Palm Springs Leather Pride 2023
This is the fifth Palm Springs Leather Pride weekend I’ve attended since 2017. After the unexpected passing away of Daddy Bradford in early July, I was hosted in the guest house of Master Scott this year. He and I happened to meet at BiggerVegas 2019 when we cruised online that weekend and I invited him to my room. We’ve chatted on and off at random times through the last few years. Since he knew that I attended PS Leather Pride and lives in the city with his husband, he approached me on Recon in June with an invite to stay in his guest house after I wished him a Happy Father’s Day. I took him up on his offer in recent weeks. The guest house was in the southwestern part of the city, and it was (about 15 minutes) walking distance to the Tool Shed! I once again didn’t have anyone joining me this year. Here are how things went from October 27-29.
Friday morning, I got up at 4:11am with only 2 hours of sleep. I did the last packing and was waiting for my father to come down or at least hear any activity upstairs. He didn’t come down until 4:40am and it was only to put chicken breasts in the toaster oven for my chicken burger breakfast, which should have been done over ten minutes ago. Even my mom was a little concerned that my father was taking a little too long. After my mom made up my burgers to take on the way and saying goodbye, we left just after 5am. I didn’t say much to my dad on the way. The (almost) full moon that was still in the night sky and descending as we headed toward Richmond was nice to look at. When my dad was dropping me off, I had to remind him that I was coming back Sunday night in Abbotsford, which he was pleased to hear. Bag drop off at Delta was quick since I was pretty much the only one around. Security and customs were fast though shoes had to come off again. There wasn’t much wait at gate E87, and we departed on time at 7am and I sat in 13F, with no one in the middle seat. We had a small delay as the plane needed a de-icing as it was cold that morning. We lifted off just after 7:20am. I played a couple games of Sudoku on my phone while I had a Coke Zero to drink with a couple small bags of almonds. We landed in Salt Lake City just before 10am MST. I got a text from slave Dinarte, letting me know he will be picking me up in Palm Springs. I had an over 4-hour layover in SLC, and this is the first time I’ve ever been to this airport. As I was walking to gate A10, I noticed a couple groups of male Mormon missionaries: one group looked like they were going to San Antonio and another in the next set of gates were going to Los Angeles. Huh? After a washroom break, I got in line at a Panda Express for a quick lunch. I had noodles, black pepper beef, medium Diet Pepsi, and an apple roll. It was a decent meal and helped kill nearly an hour. I walked back to gate A10 and spent the next four hours on my laptop, watching YouTube videos. I got my carry-on checked in before boarding and I did one more washroom break after shutting down my laptop. Boarding was just after 3pm and since I checked my carry-on, I got to board earlier. I sat in 16A, and we departed on time at 3:35pm. I nodded off a little at first, but barely. I read a few chapters of Miracles and had a Diet Coke with a granola bar with dried berries. We landed in Palm Springs at 4:22pm PST. The passenger boarding bridge (PBB) wasn’t working properly so we had a small delay before we could walk off - but at least our bags were being unloaded underneath. I let slave Dinarte know as he was going to wait in the parking lot. There was one good thing about the delay: my bags were already on the carousel when I arrived. When I emerged outside the airport, the sunny afternoon weather was perfect and not too hot. In fact, it would be like this the entire trip! slave Dinarte arrived to pick me up in his red Tesla. The guest house wasn’t far from the airport, but Dinarte and I had a nice conversation. At the house, I was introduced to slave Matthew, who also lived there. I saw the room I was going to stay in and put my bags down and also prepared some leather gear for the night. While the two slaves were talking, I was given the key to the house for my stay. slave Dinarte eventually left for the rest of the night, and I wouldn’t see him for the rest of the weekend. The house itself was pretty good: it had a kitchen, dungeon play area with bed for Sir Scott should he need use of it, TV and Wi-Fi, and my room had its own bathroom. Bill, the local Jewish bear, messaged me on Biggercity suggesting we have a breakfast date with his husband on Sunday. Nice! While Matthew napped in his room, I ordered from Del Taco on Uber Eats as there were none nearby. It was the same exact order from last year, including the zero-calorie lemonade to drink. The order arrived within half an hour and was really good. Now that I had supper, I geared up in my neoprene shirt and other leather. Matthew was up when I emerged from the room. I had a good chat with him as he was watching the film Boogie Nights. I then walked to The Tool Shed in my gear after 9pm. It wasn’t that hot out and took about 15 minutes to reach the bar.
It was a good turnout of men, and I ran into some guys I knew. I played with a cute leatherbear with hard wired nips. While I got plenty of pictures, I didn’t spend much time at the vendors. There was a Daddybear named Dave Rhodes (later I found out he worked for The Leather Journal) who recognized my Knights vest because of the Fresno Chapter. I showed him pictures of the members and the only one he knew was Kirk! I took his picture and texted it to Kevin. Before leaving, I ran into the 2019 MAL titleholder as he was wearing his vest. He enjoyed the pictures on my phone from his title win that I took. When I was done with the Tool Shed, I left around midnight and joined two other leathermen as we walked to the same complex! Their home was on the same way as the guest house, but theirs were closer to the main entrance. Matthew was already in bed when I walked in, and I got ready for bed not long after. Kevin eventually answered my text about Dave and confirmed it was him. I also got texts from Master Scott about the pool party he went to which included servicing and being served nipple play. Good for him! I went to bed before 2:30am and had a good sleep.
I got out of bed after 11am. Before having a shower, I was going to determine where I would have my first meal. I decided on the nearest fast-food place as it would give me some time to walk a bit. After my showering and dressing, I said good morning to Matthew and then walked to Jack in the Box for a meal sometime after noon. I last had them earlier in the year with my sister when we took a trip to Bellingham. I thought they were a decent fast-food restaurant, and we don’t have them in Canada. I had a chicken burger with curly fries and chicken nuggets. The freestyle drink didn’t really have any diet or zero sugar drink options, so I had half a cup of a sugary peach drink. That’s not good - does this particular restaurant not refill the low-calorie drink options? It was still a decent meal and I walked back to the house afterwards. The weather was warm, but I wasn’t sweating. Back at the house, I got ready for the cigar social in some gear plus my Wesco Highliners. I took a Lyft to The Barracks in Cathedral City.
The patio entrance was open, and I showed my Eventbrite ticket at the door. I started to take pictures with my smartphone not long after. I soon saw Daddy Doug from Vancouver, which surprised me as I didn’t know he was attending this weekend. He is just recently single and is going through a painful separation with his boy. We talked about it a bit during the social. He pointed me to someone who was selling freshly rolled cigars by donation. I paid a $5 donation for one and it was nice and smooth! It didn’t last that long but I certainly enjoyed it. I saw Latexdaddy Jon, and he let me service his nipples! WOOF - very sexy! I got his card again as I forgot where I put the one he gave me back at IML. I also saw Sir/Daddy Frank and while his health was declining, he was still in good spirits and looking handsome as usual. I asked about the boy he had that lived in New Westminster and he said that the boy has gotten heavily into alcohol and had to drop him. It’s a shame as they seemed to get along together and have been for around a few years. I mentioned that I went to my first Smokeout and that I ran into Mr. Saggers, though it thankfully was incident-free. Sir Frank thinks that Mr. Saggers now has (or had) a boyfriend, which was news to me! I ended that conversation that as long as he doesn’t cause problem for me, the people I love, and my Sirs/Daddies, he can do what he wants. I helped Daddy back to his car as he had balance issues, even with his cane. He thanked me before driving off and I would only see him briefly later in the night. I later found Daddy Doug had left to go the Tool Shed even though we were supposed to go together. After I was done the final pictures, I called a Lyft outside while another gentlemen joined me to go to the Tool Shed (though he lived near it) and thanked me for the ride. He gave me $5 for tip to the driver.
It was before 5pm and I saw Daddy Doug outside the bar as he just arrived. We went in together and it was a decent turnout for this particular cigar social - which was fundraiser for the Tom of Finland Foundation. Why it happened at the same time as the official cigar social at the Barracks, was unknown to most of us. Why compete? Anyways, I saw Sir Doug of Maryland and let him know I would return that night. I saw Ken and his husband (I forgot), probably the first time I’ve seen him in full leather. We reminisced that Ken was the first person to teach me to smoke a cigar and his husband knew of it. I don’t remember if his husband was a doctor or was in med school, but we talked about the profession, and he liked that I believed that doctors should make a good living for their years of training and just what the profession does in general. After we visited Eric of Cockeye Kink in which Ken did some cigar play on him, I left sometime after 6pm and walked back to the house.
I relaxed a bit that afternoon and then geared up in my uniform for the BLUF gathering. Matthew took a few pictures for me in Sir Scott’s dungeon area before I walked back to the Tool Shed. it wasn’t really that hot out and only sweated very little! Perfect weather even at night! The bar was packed, but the BLUF men were easier to find than last year! John, the organizer who I met last year, greeted me and said he was going to do a BLUF group shot later. I went and took some pictures around the vendors for a bit. I saw John Lait from Vancouver, which really surprised me. Daddy Doug was around and was the last I saw him for the weekend. I noticed it was time for the BLUF shot but I barely got the shot as the official photographer had priority. I still got lots of individual and group shots throughout the night, though. I got also got cruised by a few guys, much to my surprise. Sir Doug and I had a nice chat together, very heartfelt as he had surgery this year and his submissives were very good to him. I saw Sir Brent and it was the first time I’ve seen him in both his gear and in chaps - he had a nice furry butt! WOOF! After a night of fun, I left after 1am to return to the house. I haven’t eaten since Jack in the Box, so I ordered Del Taco from Uber Eats again. The order took nearly an hour to arrive, no thanks to the restaurant (was a different location than Friday night). The driver apologized when he dropped the food off as he was forced to wait for the orders and the workers were taking their time and goofing around (I noticed this on the app too!) After he left and I was about to chow down, I found that the restaurant handed the driver the wrong order! I tried to call the driver to let him know, but he refused my call, probably thinking it was spam. I filed a complaint on the app and took a picture of the order for them. They gave me a refund on the order - minus the tip I gave which I was fine with as it wasn’t the driver’s fault. I ate very little of the wrong order, but it allowed me to take my meds for the night. I went to bed just after 4am. My calves were sore from the Wesco Highliners I wore earlier. I could feel a small sore throat starting too.
I only got over four hours of sleep and didn’t feel that well. Likely I picked up something from the few men I kissed. I let Bill know on the Biggercity app that I was getting showered and dressed after 9am. After I was done, I waited outside for him to pick me up. I haven’t seen him since BiggerVegas 2019 and I got to meet his husband in the passenger seat for the first time, also named Bill. Bill drove us to Eight4Nine, while we passed a large statue of Marilyn Monroe on the way. The restaurant was quite large and somewhat elegant. I ordered waffles with a Berry mix and a glass of coke zero. Bill and I discussed Judaism a lot, since my living with Daddy David gave me some exposure to the topic. We also talked old movies too, especially with his husband when Bill went to the washroom. I paid my share of the meal. Bill then drove me back the way we came. I thanked him for the meal and chat, hoping we’ll meet again next year. I didn’t do much back at the house. Matthew was up and watching RuPaul’s Drag Race then eventually had a nap in his room. I did packing in my room and relaxed for the next few hours. I called Rich of the Seattle Knights and left a voicemail, wanting to find out if any of his Knights are coming up to our Anniversary weekend. I then called Arnie who was a groupie of the Seattle Knights, but he didn’t pick up, so I also left a voicemail. Sir Scott arrived before 4pm to take me to the airport. I made sure there was no mess, and the room was quite clean before I took my bags outside. I had a nice ride and chat with Sir. He asked about BiggerVegas next year and admitted I also haven’t heard anything. As he turned into the airport, I thanked him for hosting me and that his slaves were exceptional. We said our goodbyes and I went inside to check-in with WestJet.
After I dropped my luggage off, PreTSA had a lineup before screening but didn’t last that long. Screening was fast and easy. I waited in the central waiting area just before Gate 8 for the next hour. I thought they would announce boarding and that we would hear it, but one of the passengers poked his head into the gate area and noticed people were boarding! We departed at 5:50pm. Little did I know, this was the beginning of problems for my two flights home. To begin, WestJet -in their infinite wisdom- did not have the option of checking in carry-on for this flight! The flight was 97% full and since I was assigned an aisle seat, 21C, way in the back of economy, I had to put my laptop bag in front of me, taking up all my available legroom (I was going to put it up in the overhead but since the idiots decided that we should be forced to store our carry-ons…). It made the rest of boarding and all the way to cruising altitude hard on my feet. Cabin lights were dimmed so I took advantage of this by storing my bag behind my feet. I suggested it to the lady next to me as she didn’t like having her purse in front, and she thanked me for the advice. I did warn her that the stewards will not allow it and to do it discretely. Thankfully, they didn’t catch me even though I was in the aisle seat. The other problem with this WestJet flight? No Wi-Fi! WTF? It’s a nearly 3-hour flight and we don’t have any entertainment to break the boredom? Some people literally groaned when this was mentioned before departure, even when they mentioned that there were power outlets as a consolation. So: this flight didn’t have the option of checked carry-on to save on overhead room on a near packed plane, this in turn punishes the majority economy class who have to place their personal item in front of them - making for an uncomfortable flight, and there is no Wi-Fi onboard. It also didn’t help that I was feeling miserable and getting bored. For the flight, I listened to some music on my phone and played Sudoku. I also talked to the lady on and off, talking about travel. Her husband, who was in the window seat, kept to himself. We arrived in Calgary about 10pm MST. This began the other problem with my carry-on not being checked-in: having to lug it with me everywhere in the airport! YYC is a huge airport and long corridors are common. Given how uncomfortable I was on the flight, and I wasn’t feeling well, I was a little sore having to do so much walking before and after customs. Customs was easy, by the way. Before I could walk all the way to “A” gates, my Palm Springs and Abbotsford boarding passes had to be scanned as I was connecting. That was about a ten-minute wait. And then I had to do the long walk to Gate A22, but grateful it wasn’t deep within the “A” gates. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and it was before 11pm. The only thing open in the food court nearby was A&W. Perfect! I ordered some new(?) Nashville chicken burger with fries and diet root beer, a chipotle chicken snack wrap, and apple turnover. It hit the spot and I felt a little better. I walked back to A22 and shortly after I arrived, there was an option for checking in my carry-on. I immediately volunteered and my bag was taken away by the agent. Better late than never though I wish this was done back in Palm Springs! I found most seats at the gate were being hogged so I ended up sitting on the hard carpet against a wall. It was very uncomfortable. The flight was delayed by thirty minutes due to waiting for a bunch of passengers from Regina to arrive as it was the last flight of the night. I called my father and let him know I was going to be arriving half an hour later than scheduled. We boarded before midnight and I sat in 21B, a middle seat this time. It wasn’t the worst, but at least I could put my laptop bag into the overhead. No Wi-Fi but it was only about an hour flight. We departed 12:10am. The first half of the flight was all right as I played a game of Sudoku on my phone. The final 15 minutes of the flight became harrowing as the air pressure dropped and I began to suffer Airplane Ear: the insides of my ears and near my jaw were in pain as the plane was doing its descent into Abbotsford. As I’ve gone through this a few times before, it also affected my hearing. I was trying to hold it together and breathing heavily, but the pain was becoming almost unbearable. Neither of my seat mates moved an inch or asked if I was alright as it was obvious something wasn’t right with me. I looked around to see if anyone else could be suffering from the same thing but didn’t notice anything strange. When we finally landed at around 12:40am PST, the pain slowly went away but I was left with some temporary hearing loss. My father had already arrived and was waiting outside. My bags took awhile to be brought out, but my father was waiting at the most ideal drop-off spot outside the exit. On the way home, we had to detour north on Station Road from Fraser Highway as there was a police blockade. We continued west on 32nd Ave and then south on 268 Street to get back onto Fraser, which ended up being the right choice as the police blockade began/ended there. We got home before 2am.
Leather Pride was a great way to end my travels this year and I had a good time. I was grateful to Master Scott and his slaves for what they did for me that weekend. The guest house was perfect for my needs and the location is really good! I hope I get that opportunity again when I return in future years. I did think of Daddy Bradford at times, which did make for some sad realizations that every time I visit, I’ll never get to be with him again. It was also great to spend a little time with Bill and I'm sure we'll meet again soon. The tail end of the trip was a sour note and I did in fact catch a bug. I'm still sick as of this writing, but I have no regrets in going.
