn't actually confirmed and got the ball rolling until about a week prior. Then, the majority of the people I invited were not able to attend. Kind of a bummer. So, when it gets down to it, my boyfriend will be there and a couple of people thought that they'd catch up with us later. Yup, four wonderfully supportive people at my bonfire...haha. I decided to pack a picnic dinner for the boyfriend and myself, gather up the necessary supplies for the bonfire and call it a success. I had everything that we'd need all perfectly packed up, I was pretty impressed with myself :)

When we got into SF, the entire place was COVERED in fog, thick - get you wet - fog. Well, we figured that the fire would warm us. We get to the beach and apparently you can only have fires in the six fire pits - something that I recall not being the case prior and something that I did not find in my research. Cops were roaming around shutting down the bonfires that people had started elsewhere on the beach. So, the boyfriend and I decide to have the picnic in the hopes that some group might leave and we could snag their pit. That of course, didn't happen. I start to get really cold and ready to call it a night. In a last ditch effort, the boyfriend suggests we ask those nearby if we can borrow their fire to roast our marshmallows so we can at least have s'mores by bonfire and theoretically have participated in a bonfire at Ocean Beach. They were nice enough to let us, although I am pretty sure they thought we were pretty strange for asking.


I bet some people could have just walked up to a party and joined it, but let's face it, I'm not really that kind of person, haha. The boyfriend swears he saw a couple of people do just that, but I didn't see it so I'm not sure I believe him. So in the end, a bonfire experience was had, even though it wasn't quite what I imagined. Fun none-the-less!