Outside the hotel, as we had planned, our friend Sara (a GG and occasional FtM CDer) met us at the door. ..in her words, this was to be “a girls night”. Arm in arm in arm, she walked us in to the bar.
So, while the staff were very welcoming (and the laughs of a drunk patron or two less so but not a deterrent), we decided to go to another place up the road–which was as far from dead as you can possibly be
We were wonderfully welcomed, I got several compliments on my outfit, my hair, my overall look and my finally making the big step after two drab-mode outings and a month of planning…and six months of posting on the CD, Facebook, and the SISTERS boards.
I partook in a lot of talk, was introduced to a couple of girls I hadn’t met before (and one guy), sat through the meeting (where Sara and I and a couple of the SISTERS group moderators surprised Ashley–the head of the Family–with a donation we had collected for SISTERS Family charities and other needs), then it was time for the weekly group photo.
Now, because the bar was full–even the others said they’d never seen it so busy there–we had to go into the lobby to take the picture. Did I mention that the hotel was packed? There were people back-and-forthing through the lobby the entire time we were there. Several of these people joined in the group photo. Several more complimented us on our clothes and our just-plain-being-ourselves-ness.
After that we had to decide where to go out afterward–I was not going to just stop at two and a half hours in a skirt for the next month–and seven of us decided to go to a local club. Three cars and five minutes later, we stood in the foyer of a not-very-happening place.
The place was jammed with people! It took half an hour before a couple spots at the bar opened up and we were able to move out of everyone’s way. And let me tell you, I’ve never seen a more accepting bunch of customers anywhere, in any venue! That made a real impression on me for my first time out. It was a shot in the arm I hadn’t expected but really welcomed.
The staff at this place already love us (the manager came out and personally welcomed each of us individually and as a group), but it was so great to see so many of the patrons accepting and welcoming us
The band played a lot of disco and funk and dance stuff, so while I don’t dance, I really enjoyed the music and watching those of us who do dance strutting their stuff–with several of the other patrons, more often than not. I enjoyed sitting and talking with the other non-dancers–when we could hear ourselves talk, anyway.
We closed the place. Literally the last customers out the door. Back to the room to remove the trappings of Dianna, pack them away, and drive home. Pulled in the driveway at 3:15am.
What a great night, adding several more firsts to the list: First time outdoors en femme. First time driving in heels. Longest distance walked at one stretch in heels or en femme…probably about 200 feet. Not a lot, but when you consider this was through a parking lot and around a big hotel during my first time out, it is a lot.
This was a bizarre one for me: First time being asked to join someone on the dance floor (I refused, of course, but it’s still a first). It was a guy (quite in the bag already), but in all fairness, he was dancing with everyone up there…though he did seem to focus more on the SISTERS 
than anyone else–one or two in particular. And later one of our new GG fans also told me to go up and dance with them. (I don’t dance…I may have six feet of height, but those are all left feet. LOL)