Behind bars

I feel safer behind bars, I'll have time to write my memoirs

I feel safer behind bars

Sunday was a quiet day following the Halloween celebrations of the previous night. It started off with a gorgeous home-made breakfast and some strong coffee. Afterwards Ken and Larry took the dogs out for a walk. I tagged along as it was a nice sunny day. We made our way down through The Castro and to Delores Park. Given the lovely weather the place was packed with people sitting out in the sun, the vast majority of them gay. We found a free patch of grass down one end of the park and made ourselves comfortable. I even braved taking my t-shirt off to get a bit of sun to try and reduce my fairly obvious tan lines. The view was very nice with lots of well maintained men to look at. During our time sunbathing we were offered magic mushrooms and marijuana truffles. We declined both. We were saving ourselves for some amazing ice cream from the Bi-Rite Creamery. When we got there the queue was right round the corner and down the block. It was definitely worth it though. The length of the queue gave me plenty of time to look through the menu. There were a lot of great sounding flavours to chose from. In the end I opted for the salted caramel and the brown sugar with ginger caramel crunch. Amazing. The rest of the day was very relaxed. We watched a bit of TV and then got dinner in from Super Duper Burger. After a G&T post dinner I was ready for an early night. I had an early start the following morning so I figured it was for the best.

My final day in San Francisco I was sightseeing on my own. I had booked myself on to the first ferry over to Alcatraz. I was down there early but there was still quite a queue. I managed to get a seat upstairs on the boat across though, the benefit of being a solo traveller meaning I can squeeze in any spare seat going. Once off the boat we had to listen to an information briefing down on the dock. I stood at the far side from the boat, nearest the route up to the buildings atop Alcatraz Island. As soon as the briefing finished I set off, hoping to beat the crowds. I power-minced up the zig zag road to the building where the self guided tour started. I was first in line to collect my headphones and set off on the tour. It was well worth the effort – I managed to get a good five minutes head start on the crowds which meant I managed to get some photos of the place looking particularly empty.

Having done the guided tour of the main cellblock I had a bit of a wander round on my own before getting the ferry back over. The crossing was great. There was a low fog across the bay, sitting neatly under the Golden Gate Bridge. The red towers of the Bridge rose from the fog and made for some great photos. Once back on dry land I headed over to Fisherman’s Wharf to see the seals. There were a few of them already lazing in the sun. I watched them for a while before walking back up through the city to Ken & Larry’s. Once home I checked my emails to see if there was anything from the possible leads I had on my next destination, which I had yet to book. A few friends had put out messages to people in Phoenix, Salt Lake City & Denver to see if they could find me a host. None of the leads looked like they were heading anywhere. I did however have a message from a guy in LA, Josh, who I had several mutual friends with (he was also the ex-boyfriend of Ray, my Number 2 gay). We had chatted a few times over the past few months about my trip and he said he was looking forward to meeting me when I got to LA in a few days time. I figured there was some truth in the saying "don't ask, don't get" so I sent him a message asking if he was free to host from the following day as I had not been successful in filling in my gap. He was up for it so I booked a flight to LA there and then.

I'll have time to write my memoirs

I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to catch up on my writing until Ken & Larry came home from work. I let them know that I had sorted out where I was headed next. They had been very relaxed about my lack of onward travel plans and had told me that I was more than welcome to stay for as long as I needed. It was a nice evening so we took the dogs for a walk. As we walked through The Castro we got stopped by a charity worker trying to get people to sign up to regular giving. Larry told me that it was a relatively new phenomenon. I told him that they had been around in London for quite a while. I told him that they were called “chuggers”, a shortened version of “charity mugger”. He said he had not heard that phrase before but would try and remember and use it to impress his American friends, telling them he had been learning new English words from an English person.

After the dog walking we picked up another Zipcar and headed back up to Twin Peaks to get some photos of San Francisco at night. It was a little chilly up the top but I got some great photos of the city all lit up. Our drive home took us past Nick’s house which was done up spectacularly for Halloween. Body parts hung from trees, cobwebs festooned the front yard and there was even a smoke machine pumping out swirls of white mist to complete the scary image. We stopped and took some photos and got some candy from Nick. I think it must have been the first time in nearly two decades that I had been trick or treating.

For our final evening we headed back to The Castro for dinner and a drink. Despite the fact that it was Monday night and people had been partying all weekend there were still plenty of people in costumes as it was Halloween itself. We had dinner at Bisou, getting three seats along the window so we could look out at Market Street and judge people and their costumes. It was a great way to pass time over dinner. Afterwards we headed back up home so I could pack my case and get an early night ahead of my flight to LA the following morning.

“I feel safer behind bars, I'll have time to write my memoirs” 
Lyrics from Don’t release me from the musical Bombay Dreams

Dressing them up

I love the dressing them up, the subtle tilt of a hat

I love the dressing them up
Halloween night in The Castro. Ken and Larry had organised the costumes for the six of us who were headed out. Ken had made most of the costumes and they had bulk bought accessories to make sure we really looked the part. When they had asked me a couple of weeks before if I was up for being in costume (of course I was) they had told me that they had a couple of themes they were deciding between. In the end the theme was pirates and wenches. I was going to be a pirate which meant not having to shave anything (beard, chest, legs). Joe who I had met the previous night would also be a pirate. Ken & Larry and Stephen & Nick would be pirate wenches. It wasn’t Ken & Larry’s first time doing drag for Halloween.

Very soon all six of us were at the house enjoying a cocktail while getting in to costume. There were people walking round the house in various states of undress, mainly trying to find a free mirror to use. The dogs looked a little bemused by it all. Joe and I were ready first as neither of us had to bother with (much) make-up. I had gone for a little guy-liner a la Johnny Depp in Captain Jack Sparrow mode. Once in full costume I realised that the trousers had no pockets so I would need to find somewhere safe, but accessible, for my wallet. I tried tucking it in to my underwear. The trousers were also a little snug in the crotch and didn’t leave much to the imagination so I quickly removed the wallet and found somewhere else for it. I figured that the figure hugging trousers would be fine though – there was bound to be much more on display from the other people who would be out and about that evening.

We were running slightly late for our dinner reservation but managed to get a few group photos done before we headed out. The restaurant was only a five-minute walk away but we had one novice heel wearer in the group, which meant it took us nearer ten. On the walk over we had several people shouting “ooh-arr” or other pirate related phrases in our direction. I resisted the very strong urge to point out some of the larger people with my plastic cutlass while shouting “A vast behind”. We arrived at Catch and were shown to our table. Hardly any of the other diners were in costume and a hush descended on the restaurant as we made our way through. It was hardly surprising given the costumes and in particular, Ken’s knee high red PVC high-heeled boots. Our table was right by the window, which was wide open out on to Market Street. It meant a lot of passing people stared in at us, some asking for photos, most being very complimentary about our costumes. Whenever anyone vaguely piratey went by there would be a lot of shouting between us.

One of the waiters serving us had gone for a rather understated costume. He was wearing a t-shirt with a big letter “P” on the front. He was also sporting a rather nasty black eye. Larry and Nick were discussing his costume, saying that they couldn’t work out what he was supposed to be dressed as.

Larry: What is with the guy in the t-shirt with the P on the front?

Nick: Is he the one with the black eye?

Me: Do you think he could be a black-eyed pea?

It was only saying it out loud that made the penny drop for us. We complimented him on his clever costume. Over dinner we discussed our pirate names. I opted for Roger the Cabin Boy. Nobody seemed to get the reference so maybe the Captain Pugwash urban legend about the names hadn’t made it over to the States. I thought Master Bates and Seamen Staines might be wasted on them. Once dinner was over and the wenches had been to the bathroom to check make-up and re-apply lipstick we headed into The Castro for some drinks. We got stopped quite a few times by groups of tourists asking if they could take our photos. We obliged. By the time we arrived at Badlands we had passed several Amy Winehouse’s (some dead, some possibly alive), a whole bunch of bananas and a guy who was a perfect Chun-Li winning my award for Random 1990s Reference Costume.

The subtle tilt of a hat

Drinks in Badlands were fun. Most of the people there had made an effort with costumes and the few people who hadn’t seemed to look a little out of place. As was to be expected there was a fair amount of flesh on display, luckily most of it on people I didn’t mind seeing without their tops on. I pointed out one rather good-looking Roman Gladiator to Joe but he couldn’t see who I was pointing at. I waggled my cutlass in the direction of the man and the blade snapped off from the handle. That will teach me for using my weapon for things it was not designed for. Joe laughed at me for being cutlassless (which is quite difficult to say after a few drinks).  I apologised to Ken and Larry for breaking one of their accessories. They said it was fine and that it had only cost a dollar anyway. I predicted that Joe’s would have snapped by the end of the evening too.

We stayed in Badlands for the whole evening. Shortly before we headed back home a short Mexican guy started chatting to me. I avoided bending down or kneeling to be down at his level. He asked me if he could kiss me. I told him he would need to find a box to stand on. That didn’t seem to go down very well and it was probably for the best that we headed off shortly afterwards. The walk back to Ken & Larry’s was mostly uphill. As we crossed Market Street we got stopped by a couple of guys in police uniform, one of whom was quite hot. They wanted a photo with the wenches. I remembered the advice that Ken had given me – if you see anyone in police uniform at Halloween check if they have a gun. If they do then they are real policemen and you probably shouldn’t hit on them. The guy had a gun.

On the uphill stretch back to the house Joe’s cutlass snapped as predicted without me having to resort to snapping it myself. Stephen, the novice heel wearer was struggling with the steep hill so I gave him a piggyback. Luckily he is very slim so didn’t weigh much. It was the first time I had given anyone a piggyback since an incident a few years ago in Sheffield where, after a rather boozy night out with family and friends, I had given a family friend, Gillian, a piggyback. We chatted as I carried her back to the car and for some reason she had got the giggles. There was a very hasty dismount as she was worried she was about to wet herself (and my back). Anyway, we all arrived safely back to the house and in much less time than it had taken everyone to get ready, everyone was back to normal attire. The dining table was awash with wigs, hats, costume jewellery and fake boobs. A sure sign of a good night out if ever there was one.

 “I love the dressing them up, the subtle tilt of a hat” 
Lyrics from Dressing them up from the musical Kiss of the Spiderwoman

Bridge that gap, fellas

One of my old favourite songs from way back when, so bridge that gap, fellas

One of my old favourite songs 

My arrival into San Francisco was the scariest of my trip so far although I was totally oblivious at first as I was engrossed with watching Dirty Dancing on my iPod. Baby was just about to be taken out of her corner to have the time of her life. The cabin crew hadn’t seemed bothered by me still having my headphones in or having my iPod switched on. I knew that we were descending but as we came in to land the plane suddenly started climbing very steeply. The woman next to me grabbed the arm-rest and a substantial part of my arm which made me jump. We circled round for what seemed like an eternity as I nursed my arm and checked for nail marks. In reality it was probably about five minutes before we made another attempt to land, this time without problems. Once we were down on the ground the pilot finally made an announcement and told us what had happened. Air traffic control had lost contact with a plane that was on the ground and they couldn’t be sure it wasn’t on the runway we were about to land on. The drama meant I had missed Baby doing the lift.

Having collected my case I made my way to BART. I was going to ride it all the way downtown. The nearest station got me to within a mile of my next hosts, Ken & Larry. They were another couple I had met in P’Town back in July and we had kept in touch since then. They had offered me a place in San Francisco and we had arranged for me to visit over Halloween weekend which I suspected would be a lot of fun. BART was a nice ride and I was soon walking up their street in the evening sun. It was pretty much one straight road from the station, which for the most part was thankfully flat. The last couple of blocks were uphill and I arrived at Ken & Larry’s a little out of breath. The flight of stairs up to their place nearly killed me.

From way back when

I was shown to my room, introduced to Max & Jack (a cute pair of Westies) and given a tour of the house. They had Halloween decorations up ready for the weekend. We headed out for a walk so I could see the local area. A couple of blocks later we were in The Castro. I was given a tour and had a few things pointed out to me. On the corner of Market and Castro was Twin Peaks, possibly the first gay bar in America to have plate glass windows allowing people to see in. We also saw the place where Harvey Milk had his camera shop and the famous Castro theatre. After the walk we headed back home for pre-dinner cocktails. Ken was quite the barman and my slightly dirty martini was just the thing. Dinner was amazing too and gave us a chance to catch up on our respective gossip since July. 

Larry had very kindly taken the next day off work to act as a tour guide for the day. After coffee and breakfast we headed out to pick up the Zipcar he had rented for the day. As we were walking along I remembered from P’Town that Larry was a little deaf in one ear. Ken would always walk on his good side but I couldn’t remember which side that was. I asked Larry if I was on his good side. I didn’t get a response so I moved round to walk on the other side. He asked if there was anything in particular that I wanted to see. I said that the main tourist things were on my list – the Golden Gate Bridge & Alcatraz. I had a ticket booked for Alcatraz for the following Monday & Larry said that we could go over the Bridge and then stop at a few places to get some good photos of it. The day was shaping up to be a nice one weather wise, which was great as Larry had booked a Mini convertible.

So bridge that gap

Our driving tour took us through some great streets, the proper hilly ones that they use for car chase scenes in movies. We drove down Lombard Street (the zig-zaggy one) and then over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was great going over it with the roof down, looking up at the massive red steel structure. We took in a couple of the vista points for some photos including the ubiquitous shot of Dean with the Bridge before heading over to Sausalito, a lovely little seaside town where we parked up and had a wander along to get some lunch. We found a great place called Scoma's which was on a little pier out over the water. The waitress showing us to “a nice table, very private” which was out the back of the restaurant with great views over the Bay. There was only one other table out there. 

After lunch we drove back over the Bridge and round Presidio, getting a little lost in the process (Larry had warned me that it was a possibility and he didn't disappoint). From there we headed up to Twin Peaks for some great views over the city, Larry pointing out various landmarks to me. It was a fantastic spot for me to get my bearings sorted out. We did a quick trip downtown too so I could see the TransAmerica building and take a walk round the market stalls in the Ferry Building before we returned home. I had a quick shower and changed and by the time I headed out Ken was on bartending duty again. I ordered myself a nice Hendrick’s martini.

Fellas

Our plan for the evening was cocktails at the house with a couple of friends of Ken & Larry’s followed by dinner at a new tapas place nearby. The friends would be part of the pirates and wenches Halloween theme on the following night. Joe arrived first and I was introduced to him, Ken explaining my trip and how we had met in P’Town. We chatted about our various travels and found a mutual fondness for Buenos Aires. Joe showed me a couple of photos from his recent trip and I showed him my BA photos. We had both taken a photo that was virtually identical. We were duly joined by Nick, had another cocktail at the house (they were very potent) and headed down the road to Canela for dinner. We were seated at our table by Caesar (not the real one obviously, but a guy in Halloween costume). It was a little off-putting being told the specials by someone who had a nipple on display. The food was great though.

Saturday morning started off with coffee and breakfast. Ken & Larry had a couple of things they wanted to go and do and they said I was more than welcome to join them. We made our way to collect another Zipcar, something a little more practical than the Mini from the previous day. We headed out to a glass blowing factory as they had a pumpkin garden set up for Halloween. The place only opened to the public a couple of times a year. The glass pumpkins on display came in all shapes, sizes and colours and it was an impressive sight. I stood in awe watching them make them too. They had the process down really well and the three people working together seemed to be producing the most ornate glass pumpkins in the space of about ten minutes. Ken & Larry made a few purchases, I just tried not to break anything.

From there we took a drive through the Berkely Hills with some great views back of the Bay back to the city, then a drive through the Berkley University campus with some great views of the college boys. We stopped for lunch and I had a hearty meal knowing that the pending Halloween evening had potential for being a boozy one.

“One of my old favourite songs from way back when, so bridge that gap, fellas” 
Lyrics from Hello, Dolly! from the musical Hello, Dolly!

That's the part I play

Glitter and be gay, that's the part I play

Glitter

We circled Las Vegas for nearly an hour waiting to land and from looking out of the window it was clear that we weren’t the only ones circling the airport. It gave me a good chance to study the city from above. It looked so odd, all the tall buildings in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t really appreciate how isolated the place was. We finally landed. It turned out that we had been waiting for a plane carrying President Obama to take off and for them to reopen the airport. The delay meant that several planes all landed and unloaded their passengers in quick succession making for a very long taxi queue. By the time I got to the hotel I was staying in I was feeling pretty tired so I grabbed some dinner from the nearest store and had an early night.

As I helped myself to breakfast the following morning I thought I saw a familiar face. I was still pre-coffee so it took a little while to register. It turned out to be a friend of Stephen, my Boston gay, who I had met back in July when I was at Stephen’s birthday BBQ. I got my coffee and we headed out to one of the tables by the pool to catch up. I added it to the list of random meetings since starting my trip. That took me to four in five months (the others being the ex in NYC, Bruno in P’Town & my old colleague in DC). After breakfast I read a book for a while lounging by the pool, something I hadn’t done in a while (the reading that is, I had done plenty of lounging). By late morning I was starting to get a bit warm in the sun so I had a swim in the pool then went to get showered and changed before heading to the Strip to check out some of the casinos.

Be gay

One of the guys I met a couple of days before in Portland had put me in touch with someone he knew in Las Vegas, a guy called KC. He sounded like the perfect tour guide for someone on a gay travel adventure. KC was the current Mr Gay Las Vegas Pride. I am not sure but I think that this meant there was nobody gayer than KC in Las Vegas. I had swapped messages with him and we arranged to meet up. He said that he would be able to give me a bit of a tour round and keep me company over a drink or two at the local gay drinking establishments should I fancy a drink (I assured him I would). Once he had finished work we sorted a place to meet up for a spot of food. We headed for sushi at a place called Ra Sushi. It was “happy hour” on the sushi and we ordered a couple of dishes to share.

The people I have met on my travels have been so much more interesting than I could possibly have imagined. They have the sort of stories that would be unbelievable if you read about them in fiction. KC was originally from close to the Utah border and had been brought up a Mormon. He had done his mission in Italy and have lived and worked in Vegas for a little while, doing a lot of charity work which was how he had got the Mr Gay Las Vegas 2011 title. His surname is Golightly (I kid you not). I listened with fascination as he told me his story. As we ate and chatted we had both clocked one of the waiters who was very smiley every time he went by our table. Gaydar is such a great thing to have but difficult to explain to (straight) people how exactly it works. You can just tell, most of the time. As we headed out of the restaurant KC left his number with our waitress and asked her to pass it on to the waiter who had been smiling at us. KC had the philosophy that if you don’t ask you will never hear an answer you want. The worst that would happen is the guy would never call, which he would never do anyway if he didn’t leave his number. A good philosophy that I decided I would try to be better at once I was home and dating again.

After dinner we headed off to look at some of the old neon signs from the casinos and walk down Fremont Street – home to casinos like Glitter Gulch and the 4 Queens (we were a couple of queens short). Over the street was a massive TV screen. We stood and watched the show for a while. As it was approaching Halloween there was a rendition of the Time Warp being blared out, with some great animations. After there we headed to a new gay bar called The Garage for a quick drink and so KC could drop off a costume he had been making for one of the guys who works there. The place was fairly quiet as it was still quite early evening but it looked like a nice place.

KC asked if I had seen the Strip at night yet. I explained that I had only arrived the previous evening and had done very little. He took me to see the lobby of the Bellagio which is always decorated according to the season. They had all of their autumn (fall) decorations out – lots of pumpkins and the like. It was pretty spectacular and pretty crowded. We headed outside after to take in the fountain show. We found a good spot at the front where I would be able to get some photos. The music started and I recognised the song instantly – My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. 

From there we made our way to another bar called Charlies. KC explained that it was drag queen bingo night. The place was pretty busy when we arrived, a game of bingo was in full swing and there was a hush over most of the bar. We did a quick fruit loop during which KC introduced me to a few people before we settled in at the bar. I am used to bingo where the numbers go up to 90 and you look for a line then full house. I didn’t get the version we were playing where you had to make the shape that they were displaying at the front. It was amazing how many rude shapes they could make out of colouring in certain squares on a 5 by 5 grid though. There were a whole host of drag queens to do the bingo, which seemed a little excessive. During the breaks in the bingo there was a spot of line dancing. I didn’t join in the dancing. KC dropped me back at the hotel and said he would probably be free the following evening too.

The next morning I was up and had breakfast by the pool and eased myself into the day slowly with a couple of cups of coffee. Having not made it all the way down the Strip the previous day I set off walking again. I walked the entire length from the Sahara at the top end all the way down to the famous Las Vegas sign just past the Mandalay Bay at the bottom end. The place seemed so strange, seeing replica versions of famous buildings I had seen for real.

That's the part I play

KC gave me a call once he had finished work. He told me that he had got my name on the guest list for Krave if I wanted to go there later. He said he wouldn’t be going as it was a school night but that he was around for a drink beforehand if I wanted to meet up. He picked me up and we headed back to The Garage. It was a little busier than the previous night. As we sat chatting and drinking KC asked what sort of man I tended to go for. I answered and KC picked up his phone, flicked through a few photos and then showed me a photo & asked for my opinion on the man on the screen. I responded saying that the guy was cute. KC told me he was 6 foot 4. Even better. KC went back to his phone. I thought he was checking for other photos but apparently not because a couple of minutes later he told me that the guy in the photo was on his way over to join us for a drink.

He duly arrived and was as good looking in real life as he was in the photo I had been shown. The three of us chatted for a while and KC’s friend & I seemed to hit it off. KC said it was time for him to head home (possibly a tactical retreat which was nice of him). I headed on to another bar with my new friend as one of his friends was doing a drag show and he felt like he should go show his support. The drag show was good although we missed one of the acts completely because we were busy snogging. He was a good kisser. I felt like I needed to be on tiptoes to reach. The old Yellow Pages advert flashed through my head. It was my final night in Sin City so I sinned a little.

“Glitter and be gay, that's the part I play” 
Lyrics from Glitter and be gay from the musical Candide

We only have 'til dawn

One night only, we only have ‘til dawn

One night only 

Over breakfast the next morning Tom got a text from his friends, Jill and Laurie (identical twins), suggesting a trip to the Japanese Gardens. The autumn leaves were just starting to put on a great display so it sounded like a good plan. I made sure my camera was charged and we headed off to meet them. Tom gave me a tip on how to tell the girls apart, which I promptly forgot as soon as I met them. As we walked through the gardens I chatted to Jill (I think) explaining my travels while Tom was in front chatting to Laurie. After stopping to take a couple of photos we carried on walking, this time I was chatting to Laurie while Tom walked with Jill. They kept swapping round for the whole time. It was surreal telling my story to identical twins and I have no idea if I repeated the same tale to the same twin but they were both too lovely to say anything if I had.

We continued our day with what I was told was a Portland tradition – a trip to Voodoo Doughnuts where, apparently, "the magic is in the hole". I have to admit that I hadn’t heard of them before. One of the things I have found from all the conversations I have had while travelling is the number of things I don’t know about. I know that admission will come as a shock to a lot of my friends. There are places I have never heard of, books I have never read, films I have never seen and now I am happy to admit that I don’t know about something whereas before I think I would have probably tried to bluff my way through, a trait I blame on the work environment.

As we stood in the queue at Voodoo Doughnuts I read the menu up on the wall. They had so many crazy flavours I was a little unsure where to even begin. Tom suggested that the penis doughnut would probably be ideal for a Voodoo virgin. I got myself one and it was rather large. It also came complete with two cream filled balls. As I took my first bite Tom got some very unflattering photos of me. As it turned out the penis was a little too big for me and I couldn’t fit it all in, let alone contemplate making a start on the balls. Tom helped out, polishing off one of the balls, which was very kind of him.

To help use up all the calories from the doughnuts we took a walk through the historic old town. One of the plaques proudly announced that the building it was attached to dated all the way back to 1907. I pointed out that my sister’s Victorian house in Sheffield was older than the building. I also have friends who live in a house that pre-dates the United States. Still, it was nice to see that they were taking some pride in their heritage for future generations.

Our walk also took us to the 24 Hour Church of Elvis, which bills itself as the first 24-hour interactive art installation. As we approached a lady asked us if we were here to see it. We told her we were and she asked if we had any quarters. I don’t carry coins (I’m trying to be like the Queen and not carry cash at all). Tom didn’t have any either. This seemed to irk her somewhat. She was the owner/artist and went into a lengthy explanation that you needed quarters to operate the installation. She had a handful of quarters so I gave her a dollar and she gave me four of them. There were several different things to try. The one that made me laugh the most (I had tears streaming down my cheeks) was the “Barbie gym”. For our quarter we got to watch 3 Barbie dolls who had been tied to miniature exercise equipment pedalling like the clappers. Another surreal moment in Portland but definitely worth a visit (just make sure you take some quarters).

24 Hour Church of Elvis

After a fun afternoon it was time for me to pack up my case once more and head over to Dave and Robby’s for my night at theirs. I was introduced to Lizzie the neighbour, the collection of pets (1 dog, 2 cats and a bird) and given a glass of wine. Dinner was duly served and the conversation flowed as freely as the wine. I remember a lot of laughter over dinner and numerous funny stories being shared. My favourite was Lizzie recounting a tale of when she got tonsillitis while she was pregnant. She wasn’t able to get to see a doctor about it but her gynaecologist, who she knew really well, said that he would take a look. She was shown into an empty examining room and thought it would be funny to lay the wrong way on the table, her arms in the stirrups and her mouth wide open so her tonsils could be checked. As she was waiting the door opened and in walked a nurse who she had never seen before who looked over at Lizzie and very sweetly pointed out that she was laying the wrong way round.

We only have ‘til dawn

With dinner finished Lizzie, Tom & Brian all headed off home as it was a school night. I did my goodbyes and thanks with Tom & Brian, telling them to keep me posted on their plans to be over in London next year so I could return the hosting favour. Dave, Robby and I settled in for a spot of The Amazing Race. As we watched we chatted about various things and I asked how long they had been together. They had met over 18 years ago, the year before I did my GCSE exams. During my travels I had stayed with or met a lot of couples who have been together for a long time and it gave me hope that some day I would find someone too. I thought that by the time I got back to London in May 2012 I would be ready to try dating again.

Sunrise over Portland

The next morning I was awake before dawn. Dave had explained that he always took Bella out early and that I was more than welcome to join him. It meant that I would get to see the sunrise over Portland. We walked up the hill to Pittock Mansion, a huge house that had great views of downtown Portland. It was a little too cloudy to get spectacular photos but it was still a good walk. We talked about the rest of my travel itinerary. Dave told me that he was a keen biker and would often go on little road trips. He gave me some great advice, telling me to enjoy the journey because sometimes the journey was more important than the destination. After we got back we loaded my suitcase into the car, had a little driving tour round and then headed to the airport. At the airport I thanked them both for their great hospitality and told them to keep in touch (even though I am not doing a very good job at keeping in touch with friends, new and old). I checked in to my flight, cleared security, had a wander round the terminal and then boarded my flight. I was off to Las Vegas, Sin City!

“One night only, we only have ‘til dawn” 
Lyrics from One night only from the musical Dreamgirls