Knights Gathering & Dore Alley 2024
My sixth Dore Alley weekend had a twist: I included it with Knights Gathering. Since my first visit to San Francisco in 2017, I’ve been thinking about having the Knights join me some year. I think the last time was 1998, but that was over three years before I became a member. For whatever reason, SF was hardly proposed for a Gathering. I decided it was time to rectify that. The result was a fun July 26-29 weekend, but with a very low turnout. Our host hotel was the Courtyard by Marriott San Francisco Union Square which I secured a contract for, but ended up being a waste of time because we only used two rooms out of ten that were originally reserved for us until the reservation cut-off of June 26. The hotel itself was nice considering the building itself was around a hundred years old. Besides me, all other Knights were from the Seattle (Jet) Chapter: Thad & Charlie, and Eugene (Spokane). And while not a Knight, current Seattle Leather Daddy 2023-2024 Rick Ruben was with me too. He joined me in 2022. Here’s how our weekend went.
Friday July 26, I got up at 8am and finished packing a few things. Mom made me two chicken sandwiches to eat before I said goodbye and left just after 9am. Given what happened last month with my father, he decided to not drop me off at the airport, so I must drive myself and park my car for the weekend. Thankfully, morning rush hour traffic wasn’t bad at all. I arrived at Jetset Parking just after 10am. I parked my car, took out my bags, and dropped off my keys inside the building. A short bus shuttle ride to YVR was waiting. At the airport, I dropped my bag off with WestJet and found it was 22.2kg, or 49 pounds. Whew! NEXUS security was quick, and I didn’t have to take my shoes off. Bravo YVR! After customs, I sat and waited at Gate E77 for my flight. I volunteered to check my carry-on as it was going to be a full flight. I sat in 15B, and we left under 20 minutes behind schedule. I wasn’t uncomfortable in my middle seat as I had elbow space. I began playing Bravely Second: End Layer on my 3DS during the entire flight. We landed before 2:30pm at SFO though there was a small wait before the gate was available. I got a hold of both Rick and Eugene on my phone as they arrived in the morning and waited for me. Before I could go see them, I had to walk all the way to the next terminal to find carousel 12, get my bags, and walk all the way back. I found Rick and Eugene waiting for me in baggage claim at the original (Harvey Milk) terminal I arrived in. After hugs and kisses, I found that Eugene fell down a few times during their few hours wait for me. He was okay, but the bruises on his hands could not be hidden. We took the AirTrain to the BART train station and I added funds to my Clipper card. Eugene already had a card from Matthew, his caretaker, and they already added funds to it online. Rick had his nephew’s card. We took the BART to Civic Union/UN Plaza, not saying much in the half an hour trip. It was cloudy and cool outside and in fact, would be like this for over half our visit.
Outside Civic Union, I called a Lyft to take us to the host hotel. I got us checked in and we stayed in room 307. The room was nice, but quite cramped for three men. As we were setting up, I got a call soon after from Charlie who was wondering about taking a bus from Civic Union. I suggested he call a Lyft/Uber like I did as it was fast and cheap. They did so and I met them down in the lobby. They stayed in room 1108 and I spent a few minutes with them. They came down and joined us in 307 for hellos and conversations. During this time, I later went across the street to pick up some drinks for us. Returning, we finally decided on a restaurant for dinner: The Sausage Factory in the Castro. We all go down to the lobby, and I call an Uber X. It was the wrong one - I should have called an Uber XL! So, it meant we had to go in two separate cars. Thad & Charlie decided to go on their own. On the way to the restaurant with Rick and Eugene, I get a text from them saying they are bowing out of joining us for dinner. Sigh. I offered to pick them up something and they said it was fine. We got to the restaurant and found it would be a 15-minute wait. We were fine with that, and we enjoyed the company of the Castro locals who were also waiting. We got a seat more toward the back of the restaurant. Rick had spaghetti and meatballs, Eugene some chicken pasta dish, and I had a calzone. We enjoyed our dishes, and the portions were good for the price. Rick and Eugene split the bill in half and included mine since I paid for our ride sharing.
After dinner, we went to a couple of sex shops across the street. We even went to 440 Castro for a bit, a bar I’ve not been to before. Eugene tripped going up the stairs that Rick got worried, so our visit didn’t last long. We took a Lyft back to the hotel. Eugene eventually went to bed early, given he has not slept in many hours. Rick and I stayed up to about midnight to watch the Olympics opening in Paris. While it was playing, I finished and sent out the agenda for Sunday’s Interchapter meeting. I went to bed last.
Around mid-morning, I fucked Daddy a couple of times as he noticed my morning wood and used his lube on my cock. After we were done, I got out of bed after 9:30am. Eugene slept for many hours throughout the night. He started snoring but was quiet sometime after I went to bed. I had my shower. After getting ready, Eugene was still feeling confused and thought it best to stay behind so Rick and I spent half the day together. Thad & Charlie went and did their own thing around the city. Downstairs, Rick had a coffee and we both had a pastry in the makeshift Starbucks downstairs. Outside, our first stop east on Post was Williams-Sonoma, which Rick has been wanting to go to as he works at the Seattle store. We spent an hour there, with him chatting with a couple of employees. One of them met Rick not long ago up in Seattle. After we were done, we walked through Union Square and took the Muni subway to the Castro. The two of us had brunch at the Cove. A couple next to us engaged in conversation with Rick. One was from Connecticut, the other New Jersey. I had a club sandwich with fries and paid for both of us. Like a couple years before, we walked the Castro and even stopped into Auto Erotica. Rick bought a patch that came from the owner who had it since the 1970s or 80s. I saw some nice American Bear/Grizzly magazines and 100% Beef but cannot afford them. We made a few other stops at places we’ve been to before. I quickly stopped into Castro Smoke House to get a cigar. At Hot Cookie next door, Rick got me a smores cookie while he got a snickerdoodle cookie. Yummy! Both of us took a streetcar back along Market and walked south to Mr. S Leather.
We spent a couple of hours, most of it in the beer garden. I don’t think I’ve done that before with the beer garden - or at least spend near as much time in there. We separated for a bit so Rick could go play in the tent and I needed to go to the washroom. Thankfully, they had free pop on hand. I saw a Leatherdaddy from Palm Springs that I knew before we returned inside the shop. Rick got bought a “Mr. S” toque for a friend of his back home before we left. On our way to Leather Etc. we ran into Eric of Cockeyed Kink on the corner. Inside, I bought a traditional X-style harness so I can wear it with my black latex catsuit someday. Their leather shirts were intriguing, but still cannot afford them. We left after about twenty minutes. Walking up north, we stopped into Harvest Urban Market to get a couple of drinks. We took the #27 bus on 8th and Folsom to go back to the hotel. Eugene was still in our room playing his Nintendo Switch and I asked if Thad & Charlie had seen him as I let them know he didn’t join with us that afternoon. He replied that they never communicated with him. Sigh. We soon got ready in our formal gear after watching some Dore Alley videos on YouTube to show Eugene what it was all about.
We went down to the lobby and met up with Thad & Charlie. We went in separate ride sharing to the formal dinner due to miscommunication. My pick was Miss Saigon given I enjoyed it last year and that one of the Seattle Knights, Rich, could not join us which made my decision on a restaurant easier. I had my Pho Tai and it hit the spot. Everyone loved their meals and thanked me for choosing the place. We had our only group photo by the end. Thad & Charlie and Eugene returned to hotel together after 9pm while Rick and I went to the SF Eagle.
Likely because of complaints from last year, the cover charge was $10 per person compared to the insane $20 last year! There was no line up and I paid for Rick and I. Inside, I found there were very few men in uniform, and I didn’t meet up with a Sir from Pittsburgh because he had left before I arrived. I ran into a BLUF guy from Seattle that I recognized, and Rick knew too. A big bear from LA that I played with at a past BiggerVegas was there also, though it would be our only meeting that weekend. After some picture taking, I had my cigar after 11pm. It was bitter, but it did produce some good smoke and didn’t poison me by the end. After taking some more pictures, Rick and I left the bar just before 1am and took a Lyft back to our hotel. Eugene was still up, and we chatted while we put our things away. Both went to bed at 2:30am, while I joined before 3am.
Sunday arrived and we got up sometime after 8am to do our showers. We noticed that the cloudy weather throughout the weekend then become sunny and warm! I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, so I wore the same thing as the previous night. I originally wanted to wear my latex uniform that I lugged over, but there wasn’t much time to prepare it. I made a smart move to not wear my leather uniform shirt, given what happened in 2022. I wore my Knights cotton shirt from last night instead. The three of us geared up and went down to meet Thad & Charlie, who called an Uber XL to take us to Sam’s American Eatery, which I chose given it was the closest to the Fair that I knew. After we arrived and ordered, I went to the nearby Union Station to put $10 on Rick’s low-value Clipper card. I returned and it wasn’t long before our orders came. I got a stack of pancakes and blueberries on top, which was a decent portion. The place was a hit amongst us. We took a #19 bus on 8th and Mission to go south toward Folsom and we entered the Fair. The donation suggestion was $15 - an increase from $10, but we could use our credit cards at least.
Thad & Charlie went exploring around, as did Daddy Rick, while Eugene was with me and held my camera bag as I took pictures. Within five minutes of entering, I saw boy (Alex) Zander’s Sir and Alpha. That always seems to happen LOL! I was getting plenty of pictures though the weather was quite warm while I was in my leather jacket. Sweating quite a bit inside, but at least it wasn’t my leather shirt getting destroyed! At the bootblack booth, I had boy Zander work on my boots and Eugene got his boots done for the first time by someone else. Eugene’s biker boots were bought recently online and really needed work. His bootblack did a great job revitalizing them. boy Zander did great with mine too, getting some of the year’s worth of scuffs out. While waiting for my turn beforehand, I got Eugene and I a cold Gatorade drink nearby. About an hour and half after we first entered the Fair, Eugene could no longer take it anymore and so we walked back to the entrance. I checked my phone and found that Thad & Charlie tried to call me twenty minutes earlier and left a text that they were leaving. I texted them back asking if they were still around and by the time I requested a Lyft for Eugene to take back to the hotel, they were already there.
I returned to the Fair and went to the 15 Association section, which also had the BLUF table with them too! I met some great BLUF members, including sexy Daddybear Will who is the webmaster of Leathermen Travel. I got a great group photo of some of the BLUF men too. Afterwards, I met up with Daddy Rick near the entrance and we walked over to the bootblacks as I told him that a former Seattle Daddy (2003) was one of the bootblacks. They knew each other and Rick thanked me later for letting him know. He also got to meet boy Zander too! After getting us a couple bottles of cold water (almost $11 with tax, ouch!) we decided to leave. Rick made a quick stop at the Out of the Closet Thrift Store before we boarded the #27 bus on 9th and Folsom back to the hotel. Thad happened to be outside when we arrived, and I let him know we would be setting up the meeting soon. I finally took a good long piss back in the room and Eugene was doing okay since he got back safely. My white shirt was totally soaked in sweat and stained from my jacket’s lining, but my jodhpurs weren’t too bad, and no sweat was at the bottom of my boots! After de-gearing and refreshing a bit, Eugene and I went to Thad & Charlie’s in 1108 by 4pm while Rick relaxed in our room. I asked Thad if he wanted to be Chair of the meeting and he said it was okay for me to be both Chair and Recording Secretary if I so choose. So, I was both chairing and typing out the meeting this year. My laptop took twenty minutes to even get to the login screen, and then another ten for me to even put in my PIN! While my laptop was taking an eternity, I used Skype on my phone to get Carol from the Fresno (Yosemite) Chapter into the meeting and I temporarily used my MS Word app to be recording secretary. Anticipating these problems, I saved a copy of the agenda in the cloud. Smart me. It was awkward doing the recording on my phone, but it didn’t last too long before I could access Word on my laptop and continue doing my job the proper way.
I called the meeting to order at 4:35pm. I started with thanking the three Seattle Knights and Rick for being able to come to San Francisco. It was a trip I had been wanting the Knights to come to in years. It had been around 25 years since the Knights have been to SF before the Cable Car Chapter folded. We then did Roll Call, with each Knight having voting rights. I then read out last year’s Minutes of the meeting that Thad had printed out (thankfully as my laptop still wasn’t ready!) and it was passed. He then began with his report on the Seattle Chapter. They are still holding meetings once a month via Skype. At this time, they have no fundraising events in the near future, but will continue looking. A minor complaint was that CC Attle’s has a system for booking coat checks, which has become more competitive. The Jet Chapter is debating if they’re keeping their fundraising efforts or to go full social. I then presented my report on the Vancouver Chapter next. We gained one new member this past year: Benny, and while still somewhat new in the community, is slowly learning the ropes. There have been no fundraisers as our usual one, Ball Fever, couldn’t happen because the manager wouldn’t communicate with us. We were still continuing going to Vancouver Men in Leather socials, though not all members go. We hosted a BLUF Gathering in March which was successful. Eugene from the Jet Chapter joined us for Knights Anniversary and Rubbout. My members overall are doing all right despite health problems with a couple of them. Carol then presented the Yosemite Chapter’s report. They still have their social dinner each month like before. Kirk and Riis are still dealing with the loss of Kevin’s passing earlier in the year. Kirk is moving to another location in Fresno to ease the stress and has gone through some of Kevin’s belongings. They are continuing to be a social club. Onto old business, I mentioned that since Kevin’s passing our main source of news on inactive chapters and members is basically lost. Outside of running into a past member of the Denver Chapter last Gathering and my running into Arthur of the SF chapter ( in Palm Springs as usual), we have not made contact with any other past Knights. We then got to one of the main issues: the Yosemite Chapter’s turn for hosting 2025 Gathering. Carol said she will discuss with her chapter if they will host Gathering in 2025. If they cannot host, the Jet Chapter will take it on. If they cannot, then Dogwood. If all refuse, then no Gathering for that year. Very little was said in new business, just that we look at our own bylaws and make updates as needed to reflect the current climate. For good & welfare, Thad is glad that all chapters are operating and that we all still have our health. I let Carol know that we all will support her post-Kevin and to communicate with us if there are any concerns. I then adjourned the meeting of the Knights at 5:22pm.
After the meeting ended and we said goodbye to Carol, Thad & Charlie said goodbye to Eugene and I and thanked us for a great weekend. They weren’t joining us for supper at Grubstake later and going to Lone Star Saloon afterwards. Their flight leaves next morning around 10am and they plan to leave the hotel around 8am. Eugene and I returned to our room after.
We spent about the next few hours in the room, looking at photos from Dore Alley 2022 (the year Rick joined me) and I worked on Eugene’s phone as it was finally cooperating! I got him WhatsApp, helped with his Alaska Airlines account and app, and set up viewing his Outlook email on his phone. When we were ready, we geared up and took a Lyft to Grubstake. I had a California sandwich that had some fries included which were given to me for free. Near the end, they forgot to give me my Maui Pineapple Crisp with ice cream for dessert come time to pay. It was rectified immediately, and it was a nice dessert. The visit was overall okay and felt more pre-pandemic than the last couple of years. We took a #19 bus down to the Lone Star Saloon though we had to walk a couple of blocks over. We thought there was a $10 cover at first, but they scrapped it, and we got in for free. About the same number of guys as last year, so somewhat dead. Daddy Scott eventually showed up after 10pm. We had a small chat before he joined his partner in another part of the bar. He had come from the Eagle and their Disco Daddy night, which had a cover charge and was quite packed according to him. The three of us left sometime around 11pm and took an Uber back to the hotel. While we did some packing, Eugene showed me how to play the Nintendo Switch. I tried some Resident Evil 4 (original) for a bit. After both Rick and Eugene watched some political show on the presidential race, they went to before 1am. I went to bed after 1:30am.
The final day of Gathering and the weather had a sprinkle of rain at night. We got up after 8:30am with Rick having a shower first. I then had my shower afterwards… and was joined by Daddy Rick as he jumped in again so we could play! WOOF! After we dried and dressed, Eugene didn’t go out for breakfast with us and stayed behind. My original plan was to go to Orphan Andy’s in the Castro to finish the weekend, but we went to a place a block away called Heist. I had a chicken burger with fries while Rick had a breakfast burrito with spicy sausage. Our meals were of good quality, and I paid for us both. We returned to our room for the last time and checked out after noon. I thanked the clerk and to give my thanks to the two staff members who worked with me back in spring. We took a Lyft to Civic Union/ UN Plaza station and took the elevator down inside. There were problems with the gates and getting to the elevator to take us down to the platform that a worker helped us. We had a quiet ride back to the airport on BART. After passing through Daly City and coming near the airport did the sun show itself. At the airport station, Rick ran out of funds on his Clipper card and couldn’t exit so he had to put more funds on his card. Inside the airport, Eugene and Rick checked in at the Alaska booth and Eugene got a wheelchair to help him. They went in to do security though I wouldn’t see Eugene again and get a chance to say goodbye. I had to look for WestJet which was in the same adjacent terminal when I arrived on Friday where my luggage was even though my gate (again!) was in the same terminal as Eugene and Rick’s. In fact, Rick was B15, and I was B17 (I think Eugene was B21, but I didn’t find him.) After dropping my bag off with WestJet, I took TSAPre but had to wait quite a bit as some flight crew (British Airways I think) got priority to go through security first, taking at least ten minutes. I found Rick at B15 and didn’t have much time left until boarding. I got my carry-on checked and tagged and returned to Rick for about five minutes. We said goodbye and thanked each other for a great weekend. I checked nearby B21 as it was going to Spokane, but no Eugene. Bummer! I boarded before 2pm and sat in 17A, which was comfortable. We were delayed for about an hour due to some luggage they were waiting for or something wrong with the compartment door. We were off into the air before 4pm. I played some Bravely Second and had a water plus a coke zero as I was thirsty. The control stick on my 3DS had broken off and will need to look for a replacement. I still got over an hour of play before we landed back home around 6pm. I noticed it was wet and cloudy outside. Customs was easy and bags didn’t take that long to arrive. I even got a washroom break before they appeared on the carousel. I lugged them up to the departure level and found the shuttle bus area outside the airport, about the same place I was dropped off on Friday. The Jetset bus took us back to their building. Thankfully, it was hardly raining at the time. Inside the building I scanned my ticket at one of the machines and got my key fob out of a small locker, which included my stall number attached on a slip. I got to my car and put all my stuff in and drove home. I called Wayne T. on the way and let him know how things went. I got home around 8pm.
While Dore Alley itself was another great weekend, I felt the Knights Gathering aspect of it was a bit of a failure. So many Knights couldn’t make it and the ones that did, half of us were separated when we should generally be together. I suppose I could look on the bright side and see my first hosted Gathering as a learning experience. It may be many years again for the Knights to return to San Francisco or this was our final time. My hope next year is that those who missed out will get their opportunity to join me.