Wheels are in motion

Suddenly the wheels are in motion, and I, I'm ready to sail any ocean

Suddenly

The flight to Fort Lauderdale was short and uneventful. 24b was occupied but not by Robby. I got a cab from the airport to the gay resort that I had checked in to. It would be the first time proper on my trip that I would not be with someone and I was looking forward to being able to catch up on a bit of sleep and recharge my batteries. It would also be my first ever time at a gay only resort. I’d never really been one for doing the whole gay holiday resort thing back home.

Having checked in and been shown around the place I headed to the nearest store to pick up a few supplies for the few days that I would be there, getting caught in a massive thunderstorm on the way back. I dried off and checked my messages. At dinner the previous night Bob had emailed one of his friends who had Miami contacts. There was a short chain of emails, the upshot of which was an offer of a place in Miami for the following weekend, the weekend before I left the States. I emailed the potential host back saying I would be very grateful of the place to stay. That only left me needing to sort out the upcoming weekend and the few days after.

There was also a message from Rick and Craig, some friends of Tom, my Portland gay for October. They apologised that they couldn’t host me in Fort Lauderdale as they were headed out of town for a few days but they were free that evening for dinner if I was around. I messaged back saying that I was. They came over later in the evening and picked me up and took me over to Rosie’s Bar and Grill. The restaurant was located in Wilton Manors, the Fort Lauderdale gaybourhood. They pointed out the local bars and gave me some tips on places to eat and drink. The food was good. I had a wrap that required both hands to pick it up, with fries. That and the couple of pints I washed it down with was enough to make me ready for bed. Rick and Craig dropped me back at mine & wished me a fun time in Fort Lauderdale and safe travels. I wished them a good week away as they were off to celebrate a large birthday of Rick's.

The following morning I got up and headed to breakfast. I helped myself to some coffee and a bagel and sat outside by the pool. The resort was fairly quiet, it being midweek and off-season. The other guests seemed to mainly be older guys. I figured it would be a good chance to give my liver a bit of a breather. After breakfast I headed down to the beach as the weather forecast was predicting a nice morning and afternoon rain. The short walk to the gay beach at 10am had me fairly warm by the time I got there. I spent a while laying on my front reading my book but sweat kept dripping on the book so I gave that up and turned over. I propped myself up on my elbows and watched the world go by for a while. I decided it was time to leave when my belly button had filled with sweat for the fifth time. I went back to the resort and cooled off in the pool, had a swim and had an afternoon siesta while it rained. I had dinner that night with David and Ed, a couple I had chatted to in the pool earlier in the day. We were joined by another guy who was staying at the resort, Brick and the four of us headed to Big Louie’s Pizzeria. I could see why Louie would be big with the size of the portions they served.

The wheels are in motion

After dinner I chatted to Robby on Skype for a little while. He said that he was off to West Virginia for the weekend with some friends otherwise he would have invited me back to Atlanta. I said we would have to catch up when I was back in the States in October after the South American leg of my tour. He said that was a long time away. He then suggested I join him in West Virginia. All I would need to do is book a flight to DC and get the train from there with him and his friends. I asked if his friends would be ok with me gate crashing. He sent a message to Tyler, as it was his parents' house that they were staying in. I checked the price of flights to DC. Not too expensive considering the short notice. We chatted for an hour or so but there was no response from Tyler. Robby said he would speak to him in the morning and let me know.

The following morning I had breakfast by the pool again, sitting with Brick. David & Ed said goodbye as they were headed home that day. Another couple who I had chatted to the day before, James & Brian, joined us. The four of us spent the day round the pool. In between dips in the pool to cool off and chat to the other guys I did some writing and kept checking my phone for any word from Robby about West Virginia. Around lunchtime I got the all clear and Robby said he had checked the flight prices and they were the same as the day before. With Tyler being more than happy for me to join everyone for the weekend, I booked my flight. It was less than 24 hours until the flight so I also checked in for it too. My stomach was doing somersaults. It was the first really impulsive detour of my travels, one that I was very much looking forward to.

For dinner that evening I headed to a Cuban restaurant called Catalina. We were greeted by the host, Mario, who shook hands with each of us and showed us to a table. To say he was on the effeminate side would be an understatement. We were all given menus. Mario asked if we had ever had Cuban food before. I was the only one who hadn’t. This apparently meant that Mario would be in charge of ordering for us. He took away our menus before we had even had a chance to look at them. He asked us if there was anything we didn’t eat. I said kidneys.

The plate of appetizers that appeared a short while later was huge – empanadas, tamales, pulled pork, some sort of chicken thing. All of it was very tasty and I wasn’t sure I needed the main course, which was a mix of red snapper and beef. The food was great but the service was bizarre and Mario creeped me out a little bit. He was very touchy feely with everyone. As we were settling up the bill Mario kissed James on the top of his head. We all looked at each other and made a hasty exit. We returned to the resort and I headed off to pack my case and get myself ready for my flight to DC in the morning.

I'm ready to sail any ocean

I was up early the following morning, excited at the prospect my trip to West Virginia. I had breakfast, said goodbye to the guys and got a cab to the airport. I checked in, cleared security and headed for the gate where I found a seat. I had been sat down for about two minutes when I decided I needed a coffee. I could see a Starbucks a little further down the terminal building. As I got up to go get myself a coffee they were just finishing an announcement that someone had left a Hello Kitty bag at security at that the owner should return to collect it. Everyone looked at me getting up out of my chair. I went bright red. I got myself a coffee making it as obvious as possible to the other passengers that is where I had just been, not to security to collect a Hello Kitty bag. We boarded on time. I was off to see Robby.

“Suddenly the wheels are in motion, and I, I'm ready to sail any ocean” 
Lyrics from Suddenly from the musical Xanadu