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Well, It was last Wed. and it was great ….THE END.
Ok I’ll fill in some details. ha haaaa. I wasn’t checking into the hotel until Thursday since I only signed up for Friday & Saturday at the SCC meeting. Lucky for me I have a friend who was there for the week and let me use her bathroom to get ready for the Princess Day trip to the spa/nail salon. Thank you Cynthia. I’m sure one of the reasons SCC picked this hotel was the large counter space around their sinks and I used just about every square inch of it. See my media tab for photos.
I was running a little late and had to (rush) to get myself made up. In record time for me, only 1.5 hours. I would have liked to tweak my eye makeup a little more but it was good enough. Of course Cynthia was ready before I was and so when I finished it was time to step out the door. The first thing that hit me was the heat & humidity and not any kind of panic. I was surprisingly calm but not cool. Stupid S. Fla. weather !!! If they keep this event down here they need to move it to December !! So we walked from the building where Cyn’s room was past the pool area and into the hotel lobby which had air conditioning, aaaaaahhhh much better !!
With so many (sisters) walking around the hotel it made it feel like no big deal. Girls were everywhere. Having Cynthia there with me was a huge boost to my confidence as well. If you can find a friend to go out with you for your first time I would highly recommend it. Makes a huuuuuge difference. So we get registered and head to one of the rooms where they are holding a pre-trip meeting for the Princess Day. We were the last few to show up but they checked us off their list and we headed down to where the shuttle bus was picking us up.
So at this point in the day it was already the longest distance I had walked in heels. I had my wedges on that seemed to be the most comfortable pair based on walking in my apartment. More on that later !! So we all get on the bus, around 25-30 gals I’d say, and head off to the nail salon/spa. When we arrive it is in a shopping avenue with stores on both sides of the street. Some gals go off shopping at other stores but most of us head into the nail salon.
This place was big!!! I had no idea there were nail salons with this many stations. So you sign in and then they send you to the wall of color where you pick out your color bottle of polish. I picked out a classic fire engine red. In a minute or two the cute little gal escorts me to the pedi station. It was a great experience and I recommend it highly. I didn’t get my fingernails done because I still had to come home, after this first day out, and finish packing all my stuff for the rest of the week. Besides I had a set of Kiss French tip glue on nails that I was planning on using anyway. After getting mani/pedi’s a group of about 6 of us walk up the street to the restaurant where they arranged for us to meet for lunch. They had a huge table reserved for all of us on one side of the place. Had a good meal and chatted with lots of the gals there. The restaurant was pretty busy but we were treated just like any other customers. It was great.</span>
So after lunch back on the shuttle bus to the hotel. When we got back several gals we had been chatting with at the salon were talking about going out shopping on our own. I have to admit I was a little nervous about this but I figured I had done well so far I’d give it a shot.
We got about 6 of us together in 2 cars and headed off to Sawgrass Mills Mall. This is a huge outlet type mall I had been to many times in guy mode but never in a million years thought I would be walking around in crossdressed. Again having a group of us together was a needed huge boost in my confidence. Walking into the first store from the parking lot I was still a tiny bit apprehensive. Once we were inside the store for a few minutes and security had not been called nor were anyone pointing or making comments I started to feel like everything was ok.
We ended up at Victoria’s Secret and all the sales ladies were very nice and helpful. I got some body spray and lotion cause a girl has to smell nice !! We ended up walking pretty much this entire mall and by now my feet were on fire !!! These wedges I thought were so comfy at first now felt like they were made of barb wire and plywood !! Maybe it was just too much too soon since none of my shoes are broken in. Heck they all only have several laps around my apartment on them. When we had finished shopping and got back to the hotel I was glad to take my shoes off and give my feet a break. But what an adventure !!!
I want to thank Cynthia and all the other gals that were there with us on my first day out as Samantha. I know I could never have done it on my own. And for those of you that still want to go out but have not done so yet I think you need to find a group meeting like SCC or similar and make it happen. I know the fear of getting out on your own so if you can find a group to join please do it, I doubt you will regret it.
Luv & Hugs…
Samantha G.
I am so happy that your first big adventure went so well. How utterly boring to be treated like… any other customer. LOL I reckon that was just the confidence boost you needed.
I’ve never been much of a fashionista but I did learn a while back that if there is any likelihood of much walking then comfy shoes save sacrifice. I might look daggy but I don’t end up hobbling around the next day.
I think we all look forward to hearing more of your adventures Samantha. just walking around in your apartment will no longer be good enough, don’t you think?
Hugs.
Samantha,
YOU were the one that impressed me the most! Those first steps out in public in your heels were magical to behold! I could see your confidence growing with each experience and each passing hour! Whee was that frightened shy girl from last January when we signed up? Tossed behind as Samantha strutted her stuff with head held high! (Really high with those 5 inch heels!-made me feel tiny/short in comparison. So glad you enjoyed the whole experience and can’t wait for next year to do it again! but don’t wait to go out again til then!Call that local girl you met and see if y’all can get a group going!Thanks for boosting MY confidence! While I put on a brave face, inside I’m still a tween/teen girl finding her way in the world! And as you noted , friends make all the difference in the world and I am truly blessed to have you as mine! 🙂 <3
Cyn
What an amazing time for you’re first time out! That’s so cool! And to have a big support group with you must have been wonderful 😋 I’ve only been out on my own a couple of times and I was terrified almost the whole time! Congrats on a great time! I can’t wait to read more about the weekend you two had!
Day 2 ……….Ok so Thursday was my day to check in at the hotel. Got the rest of my stuff packed up from home and headed out. 11 dresses, 11 pair of shoes, 2 wigs and all the other stuff and accessories that seem to multiply when you are getting ready. Checked in just before 4pm and was hoping to get a room in the same building as Cynthia, they didn’t have any but got the building right next door plus my room had a view of the pool area…Nice !!
I think I started to get ready for the dinner show trip not long after getting settled in my room. Somehow I ran out of time and didn’t get my nails done. It always seemed like I had to rush to get ready for all the events. I start to put on my makeup with plenty of time to spare and then the next second it’s 10 minutes before whatever it was we were going to and I’m still not dressed. CRAP !!! I just cannot seem to get ready in a hurry, I think I like the process too much or something. Or maybe I’m just slow !!
I meet Cynthia in the lobby and we walk down to where the shuttle bus is picking us up for the LIPS drag show dinner theater. There were a lot of gals signed up for this trip, I think there must have been at least 30 maybe more. When we arrive they have a huge long table set up for us in the middle of the theater dead center in front of the stage. They were doing a celebrity impersonation show that night. All the performers were great but I think the one doing Tina Turner was amazing. I have no idea how that wig stayed on during the fast part of Proud Mary. It was a great time, the MC was very funny and bawdy as expected at these kind of shows. See Cynthia’s pics of the festivities. Oh I jumped ahead we had dinner before the show. They had a choice of about 10 different meals, I had the Chicken Marsala which was quite good. Much better food than I had expected. If you are ever in the Ft. Lauderdale area I think it’s worth it to check out this place. I would certainly go back again even in drab mode.
So back on the bus to the hotel after a great show. I think we ended up in the karaoke lounge at the hotel, had a few drinks, listened to some songs being butchered LOL and some being sung very well. The next day was a full conference day with lunch and dinner so I think I went to bed around midnight. That was day 2
That was INDEED a fun evening! I didn’t do karaoke AT the lounge but another girl and i did belt out “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” ala the scene in Top Gun and also U2’s “With or Without You” out at the hot tub at about 2 am. Thank God there was only one other person there and she was the SO of the girl I Was singing with!. Agree with Sam , the performers at the club were amazing! I had a Long Island Ice Tea and was feeling really good at the end of the evening!
Cyn
Samantha, I’m sooooooo happy to read your experiences! Just imagine if you woulda grabbed those cute 4 inch heels instead of the wedges? Jane says it right…..when I know I’ll be doing any amount of serious walking, ~comfy flats~ are in order-cute ones of course! Having a good friend like Cynthia be with you was so important, topped with being in the right environment for your first time out. I’m super stoked for you-and again Jane is right (WTH-when did she get so friggin smart?) just chilling in your apartment is no longer gonna cut it for you! Yes, I would love to hear about the Princess Ball adventure now.
Sat. Final day at SCC. Geez it already seems like a long time ago.
This was supposed to be another full conference day with lunch and dinner at the hotel. Sadly many of the conference presenters were no-shows this day. Cynthia & I only saw two presenters that we were interested in. Pretty soon it was time for lunch and I believe this was the monumental moment I got Cyn to try some fish. I have to say all the meals at the hotel were pretty good with presentation looking amazing even if the taste was just ok. They all started off with salads and in the time I was at SCC I can’t remember eating so many salads. The Princess day lunch and Lips dinner theater also had salads with. I don’t eat out much in daily life so I’m not use to this many fancy meals in such a short time span.
After lunch I think we milled around a bit, checked out some of the vendors they had in the vendor hall. I was hoping they had more vendors there than they did but they had several jewelry, 1 wig & 2 makeup vendors. I got a nice pair of clip on hoop earrings for a good price. Being the last day of the conference I think the vendors were looking to move some merchandise. With nothing much else to do we ended up relaxing in Cyn’s room and watched The Blues Brothers dvd on my laptop. Well it must have been the extended version because when the movie ended we only had about an hour to get ready for the Gala Dinner. Damn have to rush again !!! So I dashed out and headed to my room.
Lucky for me all I had to do was touch up my makeup for dinner and get dressed. I had flirted with the idea off adding false eyelashes to glam it up a bit more but not enough time and the risk of screwing up my eye makeup made that a no go. So I finish getting dressed, all I needed was the gown zipped up. Cyn came to my room when she was ready and zipped me up in the dress. I was worried it might not fit or rip when fully zipped but it fit me like a glove. Cyn looked lovely in her gown so we took our pictures and headed out for the dinner. I think this was the moment I was looking forward to the most during the week. I guess being dressed to the nines in a gown is my new favorite thing. I didn’t walk so much through the lobby as I think I was floating LOL We get to the meeting hall where they are having the dinner with about 20 minutes to spare. There are lots of new faces this evening as I think some only come for the weekend.
They have a bar set up in the lobby of the dinner hall and a small stage with lovely gal singing and playing guitar until they open the hall for dinner. SCC does not require you to have a gown for the final dinner but everyone was dressed very nicely, some to the nines and a few to the tens LOL. Pretty soon they open the doors and all the ladies and gents find their way into the room. I’m trying to be my best Ginger (Gilligan’s Island) as I float into the room all the while just thinking “don’t trip on the dress and fall”. We pick out a table and get seated without incident. Okay this salad is the best so far. It had cinnamon sugar coated pecans, blueberries and all kinds of greenery in it. Really excellent. The dinner was good for the most part, my steak tasted good and was perfectly cooked but a little tough. They were selling raffle tickets for several prizes that they gave away at the end of the dinner. Sadly we didn’t win anything but all the proceeds go to help TG folks who don’t have the means to get to SCC for the next year so it’s all good.
After dinner we head to the lounge bar where they have the DJ gal and dance floor set up. No Karaoke this night but she takes requests for songs and she seems to have every song ever recorded. I requested some Shania Twain…….Man I feel like a Woman….of course what else !!! I got so many compliments on my dress this evening I couldn’t believe it. I really felt great this evening. Just goes to show you don’t need to spend big bucks to look great. We just had a few drinks and relaxed and chatted with lots of the gals there. We finally got the nerve to get out and dance on the last song of the evening about 1am. Of course it was barefoot as we had kicked our heels off long ago. The whole week was an amazing experience for me. I’ll say it again if you are longing or wanting to get out there find a group or meeting similar to this and make it happen. You deserve it !!
Luv & Hugs
Samantha
Samantha,
Thank you so much for taking the leap of faith and signing up with me to go to the SCC conference. I do;t know if I would have done it if I hadn’t known you wold be there to support me as well. And if I had, it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun! I echo your feelings that it was an amazing experience that I would highly recommend to anyone. WE made some great friends, several of whom are now CDH members!(go Kate and Alena!) and I a’m pretty sure we both want to go back next year!I know it was your first time out as Samantha-and you made amazing strides in overcoming your initial fears and nervousness, and I am glad to have been a small help in allowing you to enjoy the experience; but don’t sell yourself short! You helped me every bit as much as I helped you! Shopping a the mall as Cyn with my girlrriends was incredible! And I can’t believe I actually wore my neon pink bikini and two other swimsuits to the pool (even if it WAS a late night adventure!) and I would NEVER had guessed I’d have gotten out there on the dance floor! Next year, I hope to get out there sooner and MAYBE even up on the bar like those other girls did! Thanks for all you did and for accompanying me on the most fantastic experience of my TG life so far!
I can’t wait to see what the future brings! You GO, GIRL!
Luv,
Cyn
Yes I am going to say it “Wicked cool”, thank you Samantha and Cyn for sharing your first outing.
Rachel
Well Sis, so happy you had a great time!
The detail you’ve given us leads me to believe it was a truly memorable time for you and I am very happy about that.
See???? No big deal getting out in public.
2016_personal stories: Samantha G….. original post:
Well, It was last Wed. and it was great ….THE END.
Ok I’ll fill in some details. ha haaaa. I wasn’t checking into the hotel until Thursday since I only signed up for Friday & Saturday at the SCC meeting. Lucky for me I have a friend who was there for the week and let me use her bathroom to get ready for the Princess Day trip to the spa/nail salon. Thank you Cynthia. I’m sure one of the reasons SCC picked this hotel was the large counter space around their sinks and I used just about every square inch of it. See my media tab for photos.
I was running a little late and had to (rush) to get myself made up. In record time for me, only 1.5 hours. I would have liked to tweak my eye makeup a little more but it was good enough. Of course Cynthia was ready before I was and so when I finished it was time to step out the door. The first thing that hit me was the heat & humidity and not any kind of panic. I was surprisingly calm but not cool. Stupid S. Fla. weather !!! If they keep this event down here they need to move it to December !! So we walked from the building where Cyn’s room was past the pool area and into the hotel lobby which had air conditioning, aaaaaahhhh much better !!
With so many (sisters) walking around the hotel it made it feel like no big deal. Girls were everywhere. Having Cynthia there with me was a huge boost to my confidence as well. If you can find a friend to go out with you for your first time I would highly recommend it. Makes a huuuuuge difference. So we get registered and head to one of the rooms where they are holding a pre-trip meeting for the Princess Day. We were the last few to show up but they checked us off their list and we headed down to where the shuttle bus was picking us up.
So at this point in the day it was already the longest distance I had walked in heels. I had my wedges on that seemed to be the most comfortable pair based on walking in my apartment. More on that later !! So we all get on the bus, around 25-30 gals I’d say, and head off to the nail salon/spa. When we arrive it is in a shopping avenue with stores on both sides of the street. Some gals go off shopping at other stores but most of us head into the nail salon.
This place was big!!! I had no idea there were nail salons with this many stations. So you sign in and then they send you to the wall of color where you pick out your color bottle of polish. I picked out a classic fire engine red. In a minute or two the cute little gal escorts me to the pedi station. It was a great experience and I recommend it highly. I didn’t get my fingernails done because I still had to come home, after this first day out, and finish packing all my stuff for the rest of the week. Besides I had a set of Kiss French tip glue on nails that I was planning on using anyway. After getting mani/pedi’s a group of about 6 of us walk up the street to the restaurant where they arranged for us to meet for lunch. They had a huge table reserved for all of us on one side of the place. Had a good meal and chatted with lots of the gals there. The restaurant was pretty busy but we were treated just like any other customers. It was great.</span>
So after lunch back on the shuttle bus to the hotel. When we got back several gals we had been chatting with at the salon were talking about going out shopping on our own. I have to admit I was a little nervous about this but I figured I had done well so far I’d give it a shot.
We got about 6 of us together in 2 cars and headed off to Sawgrass Mills Mall. This is a huge outlet type mall I had been to many times in guy mode but never in a million years thought I would be walking around in crossdressed. Again having a group of us together was a needed huge boost in my confidence. Walking into the first store from the parking lot I was still a tiny bit apprehensive. Once we were inside the store for a few minutes and security had not been called nor were anyone pointing or making comments I started to feel like everything was ok.
We ended up at Victoria’s Secret and all the sales ladies were very nice and helpful. I got some body spray and lotion cause a girl has to smell nice !! We ended up walking pretty much this entire mall and by now my feet were on fire !!! These wedges I thought were so comfy at first now felt like they were made of barb wire and plywood !! Maybe it was just too much too soon since none of my shoes are broken in. Heck they all only have several laps around my apartment on them. When we had finished shopping and got back to the hotel I was glad to take my shoes off and give my feet a break. But what an adventure !!!
I want to thank Cynthia and all the other gals that were there with us on my first day out as Samantha. I know I could never have done it on my own. And for those of you that still want to go out but have not done so yet I think you need to find a group meeting like SCC or similar and make it happen. I know the fear of getting out on your own so if you can find a group to join please do it, I doubt you will regret it.
Luv & Hugs…
Samantha G.
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