This was a real nice clambake, and we
all had a real good time.
 |
| Downtown Jacksonville |
As we drove into Jacksonville Casey
asked if I wanted to join him and some of his friends for dinner and drinks. I
said that provided he could cope with my company for the evening having just
spent the whole day with me in the car then I would love to join him. His friends were
already awaiting our arrival so we headed straight over to meet them. The hotel
I was staying in knew that I would be checking in late. Casey said that
ordinarily one of his friends would have been happy and willing to host me but
a lot of people were visiting Jacksonville that weekend as two of Casey’s
friends were getting married.
We arrived and I was introduced to Michael,
one half of the couple getting married. I was also introduced to Chris who
lived in the Dollhouse, which turned out to be the quaint little guesthouse out
back of the main house. I was offered a drink & I asked if there was gin,
which there was. Chris apologised that there was no tonic in the house so I
opted for a gin & ginger ale. Chris and Michael asked how the drive from
NOLA had been. I said that I had enjoyed it and that it was fine. Casey said
that he had been subjected to my music for an hour, an hour that he would
never get back.
We were joined at the house by (another)
Chris and Tal. The six of us (Casey, Michael, Tal and Chris cubed) headed off for dinner at Mojo #4, another place
that served comfort food. I was starting to worry that I had been so comforted
that by the time I got to Rio in a few weeks time I would be too scared to go
on the beach for fear that the locals would throw buckets of water on me and
roll me back into the sea in an attempt to save the beached whale. The six of
us were joined by another couple of guys, Randy & Ed. Ed sat at the end of
the table next to me. In preparation for the upcoming wedding Ed had just been
for botox. Having only just met him I wasn’t sure what he looked like before but
I wasn’t sure he needed botox. He was younger than me and I don't think I need botox just yet. He was also very tanned
(I suspect with help from artificial sources) which made his whitened teeth seem
even whiter. Ed & I didn’t really chat over dinner. Casey later explained
that Ed knew I was only in town for a day so he wouldn’t see the point in
investing time chatting to me. That was probably why Ed spent most of dinner on
Grindr.
Our food arrived and I tried my best to
stay away from the appetizers that had been ordered for the table and opted for
the healthiest sounding thing on the menu, a bowl of Brunswick stew, a thick soup
made with mixed meats and beans, which was extremely tasty. Over dinner I was
asked about my travel plans and the blog. Some of the guys wanted to know if
they would get a mention. I said that they probably would although the bar had
been set fairly high recently so they might need to do something pretty
memorable to make sure they got a write up. It was strange to be asked by
people if they would make it in to the blog and what would I write about them. I figured the blog would be a way to let my family
and friends back home know what I had been up to. I should have know that the
gays can be a bit competitive so would be trying to make sure they got a good
write up or at least a mention, regardless of the small audience the blog was
seen by.
 |
| The Friendship Fountain |
Dinner was followed by a nightcap back
at Michael’s where I got to meet his other half, Glenn. I wished them all the
best for their upcoming nuptials. They headed to bed so the rest of us took our
drinks out to the garden so our conversation and music didn’t keep them awake.
Rolling in the Deep came on. One of the guys looked at me and was about to
speak when I said “Yes, I have heard of Adele”. He looked a bit surprised that
I had answered before he had even asked the question. I explained that it was a
question I seemed to get asked virtually everywhere I had been. That, and "Did you go to the Royal Wedding?".
The next morning I woke up to an email
from one of the guys who had been at dinner. He wanted to see a draft of the
Jacksonville blog so he could give it his approval. He told me he was “the cute
funny one”. I responded saying that I was having great trouble picturing a
“cute funny one” from the previous night. I spent the day having a wander round
Jacksonville, getting some lunch and catching up on some sleep.
The evening was more food, this time at
Mossfire, with Casey, Randy, Randy’s ex, Chris & some young guy who looked
about 12 years old. Randy’s ex’s new boyfriend arrived a little while later. I
guess that he hadn’t been told that Randy would be there as he took one look at
him at the table, turned round and left. Randy’s ex went after him and was gone
for quite some time. Ah, the joys of relationships. I got the impression from
chatting to the guys over dinner that the Jacksonville gay population was
fairly small so things could get a little messy. It reminded me of being home in Sheffield after I first came out and went on the gay scene at a time when there were only two gay pubs and one club and
everyone knew everyone else and everyone knew what everyone else had been up to.
 |
| Me with Casey at Mossfire |
After dinner we headed over to Pearl, a
club with an interesting décor, a dancefloor that lit up & a very mixed
crowd. It was hard to tell whether or not it was a gay bar not. There were a
lot of women there and the crowd was very young. The music was ok, thankfully
there was no Adele played so I didn’t have to answer that question again.
We spent the evening in the outside area
of Pearl, drinking, chatting and judging people. The Jacksonville gang were all
very friendly and welcoming. I even got a hello from Ed who arrived later. We
stayed out for a few hours but I had to get some sleep as I had an early flight
to Atlanta in the morning. It was a great final night with Casey and I was sad
when it came to the time to say goodbye to him. I’d spent a lot of the last
week with him being my tour guide every day in NOLA. I wished him well for his
upcoming job interview, he wished me well on my travels. I told him that he had
a place to stay in London if he ever got to visit. I told him I could sleep on
the sofa…
“This was a real nice clambake, and we all had a real good time.”
Lyrics from A Real Nice Clambake from the musical Carousel
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