Crossdressers-Haven.com

I had an absolutely wonderful time at my very first Diva Las Vegas, and this definitely counts as "Fun Stuff while CDing." I took a lot of rough notes while I was there and have been slowly editing them together into a journal of sorts that I thought I would share. I had intended to share it while at DLV but every single day was so hectic I barely had time to take the rough notes in many cases.

The whole journal is really, really long so I'll break it into sections (some of which aren't yet complete but I'll post placeholders for the time being.)

Enjoy!

Saturday Before DLV

I have never spent so much time packing in my life. It took pretty much the entire day to pick out outfits, try on the combinations that I wasn't so sure about, paint my nails, and print out everything I needed to take with me. Narrowing down the cosmetics I'd need and inventing ways to pack dangerous items like nail polish added to the challenge. I wound up with two very full suitcases and confidence that I could pull together a unique daytime and evening look on each and every day without shopping. Not that I wasn't planning on shopping you understand!

My favorite discoveries during the packing process? While I used to be amused that my wife would pack four or five pairs of shoes for a trip, I wound up with nine! Golf shoes, casual shoes, fancy shoes, shoes for flying, color coordinated pairs for particular outfits, etc. I also found that the triangular travel pouches Delta used to give out in business class containing toothbrushes, blindfolds for sleeping and so forth are the perfect size to pack individual breast forms in little puncture-proof containers of their own. This was a delightful discovery that will serve me well on future trips, I'm sure.

Sunday

The flight to Las Vegas was uneventful, though I was somewhat disappointed not to travel en femme because both directions involved friends or family that aren't aware of the full Kimberly story. Still, it didn't have to mean traveling in full boy-mode, either. I didn't pack a single stitch of boy clothing and so I was wearing women's jeans, tights, black mules with a bit of a heel that slip off easily for security, a nice dusty rose colored top, and was carrying one of my handbags. As usual this got a look or two but even though my seat was surrounded by a complete girls' choir I never heard so much as a snicker.

I arrived safe and sounded, rented a car, checked in to my hotel, and quickly unpacked the absolute necessities. It was already 4:30pm and the informal Sunday night gathering was scheduled to begin at 5! I showered, shaved, did my makeup, got dressed, out the door, and took a taxi to Alexis Park to arrive at 6pm. Not bad at all. That set my baseline for getting ready during the remainder of the week. As it turned out I was in plenty of time to meet and mingle with the early diva crowd, got signed in and met many of the organizers, and even ran into someone from the town I grew up in.

Wait a moment, did I mention that this was my first time out in public as Kimberly? Oh, I'd done the Halloween costume fifteen years ago, and I've driven around before, but this would mark the first time I've walked through a room filled with strangers as through the casino on my way to the taxi stand! I think the mixed-mode garb I often wear on weekends has basically cured my anxiety about it, because I didn't experience a moment's hesitation. That, and I'm genuinely proud of the way I look. I love the clothes I brought, and this evening was even more special as I was wearing a lovely lavender sweater with a wide, shoulder bearing neckline my wife had knitted for me.

Dinner was pleasant enough, and I was thrilled by the lack of smoking which was one of my bigger concerns about going to Vegas. I decided to turn in early for the evening so it was back to the hotel for a few self-portaits to send to my wife and a proper evening clean-up routine before heading to bed with a big smile and dreams of what was to come.

Monday Morning

I opted for a very light touch-up shave, hoping to avoid too much skin trouble as the week wears on and counting on my full coverage makeup to deal with emerging stubble. The remainder of the makeup routine felt very familiar and I think I did a respectable job despite the mediocre bathroom lighting. My outfit was pretty much planned to go with the itinerary and I didn't make any last-minute alterations. This is definitely one of my more challenging looks to manage because the top is just a cami with elastic support rather than the security of distinct bra cups. My latest breast forms have adhesive backs and I just had my chest waxed so in the end I think I managed to pull it off quite nicely.

Breakfast options at the Paris officially suck, all three involving long lines and not really promising much that looked appealing. I opted to play tourist instead, took a few photographs from inside the Paris and did a little light shopping (light in that I didn't actually buy anything.) I did find one cute shop with reasonable looking prices, and will have to return eventually - possibly to find a good sun hat. With some extra time on my hands I went out early to find my way around, locate an ATM and buy some water to keep me well hydrated. I had no major problems finding my way around and eventually located a nice breakfast place near my destination, with very friendly staff and much better looking food than the fare at the hotel. Success!

The gathering at Studio Lites was a hoot, but more of a meet and mingle than anything resembling serious shopping. Some people did buy a few items, but heaven knows what they found that fit! I'm a pretty teeny girl and I couldn't find any tops that weren't absurdly tight, at least in the styles that appealed to me. Still, it was a great opportunity to meet a few people and get to know them a little bit. The scheduled lunch buffet afterwards was a good place to take my conversation with Brittney, who is in the same line of work and had some interesting work-related stories. I don't know if it's the heat or my assumed gender but the variety of fresh salad-like offerings dominated my plate even though there really were many other options to choose from.

I finally returned to the hotel to escape the mid-day heat and start thinking about the evening. It was a promising start and I'm glad to see the range of different backgrounds and life stories emerge from the people I've talked to. Even better, my fears about smoking in Las Vegas proved again to be largely unfounded. I'm generally very sensitive to cigarette smoke and it hasn't been a real problem for me. Clearly the ventilation for these hotels is a major engineering feat.

Monday Evening

The remainder of my day was spent relaxing and getting ready for the evening. I did get out to try to find a sun hat with no luck whatsoever (I wasn't really looking for a "bad hair day" baseball cap. Apparently lots of people are.) This did lead to my first ladies room excursion. In and out with no incidents, just enough time to attend to my needs and wash my hands. Aside from the lack of urinals and the gender of occupants there were no real revelations to be found, but I didn't really expect to find anything else.

My predominantly black and white outfit called for a splash of color, so in addition to red shoes I decided to do my nails to match. I didn't have time to do my toes, but with closed-toed shoes it hardly mattered. I did discover that I didn't have a matching handbag so I wound up shopping for one in the hotel's extensive warren of shops and came away quite pleased with my new purchase. Once everything was in place, it was off to the Blue Ox for dinner!

The evening consisted of meeting many, many new people, paying for various events through the week and discovering joys of girl chat. In addition to the usual travel and week's schedule chatter, we could each talk excitedly about shoes and clothing, about our self-discovery process, and where our names came from. It was easy to talk to people because you always had an opening line handy and everyone was really friendly. The one surprise was meeting a lone genetic woman at the event. She falls into the general category of admirers, people who enjoy being around and interacting with the transgendered. When asked why she was there she blurted out "it makes me hot" which was honest if a bit disconcerting. When she discovered that I was happily married she moved on, evidently less interested in conversation than meeting someone available.

I made my first few strong connections with people here. It was also Britney's first time out and we shared a lot of interests and a way of looking at the world. Gina was vastly more experienced but was a very kind, gentle soul who happened to be in the hotel adjacent to mine and was looking for rides to various events. With plans in place and an early morning ahead of me, I again turned in early for the night.

Tuesday Morning

Leaping up at 6:30 to shower, dress and put on makeup didn't sound all that promising at first but something about the ritual was relaxing and I was looking forward to the morning's trip to Lake Mead. This was one of the days I had promised to give Gina a ride, so we met by the garage entrance and travelled together to the nail salon serving as a meeting point. As it happened, once we got there we were joined by Britney since there was really no point in taking more cars than absolutely necessary. They both made pleasant company for the day and the three of us proved as collectively navigationally impaired, but still managed to fumble our way through the day. It was obviously the substandard directions we were given.

We started with breakfast in a local restaurant in Boulder City. The servers were very attentive and made us feel right at home, no small feat when considering that we brought roughly fifteen fairly obviously transgendered folks into their sleepy little town. The affair was a definite ego booster. There was a general consensus of disbelief that this was my first week out ("you're too well put together for that" / "you're a natural!") and the door being held for me by a local on my way out ("allow me") I left with a smile. The discovery that it felt good to exchange complements with the other girls on clothing, jewelry, and makeup stuck with me for the rest of the week.

The tour itself was fun and informative and brought us much closer to Hoover Dam than I had expected. This wasn't a small chartered affair, this was the regular paddlewheel tour boat that we shared with numerous tourists from all over the place. I won't claim we fit right in, but we were free to be ourselves and that's definitely what mattered. As Britney observed, in an interesting turn of phrase: "it feels so good out, I think I'll leave it out." We returned relaxed, refreshed, and not the least bit sunburned. Mission accomplished.

Tuesday Evening

By the time we got back to our respective hotels it left only 90 minutes to get ready for our evening! In case you've been counting meals this meant no time for lunch. No mere change of clothes, I needed to paint my toes to match my fingernails, transition my makeup to a glitzier evening look, strap myself into my strappy heels, and I even opted for a wig to complete the look and help ensure that I wouldn't have to turn down photo opportunities. Whew! I barely pulled it together by cutting a few corners, but it didn't spoil the effect in the least. Better yet, the snazzy shoe straps around my calves stayed up all night without the slightest bit of assistance.

Walking from my room through the casino to meet my ride. Britney was kind enough to offer to drive Gina and me to the pick-up point where we transitioned to limos ready to whisk us away to the Night of the Soiled Doves. Can I explain the event? Not really. It was basically a silly social event that just happened to be held in a real, live brothel an hour out of town. This wasn't some sleazy sneak-out-of-town getaway, at least not for us - it was a light dinner buffet and drinks followed by silly party games in the parlor with some of the staff. You know the game where you pass an orange down a line of people by holding it in the hollow of your neck and can't use your hands? Like that, but with breast forms. Too silly for words, but lots of fun had by all and not so much as a breast bared.

What I didn't understand is how the $25 per person could possibly make this worthwhile for the girls or the establishment until the organizer explained it to me: the money was to cover the food and drink. The girls invite us out because they enjoy the diversion from a rather monotonous job. It's just mutual entertainment, not business. Even the conversation was entirely casual, for example I was admiring one of the girls' shoes and she was happy to tell me where she bought them and we launched into shoe chat for a few minutes. Wacky.

Wednesday Morning

For the second day in a row I set the alarm for 6:30am to get ready in time for an early event. By now this was more than enough time to get ready, dressed in the adorable golf outfit I had found for just this occasion and quickly check email and even write a little before my 8am meeting with Gina. I was feeling entirely together until we got to the garage and I realized I didn't have my keys! Britney did all the driving the night before so my keys were one purse back in the rotation and hadn't been migrated with everything else. A quick trip to my room reminded me of why Nora had thought the Paris might be a bit much for a first timer - and why I loved it. The trip from my room to the garage, reception, or the front door involves going through the middle of a busy casino packed with curious people.

We got to the golf course only a few minutes late, rented clubs without any problems and joined the group. I broke a nail in my hurry and was delighted to discover that of course one of the girls had a nail file handy for emergency repairs. I'm afraid the remainder of the round was no more elegant, with my precious hat repeatedly blowing off in the wind, and the club head of my rented 3-wood shearing off in the middle of the front nine (clearly it had been abused earlier as it couldn't have been my delicate ladylike swing.) All told it shouldn't have been a memorable round except of course it was. I had a marvelous time! I finally got the hang of swinging a club with breasts in the way about the time I was getting tired, and shot a dubious 108 from the ladies' tees. We rejoined the group for a quick lunch afterwards with big smiles and fond memories.

Wednesday Evening

There was no way I was going to avoid taking a shower after golf, so this was the first day I had done two full rounds of makeup. I had managed to get by on previous days without shaving again mid-day, much to my delight, so I opted only for the briefest of touch-up shaves prior to getting made up for the evening. I had agreed to meet Britney for dinner and forego the official options since this was going to be her last evening and we wanted to strike out on our own to chat and relax. We opted for a Mexican place with the dubious name of Cozymel's based on hearty recommendations, and it proved to be reasonable if nothing really special.

The company, on the other hand, was spectacular. We're in similar lines of work so we covered the spectrum from work to shopping to friends and how our inner feminine leanings showed up even when in boy-mode. We could clearly have chatted for hours more, but I needed to pick up tickets for a show by 9:30pm at the latest and she needed to start packing for her departure the next morning. She was kind enough to drive me to New York, New York and back to my hotel where we said our heartfelt goodbyes.

I had just enough time to find some more comfortable shoes, touch up my makeup, grab a cab and go straight back to catch Cirque de Soleil's 10:30pm showing of Zoomanity. It had been about 20 years since I'd last seen one of their shows live and it was everything I remembered, and then some. Unbelievable theatrics and acrobatics against a backdrop of creative, very current live music with a wide range of instruments and stellar vocal performances. Unfortunately the "and then some" part was a smattering of cheesy Vegas-inspired lounge act between segments that did nothing for me. You win some, you lose some. I had a grand time and was glad I had the foresight to avoid any conspicuous audience-participation seats because there was plenty of that. Pleased with my day, but exhausted, I returned to the hotel to clean up and collapse in anticipation of yet another day indulging my inner woman.

Thursday Afternoon

After several days in a row where I didn't get nearly enough beauty rest I finally found a day when I could sleep in a little.  All I really needed to do is get to lunch with the divas by 1pm in a hotel not far from my own, so I opted for a relaxed and self-directed morning.  I changed my nail polish to something a little more sedate, put on a casual outfit with some adorable white capri pants and a simple top, and did a little shopping and sightseeing between hotel and buffet.  The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace were basically on the way and proved to be a fun mix of familiar chain stores and upscale designer exotica.

This was my first experience shopping en femme and it was a lot of fun.  As is always the case when shopping for Kimberly the sales staff were no problem at all, but if anything I'd say they were even more friendly and helpful than I've ever experienced before.  How often have I been offered refreshments while trying on clothes?  Never.  I was even offered champagne or a beer in one clothing store while I was picking out things to try on!  I've never once been complemented about how something looks on me when shopping for male clothes, but I had to agree when it happened today - the sun hat looked absolutely adorable on me.  I was running low on time and interrupted my shopping for lunch.

I needed to make one stop on my way to the buffet at Harrah's, and as before my trip to the ladies' room was a non-event.  It did give me a place to slip on the belt I had bought and adjust a few things that are better adjusted in private, and then I was ready to head to the buffet.  The divas were nowhere in sight when I walked up and purchased my ticket, but as I was leaving I spotted another late-comer.  She was quite surprised when I addressed her and later said she would have had no idea I was part of the group, which was sweet.  I think she wasn't paying all that much attention, but it was still a great confidence-booster.

Lunch was fun and a great chance to meet a few people who had just arrived to enjoy the last few days of the gathering.  We had fun talking about the events of the past few days together and time flew by.  The only part that rubbed me the wrong way was a conversation with two full TS ladies who were generally very sweet, but when they asked if I was "just" a cross-dresser I don't think they realized that their question was inherently elitist.  When I responded that I considered myself to be trans-gendered they assumed I was planning to transition and started talking about the various doctors and advancements in the field.  I stopped them to point out that I had no intention of doing any surgery and they seemed confused.  It's disappointing to see any divisiveness in the community and I hope someone who knows them better than I helps them realize that they're doing the community a disservice.

I wrapped up my shopping excursion, fell for one of "try our dead sea salt treatment" pitches and thoroughly enjoyed being pampered as they demonstrated their product on me even though I eventually declined to purchase anything.  All in all, a good start to the day.  A little email, a little relaxing, and I'll be getting ready for dinner before much longer.

Thursday Night

Gina and I shared a cab over tot he Wynn to grab a quick meal before meeting for the limo tour. The casino staff recommend an onsite Chinese restaurant called Red 8. This happy accident turned out to be my favorite meal of the week so far, and we were able to order, finish our meal, and pay in under 40 minutes leaving plenty of time to meet up for the evening event.

I'd say "Limo Tour" was a bit of an overstatement. There were definitely limos involved, complete with a variety of champagne and sparkling ciders. We definitely stopped at a few spots in Vegas and got to see some interesting sights. By no stretch of the imagination would I call it a tour since I now know nothing more about the locations we visited than what they looked like! Among my fellow limo riders was a really sweet t-girl named Dayna who I really enjoyed talking to. She's going to be at the dinner on Friday night so I'm looking forward to her company since I haven't talked to anyone else at length who seems to be going. Perhaps I'm just kindly inclined toward her for expressing complete disbelief at my assertion that this was my first week out in public as Kimberly. A girl likes to be complemented, I've discovered.

Our first stop was the brilliantly lit Freemont Street, offering a really fabulous light display with a live band centerpiece in the middle of the street. Good music, lots of people crowded around, and a fun place to chat amongst ourselves and with passers by. Impromptu photo shoots attracted others nearby and soon we were posing with a wedding party, which was fun. The bride loved it, and the groom joined in before long. I was lated subjected to a peculiar but genuine complement by a member of the crowd: "I can't believe you've got better legs than me, pot hole!" said the girl in an I'd Do Me t-shirt. She chatted with us for a while and made it clear that she meant it in the most cheerful and sincere sense possible.

Next stop was a complete bust. We arrived at Treasure Island just as the show was ending, milled around for a bit and jumped back in the limo for our third stop: Bellagio. Since my room has a fabulous view of the water show and it seems like everyone else has seen the show before we all spent more time posing for photos in the hotel than anything. There were definitely some good scenic backdrops and everybody wanted everyone else to take various pictures with a multitude of cameras so that was fun. Collectively, between our cameras and those of passers-by I'd guess conservatively at a thousand photographs. We even saw one girl run up with a tripod to get a few snapshots!

... and that's the end of the tour, folks. It was odd but fun in a completely disorganized kind of way. At we had a lot of time at each stop to explore and enjoy the environment. I was especially happy to have time to chat with Gina and Dayna and any excuse to get dressed up to go out sounded like fun in any case.

Thursday becomes Friday

I was initially dubious about an event that was scheduled at 2am but decided that I could at least make an appearance. It was definitely getting a little drunk out, so people were far less subtle than they were earlier. On my way there I was amused to note that the number of people who said "that's a guy" to their friends was pretty much equal to the number of people who tried out one corny line or another on me. It was amusing enough to keep me in decent spirits through the dubious exercise of finding the Charles Bar / Allegro Bar. The staff didn't know it by either name, so I just stumbled across it eventually because there were so many of us there. It used to be called the Allegro Bar, apparently, and they refer to it as the Charles Bar because that's the name of the bartender. Helpful. It's actually the bar next to Caramels.

The early morning sped by with lots of light conversation, and much mixing and mingling with the regular crowd still in the casino. There were businessmen and tourists hanging out and chatting, no shortage of curiosity about our group. My fourth ladies room excursion of the trip was the first even slightly uncomfortable experience - I walked past the cleaning staff without notice and the first stall I came to had a tangle of two women's legs protruding from under the door. I made the assumption any genetic male would have and realized that finding anything there arousing just felt wrong. Fortunately, it quickly became clear that one of them was simply being violently ill while the other held her hair. Crisis averted, I finished my visit, washed up, and returned to the bar.

One event stood out during the remainder of the evening. A heavy-set black fellow was at the bar next to us chatting up two ladies who became upset and stormed off. There were making enough of a fuss to attract security who talked to them and the guy in question for a while. I guess Annie overhead something, because she went to talk to him and brought him back to meet the group because it turned out he was a female-to-male transsexual! Experience carefully filed in the "I didn't see that coming" category, I returned to my hotel and got to sleep by about 5am.

Friday Afternoon

Somehow I managed to get up, get dressed, and head out for the planned shopping excursion in plenty of time for the scheduled noon gathering. In classic Diva Las Vegas fashion I was the only one there on time, and at ten past there were still only three of us at this lovely, sunny outdoor mall. Oh well, it's not like I have any real need to shop with a group anyway but I was shocked! 135 of us confirmed in town and only 3 show up for a passion I had assumed we all shared? Maybe it was too early? Whatever the case, the three of us had a lovely lunch and went our separate ways to do a little shopping.

I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around in my new sun hat, dropping in here and there to browse or try things on. Once again, I had nothing but great, friendly service. Even so I managed some real restraint, accumulating only a small bag from Origins containing an eyebrow pencil to replace one I had exhausted, some bronzing powder from Sephora, and a necklace from Chicos. Around 3pm I finally gave in and bought an adorable dress and belt from Cache for that evening. They some really lovely new stock in, and the staff had pulled out one suggestion after another for me to try on - and model for them! That was a definite first and kept me smiling until it was time to leave the mall around 4pm.

Friday Evening

My Friday night choice for dinner was the upscale option and the directions clearly stated that we were to meet before 6pm for a reservation at six. Yes, once again I was the only person there at 5:59 when I decided to head up to the restaurant. "Up" was the key word here as the restaurant was on the 108th story of the Stratosphere tower. I did meet one more of the girls before we got in the elevator so I was feeling slightly better about the evening at that point. The elevator itself was amazingly quick, taking a mere 38 seconds to travel the distance in a double-decker arrangement with two elevator cars stacked on top of one another.

We sat at the bar waiting for everyone else to arrive and were eventually seated when six of us were there. Diane, who had scheduled the dinner, knew the diva crowd well enough to secretly make the reservation for 6:30pm. She also knew that despite 31 people signing up for the dinner, and 14 confirmations, that a reservation for seven would be about right. It looked like she had guessed wrong briefly when two more showed up to bring our total to eight, but two of the original six decided it was too expensive and left, and Dayna arrived before long to bring the total back to seven. A perfect guess.

The food was delightful, the view from the rotating restaurant stunning, and the company was fun. We went up to the outdoor observation deck on the 109th floor after dinner and had fun mingling with the crowd and getting our pictures taken. None of us was inclined to get on any of the three absurd rides atop the tower, one of which dangles over the edge and spins you around and around. No thanks. Eventually the group decided to go dancing, and since their destination was a cabaret at the Paris I thought I'd tag along since I'd be right in my own hotel.

I've never been one to dance in boy mode. I always felt awkward and generally required quite a bit of alcohol to get started, though I have enjoyed it once or twice once I got going. Imagine my surprise at discovering that Kimberly loves to dance! We had a grand time, stayed until the band stopped at 1am and chatted for another hour and a half after that. People kept coming up to us, talking, commenting on how much fun we're having and generally acting like we belonged there which felt great.

Saturday Afternoon

I slept in as late as I dared on Saturday, leaving just enough time to get ready for the Southern Belle Society social at noon. It was back to the Blue Ox, the scene of Monday night's welcome dinner, with the same basic goal of mixing and mingling. This time it was light outside and we ordered off the menu instead of a buffet but those weren't the most significant differences. On Monday there had been an obvious energy as people eased into the week and started making new friends. By Saturday people were winding down, many low on sleep, and it was more about spending time with the people you had met during the week than meeting anyone new.

What made this social a blessed event of the Southern Belle Society? I haven't the faintest notion. There was no more structure than any of the other gatherings, just another opportunity to be out together. An attendance sheet was passed around by people associated with the society and people were told informally about how to sign up as a Belle. Basically, it entails sending in a photo or two and attending one social. Perhaps some were told more about the society, but I didn't learn anything of substance. I guess I'll look it up online when I get home. One highlight was that Laura, who had been with us at dinner the previous night, had printed a ton of pictures in her room and was allowing people to flip through them and take any they wanted. I was delighted to have a reminder the previous evening's events.

Returning to my hotel left some time in the early afternoon to catch up on email and photo management. I have depressingly few photographs of my own and will be counting on getting more from others. I really needed to bring a nice compact camera instead of the SLR, in part because carrying the beast was impractical far too often and in part because the SLR takes too much instruction when you hand it to someone else. A nice little point-and-shoot would make more sense. Lesson learned.

Saturday Evening

When my thoughts turned to preparing for the evening I realized I had a dilemma on my hands. We had so much fun the night before that everyone agreed we should reconvene at the same Paris cabaret, but the outfit I had originally selected for the evening wasn't really ideal for dancing and I had no idea what shoes I could wear. Some emergency shopping in the hotel itself produced two gems that saved the day. One was a wide gold belt to transform my Night of the Soiled Doves outfit (along with some more tasteful foundation garments.) The other was a great discovery from Shooz: little adhesive strips that applied to the inside of the strap on my favorite strappy black sandals to keep them in place. Marvelous!

First on the agenda was the farewell dinner at Bahama Breeze. This was the final group event, so it was time to say our goodbyes and exchange email addresses. I managed to keep the emotional aspect under control and just enjoy dinner among my new friends, each of whom was coping with the end of the week in her own way. We spread the word about the cabaret that evening and hoped we could collect an even larger group than the night before. Finally, it was time to settle our bills and head to the Paris - delayed by many, many goodbye hugs.

Back at the Paris we showed up shortly after the band started to play, and had another wonderful evening. The band plays a wonderful mix of 80's and 90's tunes with no real rhyme or reason for the selections other than they're all great songs. They traded lead vocal responsibilities among at least three members depending on the song in question, and were every bit as much fun as the night before. We learned that the band is called Fuse (http://www.myspace.com/fuselasvegas) and normally plays at the Bellagio. This was their first week at the Paris but when we talked to them during a break they said they were having so much fun they'd definitely be back.

I suspect we had something to do with their enjoyment. During the first of three sets the dance floor remainder conspicuously empty. I was the first to get up and dance and after a few more of the girls joined me we started to get others from the audience involved. It seemed like every single dancer during the first set was female (genetic or otherwise) and when we talked to the band during they break they said they recognized us from the night before and were really happy we were there getting the crowd involved. The break was also interesting in that one of the people who had gotten up to dance wanted to talk to us about the whole transgendered lifestyle. No real surprises in the conversation but I was pleased that she already knew most of us were straight, married, and that many had kids. Mostly she wanted to know about how it affected our spouses. She was there with her husband, daughter, and daughter's boyfriend and all four were very accepting and friendly throughout the remainder of the evening.

The next set finally saw a handful of males join in the dancing, and the next break brought the next surprise: a women came over to talk to us because her boyfriend liked to wear women's clothing and she wanted some advice. I wasn't involved in the conversation directly, but it was nice to see the informal outreach program at work. By this time there were fifteen to twenty of us scattered throughout the crowd. We were visible, friendly, and obviously enjoying ourselves - and people felt comfortable enough to come up to talk to us for a wide variety of reasons. What a delightful way to wrap up the week!

Saturday becomes Sunday

The band wrapped up at 1am despite our pleading and we stayed around to chat amongst ourselves and with the remainder of the crowd. Gina said her goodbyes and retired for the evening. Things continued to thin out until about 2am when the remainder of us wandered over to Le Cafe for a variety of meals: I opted for breakfast and chatted with Dayna until 3am when I couldn't postpone the inevitable goodbyes any longer.

Returning to my room I started to pack, but just couldn't bear to wash off my makeup or take off my delightfully feminine clothing. Each item I put away brought back more memories and I found tears starting to leak. I thought I'd escape by reading the email that had arrived during the day, but a really sweet message from Britney started the tears in earnest. The imminent mascara crisis led to washing my face, and I took turns interspersing packing activity with slowly relinquishing an article of my outfit at a time, carefully packing it all away and telling myself that I wasn't Kimberly wasn't going away - she was just going home.

Finally, at 5:40am I turned in for a little under three hours sleep prior to getting up to head for the airport..

Good to hear you had a great time.

Looking forward to the Tue. and Wed. updates!

DonnaT wrote:Good to hear you had a great time.

Absolutely! It was fun to meet a few members from the forum and connect with girls from all over the world. We had a few from the UK, some from Canada, some from Australia and New Zealand - a really diverse contingent. Of course there were many I didn't even get a chance to meet at all but with 165 confirmed in attendance there was never any real chance of getting to know them all.

Looking forward to the Tue. and Wed. updates!

Tuesday is up. I'll tackle Wednesday when I have some more time on my hands.

... and Wednesday is up, completing the process. I do hope this is helpful for those who are considering going in the future. Please feel free to post or send a private message if you have questions about the experience - or suggestions about how I might better capture this kind of thing in the future.

Hi Kimmie
That sounded like so much fun. Lucky I wasn't there. You would of said"Hey Honey,put out that cigar!" Hugs.


Love
Jeannie

Hi Kimberly-
I enjoyed reading your installments. It sounded like it was a really nice experience for you.

telling myself that [] Kimberly wasn't going away - she was just going home.

That is a good reminder. It took a while for me to remember that--that I would continue to bring Anita into the world, no matter what.

It is so nice to meet other T-girls, isn't it?

I am so glad you had a great time! I know I can identify with the emotions that you experienced because I felt them from last year. I would have to brag a bit in that the Committment Ceremony that SL and I had lent itself to some deep, deep introspection that will last this girl the rest of her life.

I love your explanation and interpretation of the, can I say, "the final act?" Not wanting to take off the make-up and the feeling of finding a way to understand that it is not saying good-bye, it is just "going home!" I see our sis Anita, picked up on that too, ain't it great?! That is beautiful. I hope you continue to experience that. It seems that I do each and everytime Virginia has to put on that Pond's or the baby oil to remove the "war paint." It seems to hurt everytime and that's a good thing!

Thanks ever so much for sharing this with us. I may have taken a shot at it last year but not with the wit, wisdom and skill that you have shown. It really is a great opportunity to be yourself in an environment where you can be yourself and feel safe showing the world, as I am fond of saying. "Here stands Kimberly -------- what do you think?"

Thanks again for sharing with us, love ya!!!!!

Virginia

Anita wrote:I enjoyed reading your installments. It sounded like it was a really nice experience for you ... It is so nice to meet other T-girls, isn't it?

Absolutely! While not every girl I met was my new best friend I certainly had no problem finding people I connected with to spend time around. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the experience to others.

Virginia wrote:Thanks ever so much for sharing this with us. I may have taken a shot at it last year but not with the wit, wisdom and skill that you have shown. It really is a great opportunity to be yourself in an environment where you can be yourself and feel safe showing the world, as I am fond of saying. "Here stands Kimberly -------- what do you think?"

Thank you, Virginia, you're very sweet. The experience was just so moving I couldn't let it pass without doing my best to capture it and I'm glad the way it felt to me resonated with you and others. All the repeat attendees had nothing but lovely, glowing things to say about your ceremony the year before and were obviously proud to have been involved in one way or another. I'm sorry I missed it, but I look forward to meeting you at some future event.