Smokeout 2024
I loved my first Smokeout at the Tuscany so much last year that I decided to go again this year. Since it wasn’t scheduled on Easter weekend, I could only go April 6-7. I lodged with boy (Alex) Zander, who was one of the bootblacks on-site again this year.
Saturday morning, I got up just after 6am. After a washroom break, I packed a few things I forgotten and drove out of home at 6:45am. It was cloudy so there would be no good morning scenery the entire drive. At the Pacific Crossing border, I was the only one at NEXUS. US Customs wondered why I was only going to Vegas for one night. I explained that the event didn’t fall on Easter weekend this year and that I couldn’t get the time off to stay longer. Not a problem, and he let me in. I drove south to Bellingham International Airport and arrived after 7:30am. In Economy Lot A, I parked around the same end section as last year. Unlike last year, I didn’t have to worry about my car stalling as I had just done an expensive oil change and transmission flush on Tuesday morning. Allegiant’s ticketing wasn’t busy, so I dropped off my 43-pound bag and TSAPre screening was super easy, I didn’t have to take my shoes off. There wasn’t much of a wait at the gate. I let Alex know I was at my gate and messaged a few other guys before I went to buy a bottle of water. I boarded my flight after around 8:15am and sat in 25B. I hated it as two big ladies cramped me in (little did I know, the flight back would be a little worse.) The plane’s seats didn’t have holders, so I had to keep my bottle in my jacket pocket. Not long after sitting down, I forgot that I left my earphones in my bag in the overhead bin. Oh well. We left on time, and I mostly nodded off despite the discomfort. I played a little bit of Legacy of Ys: Book I & II on my 2DS. We arrived early at Harry Reid International Airport at 11:05am. Despite the temptation to eat at one of the various open restaurants as I barely ate at home, I wanted to get to the Tuscany quickly. I took a Lyft to the Tuscany and found the Las Vegas weather to be just perfect - as it was all weekend.
As Alex was at sushi gathering, I ended up waiting for an hour in the lobby. The lobby Wi-Fi kicked in as it remembered me, so I sat and watched some videos before he arrived just before 1:30pm. I met his biker friend, Spaz, and we went to Alex’s room in building “J” 205. We spent about an hour in the room, talking about things and setting my things up. Alex gave me the bad news that pup Jerame (J-pup) married his so-called “boyfriend” Michael on Valentine’s Day, which both shocked and didn’t shock me. Stupid stupid stupid decision! Anyways, a friend of Alex’s also joined us in the room to socialize. I gave Alex my $100 US contribution to the room. Around 2:20pm I went and got my registration program book, wrist band, and t-shirt. I then walked over to the casino and had lunch at Marilyn’s Café. I had an orange chicken dish with rice and veggies and a raspberry iced tea. It hit the spot and I stopped into the gift shop for a bottle of Smartwater and a small bag of chewy chocolate chip cookies. After dropping them off in the room, I wandered around the hotel, taking some of the first pictures, and saw some people who recognized me from last year. I stopped into the vendors and bought some beard balm from Wolf & Bear's Den. They had some cool dragon figurines too. There were also some nice leather stuff from the gear vendors, but nothing jumped out at me. While Alex was doing his bootblack shift in the hospitality suite, he would do my Wesco Highliner boots separately back in our room. I saw Chris - a bear I knew back in St. Louis (he has since moved to Boise, ID) and last saw in 2017. I met him in room 120 as he happened to be in the same building. We cuddled naked and gabbed for the next couple of hours. Alex texted me back that he was at a steakhouse for dinner with his roomies. I was supposed to go with them but spent time with Chris instead. After we were done, I waited for Alex’s return in the room. Spaz eventually joined us too. I geared up in my usual leather uniform and took a couple of cigars from Alex as he had plenty, and soon joined Chris for a small walk around during dusk.
The gathering of men outside the hospitality suite was quite good. I took some pictures and asked some of them if they were considering going to the Fun Hog Ranch that night. Practically all said they weren’t despite there being a planned leather gathering there. I still planned to, and I left the hotel at 10:30pm in a Lyft.
I was hoping to see Sir Doug of Maryland after arriving at the Ranch, but I never saw him, and we didn’t run into each other the entire weekend. I spent an hour and a half at the Ranch with the majority of that time with a leatherbear couple that I met last year at the BLUF Vancouver Gathering in March. I lit up my first cigar of the weekend and had a diet coke to drink with it. The last thing I did was walk around the bar after it thinned out and got some good pictures from my phone. After saying goodbye to the couple and others, I took a Lyft back at midnight.
Returning to the same gathering outside, Alex was still up and around, but not for much longer. Got a drink and chatted with a few guys, including Luis and his partner from SF. The cigar I had at the Ranch made me a little tired and sick, maybe because I smoked it a little too fast. I eventually went back to the room as Alex was getting ready for bed. He had already finished working on my Wesco Highliners and would tip him $10 later in the morning. I watched the last half of the film Bloodsport he had cast on the TV, cuddled with him, and went to bed before 3am. I slept well that night.
Alex got up at 7:30am, showered, and went to go get a massage. I slept in till after 9am when he returned. I had my shower and let Alex work on my uniform shirt and jodhpurs, which both really needed his care. We met up with his Sir and Alpha to go to the Blueberry Hill for brunch. Alpha drove us to the location on East Flamingo Road. We had a half hour wait, so we chatted with the other bears there, including a Vancouver bear I’ve known since the days of the BC Bears. I had Oreo pancakes, which was very good, but (I can’t believe I’m saying this) the portion was a little too much, besides all the sugar I was consuming! It could do with one less pancake (there were four) so I had three and that was my limit. We paid separately and Alpha drove us back to the Tuscany. We stopped in Sir and Alpha’s room, and I spent some time chatting with Sir, checking out some of the cool stuff he had. Alex had to go do his final bootblack shift of the weekend, but he finished my jodhpurs when I returned. I did most of my packing before leaving the room again to go and smoke my last cigar and take final pictures. Outside hospitality, I saw Daddy Frank and pup Morty while I got my cigar lit. Leatherbear Brandon of Durango, Colorado messaged me to meet him by the small pool. It’s the first time I ever went inside the pool area (I noticed it the first time the previous day but didn’t go inside.) Our meeting was brief as he was going to the Golden Nugget soon after. I thanked him for coming up to his first Smokeout. I saw Alex’s Sir was around and chatted with a sexy Daddybear in one corner of the pool. While taking pictures around the pool, I even saw Eric from Cockeyed Kink. Alex was finishing up his shift and I said goodbye to a few people, including pup Morty whom I took the final picture of.
Returning to the room, I helped Alex break down his bootblack stand and put it into the back of his trunk. I then took my bags and loaded them in the backseat. Alex dropped me off at the airport and I thanked him for use of the room and the weekend. After he left, I soon after realized he dropped me off at the wrong terminal by accident! I had to take a free shuttle outside to Terminal 1 (I paid the drive $5 tip as thanks), but Allegiant’s ticketing was basically empty and TSAPre was a breeze! It was not too long a wait for my 6:49pm flight at Gate A22. I got a bottle of water and had a washroom break before boarding. I sat in 22B, with two guys between me. The one guy in the window seat was sick (groan… but thankfully, I didn’t end up getting sick) though, but at least he wasn’t cramming me in. We were ten minutes delayed during taxiing as a few planes were in front of us, so we departed around 7pm. I played some 2DS and watched four episodes of the Harley Quinn animated show on the Netflix app. The flight was uncomfortable with the dipshit in the aisle seat playing a game on his phone and constantly shifting his arms even though he has the aisle seat and can simply lean into it. We landed back in BLI at 9:42pm. After washing my hands and exiting the terminal, my bag had already arrived on the carousel, so I scooped it up and left the airport. It wasn’t raining that night as I was predicting, though it must have a few hours previous. It was $20 (almost $28 Cdn) for two days of parking. I drove north and stopped to fill up on gas just before the border, even though it was about $4.649 a gallon. Better than paying the increased carbon tax that kicked in April 1st back home. NEXUS was empty and was easy. Customs was surprised that I didn’t bring back any cigars though I told him that I didn’t have a humidifier so any cigars I had during the weekend had to be smoked on site. I got home at 11pm. My father came down for a bit though I already saw he had made chicken soup for the week. He also let me know that there’s a good chance my mother may be allowed outside of the hospital soon, which was great news! I managed to finish unpacking and putting everything away before midnight.
I did enjoy myself at my second Smokeout and wish I could have stayed longer, but if it doesn’t fall on Easter weekend, then nothing can be done about it. One positive note is that my nemesis up in the Yukon was not in attendance this year, so I didn’t have to worry about running into him. The weather was perfect and not too hot. Even at night, I wasn’t sweating in my uniform - though I did a bit at the Fun Hog Ranch. While it was nice to cuddle with a couple of bears, a round of playing would have been nice. And unlike last year, I didn't have car problems! I plan to go back for my third round of bears ad tobacco next year.