Sophie hits the US part 2

Those of you who have read part one of this post will know that I am in California for two weeks on a mixture of business and pleasure, and resolved to spend as much of my non-work time as possible en femme.

This, I did, and although many of the days passed without particular note, there were a few occasions which meant a lot to me....

Friday - Around San Jose
I had a meeting in the morning and a free afternoon. I went to an ULTA for a makeup session and the beautician was amazing (given what she had to work with 😉). She really went above and beyond and even helped tidy up my wig. There was one other woman getting her makeup done at the same time and when we were standing at the checkout together she complemented me on my new look.
I then went to Westfield Valley Fair shopping centre to do a bit of browsing. You very quickly pick up a vibe for how accepting a place is, mentally clocking the ratio of smiles to frowns... This mall was amazing. I’ve never been to such a CD-friendly place. I was stopped by a young woman who said to me that my hair looked great and when I wandered into MAC the assistant said she liked my hair clips and asked me where I got them. A bit later on I was taking a selfie and a lady offered to take the picture for me so that it got my whole outfit in.

Sunday - Yosemite National Park and Fresno
I went for a bike ride in Yosemite NP. Was tempted to wear my skirt but was glad I didn't - it was really windy!
Drove to my hotel, got changed and found a local Thai restaurant for dinner. They were very welcoming. There was no sense at all that they found the way I was dressed odd. However, half way through, the waiter asked "is everything OK sir" which was a bit of a downer given the effort I had put into my makeup! But immediately after he came back apologising profusely and saying how much he admires the trans community. He then came back with a free dessert and then a free Thai bookmark (!). I think he was genuinely mortified by his mistake and we ended up having a nice chat.

Monday - Sequoia National Park and Santa Barbara
I decided to challenge myself and for the first time spend the whole day dressed. Admittedly much of it was behind the wheel, driving. But I did have breakfast in the hotel, visit the world's largest tree in Sequoia National Park, go shopping in the mall in Bakersfield, check in at my hotel in Santa Barbara and go to a wine tasting. All pretty much without incident. But a significant milestone for me!

The purpose of my trip was to meet with a number of people involved in education in both schools and universities. One really positive thing which struck me is that in almost all places I went to there was clear evidence that they were thinking about LGBT issues. Many schools have "any gender" restrooms. One school was putting together procedures for when pupils "come out" as trans to support them properly. I attended a talk at university where the the lecturer asked those who were asking questions to give their names and pronouns. I appreciate that this is California, where attitudes may be a little ahead of some other states but I found this encouraging. There is still a long way to go but people have moved on a long way in the past few years.

All in all, I have had a tremendous couple of weeks. I have never had the opportunity to dress so often and so freely before and I don't think I will again the the near future (I only dress when a very long way from home). Throughout the trip I have had in the back of my mind the thought that when it finishes I will find the prospect of not dressing for a considerable time very difficult. But I was keen to use this rare opportunity to make some great memories. That I certainly have done.