No, I’m not going to tell you I’m into dressing up in furry costumes. I am very well aware that a rather large group of people do this on a regular basis as a hobby. However, I am not one of them. I actually just wanted to tell you about the Sunset Spring Boat Party!
On May 4, I went to How Weird Street Faire in San Francisco. I was a little apprehensive as I have this perpetual nagging voice in my head that tells me that I must stay home and stay on the grind. I love my home, where I can play in the kitchen at any inspired moment and create magic, or snuggle with my lover, or simply walk outside and deeply inhale the orgasmic aroma of roses-how fortunate we are to have multiple rose bushes!
No really, these are the few things I love about being home, and working from home! Here’s where I’ll get even more real and vulnerable. Once in a while, I will get in that funky place where I scroll through the newsfeed on Facebook or photos on Instagram, and tune into the many smiling faces of friends at parties and events I skipped to be at home and stay focused on my mission. The funky feeling comes when the voice in my head reveals my case of the “F.O.M.S.,” as Marie Forleo puts it. Fear Of Missing Something. When this feeling comes, it can fade fast, but sometimes I have to get out there, follow the bass from a mile away and dance my ass off. If you’re curious, yes-this is my idea of partying. Serious bass, sweat and a LOT of booty-shakin’! This past week was one of those days where the bass bug as I call it, had bit. I needed to move my body and-oh yes, it’s so much better with friends! Have you ever had the bass bug?
I get to the corner of First and Howard in San Francisco, and as I’m approaching I hear the music and immediately my heart is just drawn to the bass. As soon as I hear it, I am ready to jump out of my car and leave it in the middle of the road — running, and keys in the ignition. Everything inside of me is ignited by sound. A piece of me still lives in my early raver days! I do believe that this excitement, and rush of pure joy put me in the space to just have everything line right up (I’ll call this alignment with the universe) and the curb side parking spot directly across the street from the entrance opened up before me, as a bright red car pulled out of the spot! Little did I know, it was even better, the stage where my friends were waiting for me was right through this entrance. As soon as I entered, and felt the energy of the scene, I called Joe to tell him that bliss had taken over. I have so much appreciation for this geographical location. Northern California is certainly my cup of tea. This moment was important to share, because I had this intuitive hit that I was in the right place. You know you are in the right place when you genuinely feel absolutely blissful. The gypsy in me constantly wants to move, and find a new home in a distant land-somewhere exotic, somewhere magical and tropical-somewhere enchanting and international.
Though, the moment when I walked into this scene, I knew that there truly is no need to search for this new home afar; right in my back yard there is much to explore! There is a whole world of juicy, thrilling opportunities right where I stand. This is an amazing reminder, which I strongly believe one should tune into on a frequent, and regular basis. Are you familiar with this feeling?
As the energy of the people and sound of the music captured my soul, I took a moment to bask in it all and move my body. I eventually found my girlfriend in the massive crowd of weird-ness wearing a green and purple furry dinosaur suit. I stopped wondering why I couldn’t seem spot her, looking for curly blonde hair- since it was covered by a green furry hood with purple spikes. She grabbed my hand and immediately pulled me back towards the entrance and told me that the boat was leaving. In all honesty, I had no clue what she was referring to. She had somehow left out the detail that the plan was to follow the street faire with a boat party. But what the hell, why not? I love the excitement of the unknown I took her hand and we went on our way.
The silliness of the story begins here. Were you waiting for the food? It’s certainly all about the food here, and don’t worry I haven’t forgotten. If you weren’t aware of this yet-and this is the first article you are reading here on LanaShay.com, this is the intro. It’s all about the food! The organic, raw and vegan, or vegetarian, fruitarian-or what have you-I do love it all, as long as it’s nourishing my sensual self. Giving my body everything it needs to thrive! Let’s get back to the story, now that you know where this is going : )
The four of us marched on to my car where I made a stop to grab a massive piece of vegan, raw, carrot cake. I brought this piece of cake for my girlfriend because her birthday was only a few days away. I did realize, somewhere in the back of my mind that it was a bit crazy to bring this massive piece of cake to a party in the middle of the street and expect it to be consumed among a swarm of dancing bodies. However, being the foodie that I am, wherever I go I bring my true love: wholesome food. So! I have this giant piece of carrot cake in the Tupperware container and I get on the boat. Jokingly, I keep asking my friends if I am going to be able to bring this cake on the boat with me, and are they going to look at me like I’m absolutely nuts? Mind you, these friends are strict vegans and just as dedicated to their diet as myself. They told me with certainly, that of course they’ll allow me on the boat with my cake. I have dietary restrictions! I’m on the no-crap diet!
The carrot cake makes it past the suspicious bag-checkers. We’re on the boat, and I am dancing around, holding this tacky little plastic box, and of course it’s very apparent that I am the only person on the boat with a Tupperware container. I find an open seat ever so often, and open the container to take a few bites of the cake with the plastic biodegradable fork that I grabbed from the stand on the way out of the street faire. Gotta love San Francisco, yes the stand in the middle of the street faire had biodegradable forks! I’m getting a lot of interesting looks, a handful inquire. A man asks if I brought muesli on the boat with me. I humbly boast that it’s my homemade vegan, raw carrot cake and it’s certainly organic so there’s no need to panic, and I’m happy to share. He seemed pleasantly surprised by my response, smiled and said, “Nice! Healthy!” In the perfect world I’ve created in my head, subconsciously, this man is now desirous of vegan raw carrot cake. This excites me. I’m secretly planting seeds of health in the very peculiar setting of a boat party.
I was having a great time, enjoying my cake, laughing as the furry dinosaur by my side posed for photos with her imaginary tiny T-rex forelimbs. It’s very clear that this cake was a catalyst for good times. I’m sure the muesli questioning man made this connection. Right?
Or did he? At least I had this good intention to inspire. Later in the evening when everyone had officially “partied hard,” I was sitting with a group around a two very haphazard looking tables piled with cocktails, when a girl marched up from the lower deck, wearing leopard print leggings and a life vest without a shirt on underneath. She had a baton and was doing an intoxicated version of a cheer-leading routine. She seized the moment to take the stage (aka the tables full of drinks) and managed to knock over all of the drinks on the tables in a failed attempt to stand on top of them. Fortunately, a few quick thinkers in the group saved the day for her, and grabbed the tables so she could stand long enough to do a little booty shake and fall rather gracefully. Before departing, she glanced down at the floor with a disgusted look and exclaimed, “Oh my God! Who brought their lunch?!” I smiled and claimed my Tupperware, “Oh no, no! It’s not my lunch, it’s vegan raw carrot cake!” She raised her eyebrows and I didn’t get much of a response as she looked a little confused and walked away. I certainly had multiple interesting encounters as I danced around the party with my cake in hand. Don’t worry, I did stash the cake when it was time to really move my body and dance! Can you believe this ninja cake didn’t make it into any of my personal photos?
I’m all about making statements about health among large crowds and in public places. 
At times, perceivably inappropriate places! This is simply because I really believe in it. I believe that if 1 out of a 1000 people catches on and runs with the idea-I have done my job. Needless to say, being the only (or maybe one of three) sober people on that boat with my “healthy food” in hand, feels damn good. Whatever floats your boat, right? Pun intended.
I did truly just want to take you on a ride with me, but I also wanted to let you know that there was another meaning to the story. There’s no good excuse to sacrifice health! Boat party, street faire, festival in the desert, or hiking in the woods-it really doesn’t matter where I am. I stick to the ultimate goal of feeling incredible every day and maintaining an optimally nourishing diet! If staying on your (health) game means dancing with a Tupperware container, then so be it. You will thank yourself later, I promise. When everyone is ravenously hungry and didn’t make the effort, they’ll end up resorting to whatever is convenient. That midnight hotdog stand equals farts and bloating. I’ve seen it happen. Bring your lunch to the boat party. Skip the farts.
Have you ever brought your own food to an outing or event? If not, I strongly recommend that you give it a try. It’s simple; put an apple in your purse next time you go to the movies. Throw in a bag of raw almonds and you have the perfect snack! If you have any of your own simple ideas for bringing along a healthy option, please do share in the comments section below! It’s so easy to stay on track and maintain a healthy diet…don’t tell me you don’t have Tupperware around that will fit in your purse! Stay posted, I’ll certainly be sharing ways to keep sensual food stashed on the go! Please share if you enjoyed this story and let us know if you have any feedback!