BiggerVegas 2022
After 3 years, BiggerVegas has returned in full force and the Tuscany Suite & Casino was the host hotel again. Over 1,700 men attended - the biggest attendance yet. I could only attend Friday July 1st to Sunday July 3rd. I also shared a room with my chub friend Charles, who arrived last Monday.
Friday morning, I got up at 4:30am, only getting about 2 hours of sleep. I did some last packing, put my stuff in the car, and left home at 5am to get to Pacific Truck Crossing. I knew the NEXUS wasn’t open until 6am, but there was only one regular lane open and no other cars around. After customs, I drove south, enjoying the beautiful orange sunrise on my left with the slight morning fog. I parked my car at BLI Economy Lot A, in C4. After securing things, I walked to the airport and Allegiant check-in was a breeze and found that my luggage weighed 35.1lbs. While security wasn’t busy at all, I still used TSA-Pre which meant I didn’t have to take my shoes off and remove the laptop from my bag. I was at Gate D before 6am so I made it in plenty of time. I bought a bottle of water before my flight as boarding started at 6:15am. I sat in 16A which wasn’t that uncomfortable though I should have suspected that Allegiant was going to pack this flight. We departed on time at 7am. I nodded off at first after we reached cruising altitude. Almost halfway through the flight, I watched an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. For the rest of the flight, I kept to myself. We landed in sunny Las Vegas sometime before 9:30am. Once inside the terminal, I let Charles know of my arrival via using the airport Wi-Fi as I wouldn’t use roaming until Sunday. While waiting for my luggage I went to the nearby washroom to do my business. By the time I was done, my luggage was waiting for me. I took an Uber to the Tuscany and Charles was waiting outside for me. We were staying in building “O” and in room 112. After settling in and giving him my $300US contribution, I had a small snack that he provided. I was surprised on how much grocery shopping he did earlier in the week! Almost all of what he got were sweets. I went to registration, but they wouldn’t be ready for another half an hour. I went back to the room and called my folks, talking about work, and asking if they needed anything when I returned to Bellingham. After the call, I found that I was missing my Canon Rebel T6 DSLR battery as it likely fell out of a hole in my laptop bag! Not sure if it fell in my car or in the airport or plane. I ordered a new replacement via US Amazon, and it would arrive the next day at the hotel. I returned to registration and got my badge and package. Once again, they were quite generous with the gift package! After dropping it off back in my room, I saw sexy Daddybear Clayton of Redding outside the pool area and got to meet his friend Chris, who was messaging me about an hour earlier. I also saw the black bear who was the TBRU titleholder back in 2017. I spent about an hour with them. Afterwards, I got a jug of distilled water from the gift shop for the CPAP machine. Back at my room, I relaxed and talked to Pat back home about Wayne T.’s hip surgery. He might be in the hospital recovering a bit given his current circumstances. After that call, I then researched restaurants nearby, hoping to find something to eat as I haven’t had a real meal in over 12 hours. I walked west on East Flamingo for around 15 minutes in the cruel hot sun, but I managed to find what I was looking for around Bally’s.
In this “Grand Bazaar Shops” was a ramen house called Ramen-Ya (Katana-ya). I ordered a melon cream soda to drink and was pretty refreshing. For my first order was a chicken karaage with shoyu broth. It was nice and salty. Next, I tried a beef tonkatsu. The beef was shredded beef teriyaki though I would have preferred beef slices. But the soup was good, nonetheless. It was over $40 with tip. I walked back to the Tuscany, trying to cover the back of my neck from the burning sun. Going back to where Clayton and Chris were before, I spent time chatting with a 41-year-old bear from Baltimore. Charles went to the Welcoming Party at Palms Casino Resort when the first bus came after 6pm. The bear and I took the bus after 8pm.
The party included 2 free drink tickets, redeemable for some alcohol or a large bottle of Smart Water, which I got. I think pop was free without a ticket. Some cute bears in leather harnesses were around and the music mixes were nice - and loud of course. There was this one sexy bear in a LED harness, a “BEAR” lit cap, and red latex shorts that I cruised. I ran into Charles among the crowd and few others I knew, but they were brief meetings. While some nice music remixes were playing, I couldn’t take the whole thing and the crowds, so I left after 10pm, waiting over 10 minutes for the bus to arrive and return a group of us back to the Tuscany. I had a small snack back in the room and answered some messages. I then went to bed after 1am. It took awhile to get to sleep though Charles came back after 3am. Thankfully, he was quiet in getting into his bed.
I managed to sleep over 5 hours, but it felt good after how much time I was awake the previous day. After I had a shower we did some waiting around, messaging buddies and waiting for the cleaning maids to come. For lunch, I wanted to check the hotel diner, Merilyn’s. There was a lineup of bears, so I would have to come back later. I went upstairs and checked the vendors. I bought a glow-in-the-dark bear t-shirt from a vendor that have sold there previously. I’ve bought from them before as they noticed the t-shirt I was wearing was their design (though they weren’t selling any of the same this time). I went down and spent time with Clayton though Chris wasn’t around yet. I kept tabs on the delivery of my camera battery via the Amazon app. It says it was to arrive by 10pm, which is way too late, but that it was only just stops away from being delivered. I then went to Merilyn’s and ordered a 12oz New York steak with fries and mixed veggies plus a raspberry iced tea to drink. Everything was very good. My battery arrived on time before 3pm and I quickly got it to charge. I returned and spent some more time with both Clayton and Chris until I went and met a leatherbear bud from Pennsylvania. We only to see each other very briefly at MAL back in 2019. In his room, we spent over an hour cuddling and love making until I left after 6pm so I could prepare for the dinner and contest. I quickly put on my leather pants, Wesco highliners, Leatherdaddy t-shirt, and muir cap. The battery in my camera was fully charged and it was working! I then walked to dinner up on the second-floor banquet hall. Turns out I wasn’t late as dinner started about 20 minutes after I arrived. The food was “okay”, but I felt previous years were better. Charles would agree with me later that night. I got to finally meet a bear bud from Maryland (originally from around SF), but he was staying at a different hotel. The drag queen MCing was a former contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race. But the entertainment part took too long, and the contest was starting over half an hour late. It didn’t help that the drag queen couldn’t keep focus, going off way too many times and couldn’t keep within the time limits.
Finally, the contest started around 9pm. Chubs were first and then the chasers. There were more photographers for the chubs than chasers. If anything, I was the main photographer for the chasers! The contest was done after 10pm. I said goodbye to the bear from Maryland and returned to the room. On the way, I met the current “cub” titleholder of Bears, Bikers, and Mayhem - who was wearing his uniform. His pink leather uniform shirt was from Mr. Riegillio as I immediately recognized it. Charles had left soon after the dinner to prepare for the leather gathering we were hosting in our room.
The leather gathering had a surprisingly good turnout. We had 18 guys at one time, but we must have had near 30 in total. The Leatherdaddy I played with in 2019 was there and complimented my look from the dinner. There was oral/anal sex on both our beds and on the couches, besides floggings. The Leatherdaddy even did a few flogging sessions. I did a small session by myself to warm up a willing bottom. It surprised Charles and I but we were glad guys were having fun. The bear from PA came and spent time with us. It all ended sometime after midnight. Charles went to the pool soon after while I packed my stuff and went to bed before 2am.
I woke up just before 7am and had a shower. I did some final packing while saying goodbye to Charles and thanked him for everything. At the lobby, I dropped off my key card and took an Uber to Harry Reid Airport. When I arrived, I would be thankful for four things: check-in was only a 2-minute wait, I didn’t have to pay the $5 print fee for my boarding pass as I was prevented on their website/app, my luggage was 39.1lbs - Whew! And while there was no TSA-pre open at security, there was screening for me in which I didn’t have to take shoes and belt off. Given the worry of packed airports across the world and cancelled flights, I wanted to be ready. By the time I walked to Gate A19, I was over 2 hours early for my flight. The few places around Gate A to eat had lineups so I sat and worked on my laptop instead. I was so absorbed into what I was doing, I didn’t realize the time as boarding was going on. I quickly bought a bottle of water with nothing to snack on. I sat in 16A again in a packed flight, but it wasn’t uncomfortable either. We left on time at 10:19am though we had a queue of planes that kept us back by 15 minutes before we took off. I watched the next episode of Enterprise but found that I must have shut off Netflix’s auto-download feature as nothing was added after Friday’s flight. It didn’t leave me with much to do on my phone. We landed in Bellingham before 1pm and it was wet outside with very small sprinkles. I got my luggage and returned to my car. After putting everything into the car and replacing some of my things, I drove out after being charged $28 on my card. I wanted to do a few things before going home. The first was stop off at WinCo and pick up some boxes of Snyder’s pretzels. There were a lot of people - likely getting things for Fourth of July celebrations. I didn’t see any bearish workers though, just one hot bearded bear shopping with his girlfriend. Despite the temptation to buy some desserts, I picked up 4 boxes of pretzels and left after paying. I was hungry and determined to go to the nearest Wendy’s since I don’t think I’ve been to one since DC in 2017. I found it on Meridian Street, which was also next door to a Taco Time. I’ve never been to an American Taco Time and parked my car to maybe try them out instead… only to find their dining room is closed and are drive-thru only. This won’t do as I needed to visit the washroom too. I walked next door to Wendy’s and ordered a spicy chicken sandwich, and a hot honey chicken sandwich but without the sliced pickles. I also had a medium pineapple mango lemonade which was very good and not too sweet. I got to do my washroom business as I awaited my order. After eating and taking my drink with me, I returned to my car and called my younger sister about which border crossing was recommended. She told me Aldergrove. On the way as I started on the I-5, I called Daddy Eric in PA. Work has been hectic lately and being mayor of his county, cannot get what he wants done due to city council getting in the way. I asked if he had a clearer vision as to his summer plans in August compared to when I called a month ago. He said it hasn’t much become clearer and thinks he may continue to be busy. He would welcome a visit from me next month, though. I said I would research dates and see if I can find some time to spend with him. We hung up after I was about halfway to Pacific Truck Crossing. I wanted to get gas at Yorky’s Market and see if there really was a lineup. I saw the lineup near Yorky’s and knew I had to input into the ArriveCAN app that I was going to Aldergrove. Yorky’s has become host to a 76-gas station, and I admit, do prefer it as the pumps are updated and are a lot faster than the old system. After filling up, I approached the lineup and then turned east onto H Street Road. Eventually turning north at the Aldergrove crossing, the NEXUS lane was completely free - avoiding over 40 minutes of waiting in the regular lane! Customs was easy and I was home in under half an hour. I thanked my sister later.
I believe for the next BiggerVegas, I will stay longer so I can enjoy it more. It was great to see past bear buds and make new ones too. Oh yes, I DID find the missing camera battery: it was in my bedroom the whole time as my mom found it on the floor when vacuuming my room! LOL! No problem. It just means I have to be mindful when packing it in the laptop bag again.