Patty, Me, Gwen, Janice
Having spent the last 28 or so years either in a miserable closet or sporadically out in public alone, and finally deciding to go out and and try to have some fun, I figure I better find some company. Some partners in crime, as it were. Having discovered Donna's Den, a TG chat room, I begin ruthlessly trying to force my company upon any local girls I happen upon!
The first unsuspecting person happens to be
Patty.After chatting awhile, we decide to meet for lunch. While working out logistics, we discover we work on the same floor of the same building, about 200' from each other! An Omen? During Lunch we become fast friends.
The next poor unfortunate soul to be targetted is
Gwen.During numerous Donna's conversations, we discover we are fairly local to each other and decide to meet for lunch, also (If only she had known what she was getting into!) At lunch, discovering we are kindred spirits, we also become instant friends
We begin to meet for lunch (or shopping)with some regularity, and the scheming begins! While searching the web for anything TG, I discover a NJ Club called Connexions that sponsors a 'girl' night on Fridays. We decide to go there and set a date of 2/27. In the meantime I hear about a local consignment shop owned by a TG girl. Lured by the idea of actually being able to try on dresses before I buy them, I go there and meet
Ginger,whose shop quickly becomes a lunchtime meeting spot.
I now begin actively harassing every NJ girl I meet at Donna's, trying to get a group for our Connexions outing. The response is minimal, but Gwen run's into Janice,who agrees to meet us there.
Gwen, Patty, and I meet at a Motel near Connexions, where we get dressed and kid around.
We arrive early for dinner with more than a little nervousness. The owner immediately puts us at ease. Janice arrives during dinner, and she immediately fits into our motley group.
Many other girls show up as the night progresses, we all have a great time, and suddenly it's 2AM and we're out of there.
Janice suggests we go to a Diner! Against our better judgement we all agree, and there we are walking into a brightly lit Diner at 2:30 AM! We are graciously seated by the waitress, who gets a kick out of us. A few rude comments are made by some drunks leaving and go right over our heads. Suddenly, the Manager is at our table, apologizing , and saying that this is America and 'girls' like us should be able to go where we want without being harassed! It was very Twilight Zonish, but nice, and the waitress took pictures of us, of which we are not terribly proud. But it was still a great night!
Patty, Me, Gwen, Janice
Trying to wind down after our outing, shopping excursions increase with a fervor. Along with our usual trips, Patty and I make a few drab trips to NYC, where we meet
Jerri,and shop at Patricia Fields and Lee's Mardi Gras Boutique.
6 of us meet at the same Motel near Connexions, getting there early. We all get together, get to know each other, and have a great time as we get dressed, makeup, and do our nails, and go back and forth between rooms. Eventually we're all ready and we leave for Connexions. The rest of the girls meet us there, and we all have a great time again, getting to know each other better, and meeting new people, some of the girls dancing, and suddenly the night is over again. We take some pictures outside of Connexions, a little earlier than the last time, but we still haven't learned!
We decide to go to the Diner (Again, you'd think we would learn). It's a little earlier this time, a little more crowded, and a few more of us show up. But they are gracious as usual and we are seated. A small group of high school kids start with the comments but quickly stop as they are stared down and realize there's a possibility that they could get their asses kicked by a group of crossdressers. Nobody else pays much attention to us and a little while later the high school kids ask if they can take pictures with us. We graciously agree, probably providing a great picture for the local High School Yearbook *LOL*. We head back to our rooms, and the night is over.
Early the next morning (Saturday) after Connexions, my toenail polish still intact, I head to the airport and fly to a certain western city which many of you will recognize. Checking into my motel, I have just enough time for a shower and close shave before driving over to
Miss Victoria's Feminine Illusions where I have a makeover scheduled with
Michelle Johnson. I have a great time there, 2 of the nicest people I have met. Then we head over to a party sponsored by them. At the party I get to meet a lot of great local girls, including Sarah, Tara, Helen, Tommie, Kathy, and many others. I had a wonderful time.
For the next 6 days I stayed dressed most of the time. I went to various clubs, including
By Thursday night, a little bored with the (so called) club scene, I decided to go to a mall. I dressed casually, parked, and walked in the mall with my heart thumping. But nobody stared, no commotion was caused, and I walked through the entire mall, looking in store windows. Very Interesting. My last night there I went to Sue Ellen's, where I was becoming a regular. The entire week I had not met any other T* girls anywhere I went. Just as I was getting ready to leave, I ran into my first T* girl that week, who just happened to be Michelle!
The week was finally over, time to come back down for awhile. And the heels were starting to kill my legs anyway. But what a great time!
Right after getting back from my last outing, I decide I'm going to try to organize a lunchtime Friday outing on 4/24 at
The Cartwheel , a restaurant in New Hope, PA, which is always TG friendly. I (again) start harassing my friends, aquaintances, and anyone who will listen, really, into joining me. Many girls agree to try to make it, but right up till the morning of the 24th I have no solid commitments, and am about ready to give up. But at the 11th hour Gwen calls and says 'Let's Do It', and of course I agree! We meet, already seriously late, and get a room in a local Motel to get dressed. The decor, ambiance, and lighting of said Motel having distinct cave-like similarities, dressing takes forever and we are running even later. At last we are ready, in our finest casual clothes (myself in ratty tight jeans, a rattier pink sweater, and sandals). Taking everything we have back out to the car with us for fear of a Motel burglary, we walk out into the sunlight to drive to the Cartwheel.
We pull out on to the highway in bright daylight, and immediately hit a traffic jam, which continues most of the way there. Fortunately the other drivers seem to mistake us for a couple of middle aged housewives, and we don't seem to draw much attention during the excruciatingly long drive, and we arrive at the Cartwheel after 4 PM, a little late for lunch. Apparently, as we found out later, both
Gwen and I went in the bar, which was very quiet, and met a very nice lesbian couple, finally going into the restaurant and having a nice dinner. Not an exciting day, but a very comfortable one, and after all, how many places can you go and feel comfortable dressed in the daytime!
A few days later I manage to arrange a business trip to a certain eastern city which many of you will recognize.I drive down on Tuesday,check into my motel, and immediately paint my toenails. A few hours later I am dressed and out the door, looking for something to do. Unfortunately it is a weekend town, the clubs I go to are all closed, so I finally head back, stopping in a 7-11 to raise some eyebrows on the way.
The following evening Jeanne, who I had missed at the Cartwheel a few days previously, is in the area and stops by my room after work. We hit it off famously, talk for a while, and she leaves to get a room of her own. I get dressed, because I am going out somewhere! Jeanne calls later and I decide to drive over to see her, about a 1/2 hour away. We spend a few enjoyable hours chatting and comparing life notes, another new friend, and I head back to my room.
Thursday evening I dress again and head out to the clubs again. I go to
Friday I decide to try Ziegfield's again, they are supposed to have a drag show. It's very crowded when I get there, and I see a few other girls at the bar. I meet
The next day I took off my toenail polish and drove back, this trip over. Till the next time!
We decide our next outing will be to NYC. After much planning, organizing, etc, only Myself, Patty, and Diana (the compulsive trio *s*) end up going.
We check into a Motel not even remotely close to NYC (?) and get dressed and ready for our night. One thing leads to another and we end up leaving late (OK, it was my fault, but my Nails ARE a priority!).
We drive to NYC, still daylight, make up some time, and then hit bumper to bumper traffic at the Holland Tunnel. Nobody pays any attention to us sitting in traffic, so Diana remarks that at least we're '20 footers' *s*, since we seem to pass OK from at least 20' away. We eventually get through the tunnel, only to hit more traffic in the city. We finally arrive at We then proceed to drive sort of aimlessly around Lower Manhattan, looking for a place to have dinner..Unfortunately, between not being able to find the few TG friendly places we know of, and not knowing anyplace else where we would be tolerated, Diana and I begin to whine with starvation...Not a pretty sound (poor Patty!) Out of desperation, Diana and I decide to go into a Midtown McDonald's for takeout while Patty double parks. I think we were doing OK, nobody really noticed us, until I opened my mouth to order *s* But this is Manhattan, and it really takes a lot more than me to cause a scene *g* Satiated on bad greasy food, and having killed enough time, we head over to We walk in and notice something very unusual about the place...everybody there is either a TG Girl (with quite a few Pro's thrown in) or an Admirer, about an equal mix. We begin meeting and talking to some of the other girls, and Patty's friend Nora , shows up. I end up sitting at the bar (How unusual *s*) talking to whoever happens to be on the next stool, while Diana mingles and Patty dances. After awhile, the atmosphere sort of starts to take over, and I realize what it is! I feel exactly like a 'GG' in a singles bar, and sort of get lost in the feeling.....very strange!!! Anyway, before I know it, the night is over, and we head back to NJ.
Drag Night at the Cartwheel seems to be a logical choice for our next outing, though Monday Nights out are a little harder to arrange. I reserve a room at a Motel down the street, and Patty and I check in and get ready. Knowing Diana will be late, we leave her a key, and head over to the Cafe Mo' at the Cartwheel for dinner. We get a table and order dinner, at this point the only TG's there. But as we're eating, some of the other girls start arriving. First Sue with her friend There were not too many other girls (except for the drag show entrants, mostly drag queens and not especially friendly), but we did meet Melissa from Philly, who immediately fit into our motley group (alas, poor girl *s*)
There weren't a lot of overly friendly people, but we had our own group for company, and were having a great time anyway. Finally, 'Drag Search' started, so everyone crowded into the big room to see the show. Personally hating Drag Shows, I stayed in the back room and chatted with Diana, until Patty came on stage. I think she stole the show,as did most of the audience, but being an outsider, the ballot was stacked against her... As usual, the night out came to an end too quickly. Not my favorite nighttime hangout, but not a terrible place, and with our own great company, we had a blast anyway!
Towards the end of a very slow summer, Patty and I decide to plan a party after Labor Day, and decide on a Friday and Saturday in September.
Patty, Gwen, Diana, and I meet locally at 10AM Friday and proceed to the airport to meet Gabrielle's flight....which we find upon arrival has been cancelled.
The five of us proceed to the Holiday Inn in Manhattan's Chinatown area. When we see it's a very busy Hotel, in a very crowded neighborhood, with a very well staffed lobby, we experience a slight amount of trepidation, but we soon realize it's completely unnecessary. The Hotel turns out to be a wonderful place, totally helpful with anything we need from cars to places to go, never blinking as we repeatedly traverse the lobby, and genuinely seem to like us. We check into our room, and meet Deb and Herman, who are staying a few doors down.
Soon, as we all begin to get ready for our night out, others begin to arrive at the Hotel to dress with us, including Cassidy, Tiffany with Ruthie GG), then Jackie and her SO.
It's pandemonium as we all try to dress and makeup, but eventually we're ready, and we're out the door and into cabs headed for Lips.
We arrive at Lips, which is a restaurant with tg waitresses who also put on a small drag show during dinner, called 'The White Trash Revue', which was actually pretty funny. We were the only other people dressed besides the waitresses, and kind of put on our own little mini show with our picture taking and loud behaviour. I ended up spending a fair amount of time talking to some older couples at the next table, who told me how interested they were in 'us people' *s* and asked many questions about why I did this, to which I mostly answered that I didn't have a clue. But it was a fun place, and soon we're out the door and into a cab back to the Hotel.
Everybody headed over to Androgyny directly, except Patty, Diana, and myself, who went to Deb and Herman's room to change into some of his clothes (which were for sale) to model at the club. I immediately grab the only dress that fits me, a beautiful thing called 'stardust', Diana finds a nice pajama set and ends up wearing only the top as a dress ( the hussy! ), and Patty, after some searching, ends up choosing the same one that I'm wearing!....Well, everyone thinks we're twins, anyway *s*. We then leave the Hotel and walk over to Androgyny, a few blocks away, to meet the other girls.
We arrive at Androgyny to find it mostly empty except for us. The owners, David and Marquesa are very nice, and we meet Denice and Eve and a few other nice people, but it's very slow so we settle down to playing pool, chatting, taking pics, and listening to Elvis.
The next morning, I'm up at 7, ready to go....but of course everyone is still dead asleep, so I quickly dress in drab (it went great with my nails covered with polish remnants) and head out on the streets, where I have breakfast at McDonalds, get a large cappucino down the block, and roam the early morning city for a few hours while waiting for everyone to awake. Finally I head back to the room, where my annoying twitching presence finally wakes everyone. Since Gwen and Diana are leaving, Gabrielle and I check out of our room and move in with Deb and Herman where there are some extra beds (and who at this point, have no idea what they're getting into! *s*)
Deb, Gabrielle, Patty, and I decide to go out on the town en femme and do some shopping, and also give Herman some peace, which he certainly can use though there wasn't a single cross word from him all weekend....the man is a saint!
Back at the hotel, we began to get ready for the night.... I decided to wear a size 6 black velvet dress, which required that I enlist every available person to help me into it and resigned myself to very shallow breathing for the rest of the night. The 5 of us (Deb, Gabrielle, Patty, Myself, and the still uncomplaining Herman) got a car to take us to the Silver Swan for dinner.....and proceeded to spend the better part of the next hour in traffic, which was a result of the San Gennaro festival taking place in Little Italy.
At the Silver Swan, a german restaurant, we find ourselves again the only tg people, but are getting used to it and it's starting to feel normal. And we are soon joined by Christine, who has arrived before us on her first night out dressed, and has been sitting at the bar waiting for us, the only tg person there (trial by fire *s*). We order, and have a nice meal, and finally Karalyn begins to start setting up the restaurant for Karalyn's Oasis.
At around 9:30 or so, the restaurant officially becomes Karalyn's and people start showing up, and eventually Ginger and Rita, Lisa, Nora and Genifer with 2 of their friends, and Jerry the photographer arrive. We all get to know each other, some of the girls start dancing in the back room, and everyone seems to be having a good time.
Androgyny is not really very exciting that night either, so Ginger and I end up sitting at a table and talking, and soon the other girls begin filtering in from Karalyn's. But all of us are kind of tired from a long busy weekend with little sleep, and at a little after 3AM, we decide to call it a night and head back to the Hotel.
And the weekend is over...........
After much work and organizing, most of it on Patty's part, the weekend approaches.
Seeing there's another flight from her city in a few hours, we decide to go eat lunch and come back, which we do. When her flight arrives, we begin to look for Gabrielle, but unfortunately have no idea what she looks like in drab, nor her us.
Fortunately, my last comment to her in the chats the night before were 'just look for someone with really great nails' *s*......and a few minutes later I notice someone who seems to be looking at peoples hands, sees my really great nails, and introduces herself as Gabrielle *g*
Sometime after midnight Jackie and her SO leaves, and we all decide to head back to the Hotel and look up some other places to go that might be more lively.
Back at the Hotel I change dresses again as the other girls man the phones looking for other nearby clubs open on a Friday, with which they have no luck. While everybody is trying to decide what to do, I begin to pace like a caged tiger, and Gwen and I decide that anything is better than siiting in a room and leave. At the street, I decide to walk back to Androgyny alone while Gwen heads off to God knows where!
Back at Androgyny, it is much busier, and I begin to force my presence upon anyone who'll put up with me *s*, and meet quite a few new people, none of who's names I remember. After awhile, some of the other girls begin turning up, and we end up finishing the night there, finally getting back to the Hotel at 4AM.
So we get ready, dress en femme casual, and cab it over to Lee's Mardi Gras. We hang out there for a short while, and ask them where to go to eat. They suggest a place a few blocks away and we head over there on foot.
It turns out to be a crowded, straight diner, but they are very nice and gracious, the food was good, and we barely turn a head.
After eating, we decide to walk over to the West Village to do a little shopping. By this time my feet are killing me from a pair of ill fitting flats, and Patty breaks a heel on her suede boots. But troupers that we are, we continue on, stopping in a few shops, but mostly just window shopping and walking through the sunny, crowded streets.
We put on quite a show and draw quite a few smiles from the people we pass, since they're not really used to seeing girls like us in the daytime, and certainly not so brazenly. And since most of the time we really didn't get read till we were quite close, the last minute look of surprise in peoples faces was really pretty funny! I was having the time of my life, though I hid it well by constantly whining about my hurting feet, and finally we cabbed it back to the hotel.
But eventually we arrived at the restaurant.
After awhile, it turns out to be a rather slow night overall, and finally I get tired of having my back unwillingly massaged by a few persistant, annoying admirers who don't understand the word no. So rather than start a brawl, Ginger and I hop in a cab and head over to Androgyny to see if it's more fun over there.
After our NYC Party boredom starts setting in - and with the holidays looming, there doesn't seem like there'll be much chance for fun coming up. So just before Thanksgiving, at the last minute, I decide to go to the Cartwheel for a Monday night Drag show, with some arm twisting on Patty's part (though not a lot was needed *s*).
We all met for dinner at the Cartwheel, and headed down to the club afterwards....
Anyway, the night eventually drew to a close, leaving me wondering again why I waste my energy planning a night off and going there......but it must be the company of my friends, who I don't see often enough.....and it was nice getting out ANYWHERE! *s*
So we book a room at the local motel there, and mention it to some of the local girls at the last minute. Timing was good, so we ended up meeeting Ginger, Tiffany, Cassidy, and even Gwen and Sue showed up at the last minute (but, alas, no Diana *pout*)....and Melissa met up with us a little later
The place was freezing, and we sat around with goose pimples waiting for people to show up, and took some pictures.
It turned out to be a fairly typical Cartwheel night.....a large group of gay men who pretty much ignored us as they always do, another group of drag queens who absolutely ignored us, followed by a boring drag show (except for Patty's performance, of course!).
I managed to avoid watching it again as usual......have I previously mentioned how much I hate drag shows?....if not, I HATE DRAG SHOWS! *s*
Left Coast
After a few truly awful months, submerged in pathos and terrible boredom, it's time for some fun *s*.....I manage to arrange a week long trip to the left coast, with quite a lot of my time there free!. So, packing almost my entire wardrobe, I arrived on the left coast on a Friday afternoon...
Upon arrival I unpacked, did all my nails, and got dressed (dress slacks, sweater, mary janes), and was ready when Novice showed up to take me to dinner.
He had reservations at an upscale Italian restaurant in Palo Alto, not exactly your bastion of TGism....but swallowing my nervousness, we went into the crowded restaurant and had a wonderful dinner. And after dinner went on a walking tour of downtown, and ended up at the bar of a Sushi place...where I think I was read by a couple of GG's sitting next to me *s*.....but no audible comment was made.....
The next morning, Saturday, I got up and began dressing in jeans, sweater, and short boots.
My friend Deniece, who I've known forever from the chat's (but had never met) arrived late morning, having driven up from LA.....it was great meeting her in person, and we sat around chatting and catching up until Novice showed up to take us on a tour of Stanford.
We first had dinner at Asia SF, a trendy restaurant with TG waitresses, who also put on a minor drag show (have I mentioned my thoughts on drag shows?....yes, I must have!)....but the clientele was exclusively straight so we also became part of the show....we were met there by Michelle Burke who I had never talked to, but was very nice....the food was OK, but it was fun. The next morning, Sunday, Deniece had to make the long drive back so we had breakfast at Denny's and said our tearful goodbyes *s*
Monday, back from work, I got dressed in a short black dress, and Novice met me for dinner. We went to a brew pub at the Sunnyvale mall, which had a very long wait, so we walked over to a small Italian Restaurant where I felt totally inappropriately dressed....But as Novice didn't seem to care, I soon relaxed, and had a great dinner. Tuesday, back from work, I get dressed again, this time in dress casual (dress slacks, yet another sweater, and the old reliable mary janes) and head over to Burger King for an exceptional dinner *LOL*....and then go over to Daybreak again to hang out with the usuals, who already seem like old friends. I stayed till around 10 then went over to the all night Walgreens for some makeup and stockings, and finally back to the room Wednesday, after a final 1/2 day at work I decide to go back to the room and take some obligatory pictures with my Quickcam.....unusual for me, though, I decide to take some lingerie pics *g*....( I am still waiting for the calls from Playboy and Penthouse.....why isn't my phone ringing? *LOL*).
Thursday, my last day there...... I stay in drab and pack and organize. Late afternoon I decide to get dressed, so I put on my short pink dress, and go out for a dinner extrordinaire.....at Taco Bell *g*. Knowing I have to get up for my plane at 4AM, I decide to head to SF and the Power Exchange anyway....but since it's way too early, I head over to Daybreak again.
So a few weeks ahead of time I began to barrage everyone I knew from the net who was in the area with emails, and a few I had only heard of, and offered my company while I was out there.....and amazingly, many people responded! (of course, none of them knew me very well *g*)
I was especially lucky to connect with Novice, a really nice person from the area, who offered to arrange some activities for me while I would be out there.....
A really fun night!
We drove over to the University and parked, and went on a walking tour of the Quad.....it was a beautiful day, and we had a great time walking and talking.
Eventually we went back to my room, where Novice dropped us off. Deniece left shortly for a makeover appointment at Carla's in SJ and a short while later Amber Leigh showed up from Salinas....
Amber and I had only emailed a few times, but we hit it off instantly, and talked constantly as we got ourselves ready for the evening....another friend *s*. I talked her into wearing a really tight outfit, which she had to spend most the evening tugging down *g*....I of course wore a demure beige off the shoulder dress *LOL*
Finally, Deniece came back looking gorgeous, Novice came to get us, and we left for a night in SF
Leaving there we headed over to the MotherLode, local club.....3 floors, the first floor was a bar scene, mostly TG's, quite a few pro's, a few admirers...the second floor was a dance floor, mostly for the gay guys, fairly empty......and the top floor was sort of a cocktail lounge, fairly empty
We wandered between floors for awhile, then decided to move on.
We next went to Kimo's, which had a .....you guessed it.....a drag show. I had figured I could hang out in the bar and avoid it, but the bar was completely deserted, so we all went upstairs to watch the show *sigh*. When it ended at 2AM, we were basically ushered out, as all the clubs close at 2AM.
So we went to a second floor Chinese restaurant, where we were abused by the waitress.....not because we were TG, it was just general principle with her *g*....and finally we headed back.......another fun night *s*
I went back to the room and got dressed (different jeans, different sweater), and went window shopping at the Sunnyvale mall out of pure compulsiveness....then takeout at Taco Bell, and back to the room for makeup repair, into a black velvet dress, and out to the local lesbian bar, Daybreak.
Daybreak was very slow, and I was the only TG there, but the girls who ran the place were some of the most friendly people I had ever met, as were the few customers, and I felt totally comfortable there....a very nice place, and an early night for me as I actually had to do some work the next day.
And after dinner we headed down to SJ to a club called Tinkers Damn, where they were having, yes, you guessed it again.....a drag show (no, I'm not even going to comment.....I think you know me by now....)
Anyway, inside the club we met Francesca and Kat, and since she couldn't stand not seeing me again, Amber Leigh also showed up *s*. We all sat around getting to know each other, and were having a great time, and then the dreaded drag show started, so everybody felt obligated to go sit down...
My patience for drag shows being somewhat worn thin at this point, it didn't take long for me to grab Francesca, under the pretext of needing a smoke, and escaping from this tedium.....and soon most of us were back in the bar area, talking, drinking,socializing, and generally having fun *s*....but this also being a work night, we all said fairly early goodbyes, and left.
Eventually it's time to get dressed for the evening where I'm going to a 'gathering' at the Thirsty Bear in SF, suggested by Didi Mau....But when I search for the Thirsty Bear on the web I find out it's a straight trendy brew pub, and am not sure what to wear.....so I decide to go the middle ground and wear a fairly conservative black dress that is, however, a little too tight and way too short.
Arriving there around 8, I walk in and find a large group of girls from the local support groups, all of whom are rather conservatively dressed. But I introduce myself, and everybody is very nice, and finally we get to tables and kind of take over the front part of the place......and being SF, nobody blinks *s*.
Shortly afterwards, my new girlfriend Francesca shows up, since she couldn't stand not seeing me again, either *s*. We go outside for a smoke shortly afterwards, and who come walking up the sidewalk but Didi, wearing, well, basically underwear with 6" lace up sandals *s*. And for the first time that night I felt conservatively dressed *g*
Didi was great and I loved her attitude!
But shortly afterwards people started leaving, so Francesca and I decide to head over to the Power Exchange....but finding out that Wednesday isn't a good night there for girls, we head to the MotherLode instead, stopping on the way at a Chinese Diner to have a late dinner.
I had a great time, and unexpectedly ran into Jenni at the bar, which was nice *s*.....but again, all fun comes to an end, and Francesca and I say goodbye (at least till the next time)
Again I'm the only TG there, but since it's Karaoke night, the place is fairly crowded, with a very diverse crowd......not execting to find someone like me there, a few straight guys are a little slow on the uptake until we start talking......always fun *s*
I spend a few hours talking with lots of different kinds of people, all of whom are friendly..... I end up staying at Daybreak,
and finally, the night, as well as the week, is over......
The following Friday, having just recovered, Patty and I head for the Motel for our NY weekend, arriving about 1:30....we head for our own rooms, and I get dressed in jeans and a sweater.
I then head over to Patty's room, where the other girls are arriving, and meet Dana Gene, Krystle, Diana, Jenni (from SF), Rochelle, and Eve.
We chat for awhile and get acquainted. But being dressed, I find myself pacing the floor as usual, like a tiger in a cage, and decide to head over to the local mall by myself, a huge 3 story affair. I wander the mall for about an hour, dodging the high school kids and window shopping, and don't appear to cause any commotion *s*
Finally I head back to the motel and get dressed for the evening, in a beige off the shoulder dress, and put on too much makeup *g*. Then I head over to Patty's room where are the girls are meeting, now also including Tiffany with Ruthie, and Fran....and we all load into 3 cars and head for Manhattan and dinner at Eccola Italiana. Arriving there in the rain, we have to park in a garage blocks away and walk, causing a few stares on the way, but no comments (at least that we heard *s*
The restaurant turns out to be a really nice Italian restaurant, with an entirely straight crowd......the food is good (and reasonably priced), there is a great live jazz combo doing standards, and the service is excellent, we're treated like queens....a definite return visit there someday.
After dinner, we all head over to Androgyny, which is unusually crowded for a Friday night.
Ginger and Rita show up, and I have a great time, talking to lots of other NYC people I've met before, as well as lots of new people.....and before we know it, it's 4AM and we're being shown to the door *s*.....back to the motel and asleep by 5:30 AM.
Saturday, awake at 7:30AM (really) and I can't fall back asleep.....so I sit around drinking coffee and cleaning the room, and finally, after putting icepacks under my eyes, get dressed, different jeans, different sweater. Diana finally shows up, en drab, and we go looking for the other girls, who apparently have left or something, so we go up to the restaurant to have lunch.
The waitress comes over to take our order, sits down, and starts telling us dirty jokes instead *s*.....and when Diana takes a picture of me, the waitress suggests a shot in the back of the Trolley sitting in the dining room...
We leave to go to the local Salvation Army store so Diana can find something within her dress budget of $6....it's your typical store of the type, junkies on the front stoop, and very few english speaking people inside, but we rummage through all the racks and find nothing......so we head into Manhattan.
We go to Lee's Mardi Gras, which is always fun, and Diana had never been there before.and find that Patty and Jenni have already been and gone. I buy a pair of sheer stockings and Diana buys a pair of long gloves for 20 something dollars to go with her $5 dress *g*.
Then we head for Patricia Fields, a boutique in a fairly upscale neighborhood, that is mostly run by people in various degrees of transgender. We manage to pretty much go down every street in Manhattan without finding the right one, and finally finding it we park and get out and walk.
I immediately hit the sales rack, as their regular prices are ridiculous.....and find a really nice shiny gold dress with spaghetti straps for $20. Trying it on, I find it just a little too small....perfect!...so I buy it. And I also buy a small jar of Derma Cover (not that I really need it! *LOL*).
And we head back to the motel
Back at the motel I dress for dinner in a small black strapless dress that's way too tight and short, and we head over to Patty's room, where the same crowd as last night, plus Gwen and Sue, are waiting....and we all squeeze into cars and head over to the Silver Swan restaurant, and forgettable German food.....but dinner is fun, anyway, Christine, Denise , and the other Eve join us, and at around 10PM the restaurant transforms into Karalyn's and peoplstart showing up.
The place is packed and, as usual, I kind of get lost in the scene....Ginger and Rita show up again, and I again run into prople I know, and meet many I don't. Later on, people start drifting out, some go to Trannie Chasers (which features.....yes, you guessed it....a drag show)
I elect to stay at Karalyn's, and spend the next hours sitting at the bar and talking to various girls . Finally, everybody left reconvenes at around 3:45, we take some last pictures, and head back to the room.
The next morning I'm up early and say goodbye to most of the girls as they're leaving
And the weekend is over...........
I hope you enjoyed this! ...... here I am some time later, still going out whenever I can, and still trying to have fun!
And my friendships have all stood the test of time. For now, though, I don't feel like I have much to add to the above except details, so I am going to let this stand as a snapshot of new beginnings.
And I'd like to give all my friends a big *hug* and thank them for their support, friendship, and love!
Get
your own Free Home Page