US Summer Trip 2023 - Part 3
The final part of my US trip last month continues after the Argonauts of Wisconsin Northwoods Leather Run with my stay at my leather family's home in New Glarus with a couple stops into Madison from August 21-25. The last stop of my trip from August 25-27 was Fresno, which as of Labour Day weekend, I haven't been to in 19 years.
Monday 21st
Sometime after 10am, I got up to pee and have a shower. Donovan was watching TV and Michael was back at work. Sometime before 1pm, all four of us (Donovan, Anthony, pup Nick, and me) went to Culver’s nearby. I paid for Donovan and me. I had a chicken sandwich, fries, a diet root beer, and a butterscotch pecan custard. It was a nice lunch. Before leaving, the manager of a nearby hardware store was visiting and pup Nick asked him if he was hiring. Pup was told to go to the store and get an application. We then went to the store so pup could get the application and Donovan could pick up a couple of things. Our last stop was to a car mechanic so pup could pick up his car. Anthony returned with pup while I returned with Donovan. Sometime after we got home, Michael came home from his shift. He was going to cook that afternoon so he wanted to know what I could eat. We needed to go to a nearby grocery store called Roy’s Market to get some things he needs and for me. Inside, we got some chicken breasts, sauces, a couple of snacks, cottage cheese, and a few flavours of Propel that I didn’t know (or forgot) existed: Lemon, Black Cherry, and Watermelon. There was a sale of four Propels for $5 so I picked those up plus a Peach flavour for Michael as he hasn’t had it before, and I thought it was sold only in Washington State. After paying, Michael took us home. For dinner, Michael made turkey burgers with veggies. We ate our dinner while watching Wheel of Fortune on TV. A copy of the 4K Blu-Ray of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete ( which I reviewed in June) came in the mail earlier that day that I bought for the family from EBay. We watched it and I had to narrate it because nobody has never played the original game, so it was to help understand some of the plot. After the film, everyone went upstairs to bed. I stayed down and watched some episodes of South Park until after 2:30am. I went to bed after 3am and slept well.
Tuesday 22nd
I emerged from bed after 11am and had my shower. Downstairs I joined the three and soon after, Donovan says that we would be driving to neighbouring Monroe to check the Walmart there for the Snyder’s pretzels. I thought that was a nice idea so sometime after noon, we stopped for drinks and then took the drive to Monroe. We had a decision on where to eat and most of us decided on Taco Bell. I haven’t eaten at one since my visit to Redding years ago. It was “Taco Tuesday”, so our orders included a free taco. I got a chicken crunchwrap supreme, beef taco, chicken burrito, large Pepsi Zero Sugar, and pack of 12 Cinnabon Delights. Donovan had about the same thing though without the burrito and I shared my dessert with him. It was an excellent meal, and I refilled my drink before leaving. At the nearby Walmart, no Snyder’s sourdough pretzels. We mainly stayed around the back of the store where the electronics and toy section were. I saw some games on sale but decided not to get any. In the toy section, I found a cool Bowser figure from The Super Mario Bros. Movie on clearance for $20. There was only one left, so I snagged it (let me add that I saw the same figure at a GameStop in Metrotown after I got home and it was selling for $50Cdn!) After paying and leaving, there was one more place Donovan wanted to check for my pretzels: Pick ‘n Save. Pup Nick let us borrow his card to get any discounts. We checked inside and while they didn’t have the sourdough pretzels, I got a bag of the nuggets instead as most previous places didn’t have it. It was $4 plus tax with Nick’s card. Determining which way for home, we decided to go driving on the backroads while I played a few tunes from my phone.
It was very scenic passing hills of soybeans and corn. We passed the only cheese factory in the US that makes Limburger cheese too. We got home from that lovely outing about 3pm. Not long after we plopped down to watch some TV, both the internet and cable TV went out! The reason for both Spectrum and Verizon is unknown, and we soon found out that it affected nine other states. Everyone’s phones were on Verizon, but since I was on Metro, only my phone was mobile. I set up my phone as a mobile hotspot (for the first time ever) just in case anyone wanted to use it. With not much to do, it was a good chance for Donovan and me to copy photos from our trips this year. He copied my photos from Chicago - IML, and San Francisco - Dore Alley while I got copies of his in return. After that, we relaxed a bit until Michael got home after 5pm. He was told of the outage before he got home. He soon started to cook dinner that night: chicken breast with green beans and corn on the cob.
I spent some time out in the backyard, enjoying the sunset and having the corgis play around. Michael tried to get the barbeque to work but couldn’t. He put our chicken in the oven instead. Since everything was still down, we decided to watch a Blu-Ray movie instead. I decided on Disney’s Hocus Pocus as I’ve never seen it before and know it has a cult following. Michael and Donovan actually once lived two blocks from the house the main family of the film lived in I think around the time the film was shot in the early 1990’s. They recognized the high school too. I thought it was an entertaining film, though the acting on the younger characters was questionable. At the end, I thanked Michael for another good meal. After the film, I said goodnight to everyone who went up to bed. Anthony stayed down with me and used my hotspot to chat with friends on his phone. I later called Kevin Caldwell and let him know what was going on during my trip. After our call, the Internet and TV came back on about 12:30am. I watched some episodes of South Park and went to bed around 4am.
Wednesday 23rd
I got about four hours of sleep first, noticing my mask came off and it was past 8am. I slept in until after 11am. After my shower and dressing, Donovan decided on Subway given how hot and humid it was. Leaving some time after noon with Anthony in tow, it was definitely a steamy day when we walked outside. I think the last time I’ve been to an American Subway was in Redmond, WA in 2019. I got some turkey sub with drink and a couple of cookies. I paid for all three of us. It was a pretty good meal, and the cookies were awesome, especially the white chocolate cranberry cookies! Donovan and I talked about the all-u-can-eat Japanese restaurant that my leather household took him and Donovan to when they visited in 2008. It’s been gone since for over a decade and was well missed. Commenting on the cookies I was eating, we talked about a popular polish pastry called Pączki - which is like a jelly donut but on steroids. It piqued my interest and maybe I should ask Kirk in Fresno this coming weekend. Anyways, he took us straight home after we were done eating. For the next few hours, we watched episodes of Bargain Block on HGTV. Michael got home about nine minutes after 4pm. After he relaxed a bit, all five of us left sometime after 5pm. The weather was still hot and very muggy! Our first stop was my going to a Metro by T-Mobile on Fish Hatchery Road. I wanted to see if they could unlock my phone. I was told that a locked phone cannot be unlocked until six months have passed! Damn it! Looks like I have to quickly get my broken phone fixed or buy a brand-new unlocked phone when I get home. Since I was in the shop, I paid $75 to use the SIM card for another month as a precaution. Groan (later I found I shouldn't have done this as it was a waste.) We then went to a Walmart to check for Snyder’s pretzels and as usual, still nothing. While I was around the electronics section, Anthony found the last Gargoyles figure that I did not see (it was concealed a bit): Broadway! Nice! I soon paid for it, and we left the store. Donovan then drove us to MSN Airport and waited for Dave from Eugene, OR to arrive. He was delayed by about 15 minutes, but it wasn’t too long a wait, arriving after 7pm.
After some hugs, he grabbed his luggage, and we went to Denny’s for dinner. I had a Bourbon Chicken Skillet. It was good… but some of the veggies tasted weird. I paid for Dave and me. On the way home that night, I played music from my phone until we reached home around 10pm. Sometime after Michael & Donovan went to bed, Dave and I played up in my room. Lots of cuddling and snuggling, and he shot a load in my bum. WOOF! He went to bed around midnight while I went down to work on my laptop until I went up to bed before 3am.
Thursday 24th
I woke up after 8am finding my CPAP mask fell off again. After putting it back on, I went back to sleep until 11am. After my shower and dress, I went downstairs. Donovan had an appointment in Madison so we would have to be quick for wherever we were going for lunch or do a drive-thru order. Before leaving, I put in some of my clothes in for a wash. Donovan, Dave, and I went to the drive-thru at Culver’s. I got a couple of chicken sandwiches, fries, and a chocolate mountain custard. I gave $20 to Donovan to pay for my end of things. Dave got an order, and we got one for Anthony too, but Donovan didn’t get anything as I guess he already had something back at home. Donovan dropped us off at home and minutes later, drove to Madison on his own. All three of us ate our fast-food lunch. We found that the TV wasn’t calibrated to the router as it changed months earlier when I was trying to use the YouTube app. Anthony fixed that for us. We watched some Nostalgia Critic including Cartoon Network Bumpers, Toonami, and some nostalgic commercials. While watching NC's review of commercials, both Michael & Donovan got home separately from Madison. We then watched NC’s review of The NeverEnding Story II. After it was finished, the five of us went out together after 5pm. Pup Nick was working all day and couldn’t join us. On our way into Madison, I played some tunes in the car, mainly video game stuff which I’ve not done before. We did two stops that afternoon. The first was the usual GameStop. There wasn’t much in the way of action figures or any games that stood out, but the T-shirts selection was pretty good. I got a couple of T-shirts: a Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom shirt and a Final Fantasy XVI shirt. After my purchase we then went to World Buffet, our favourite place in town. I had a couple of plates, a noodle soup (by accident mind you lol), and a plate from the Mongolian Grill. By the end, Donovan paid for all of us - though I was going to pay for it (he got the bill when I got up to wait for my Mongolian Grill dish)! I thanked him for that. On the way home, I played some tunes as it would be the last I would do so on this trip.
Soon after we got in, Michael got his photos from Chicago/IML, SF/Dore Alley, and last weekend’s Argonauts event to be copied onto my USB stick. He hasn’t copied his photos onto Donovan’s laptop for a long while, so it took time for the laptop to load up the photos. I had to get to bed early so I gave an early goodbye to Dave. I then did some packing upstairs and went to bed about midnight.
Friday 25th
I checked my phone and got up before the 4am alarm. I then took a piss downstairs as Donovan has occupied the upstairs washroom. After I was done, I did final packing. I could only take one Gargoyles figure: Hudson - since it was the first one I bought on this trip. The other two and the Bowser figurine I will have to collect another time or maybe have it shipped to my sister’s mail service in Blaine. Donovan says it was all right to wake up everyone to say goodbye to them. I first said goodbye to Anthony (who was in bed on his phone) and pup Nick, then Dave, and finally Michael - whom I sucked off. Donovan and I left before 4:30am to be driven to MSN. On the way, Donovan and I talked about AI technology and its benefits and concerns. We arrived at MSN about 5:20am and I thanked Donovan for everything. Inside, I checked in my luggage and my carry-on as the option was open. TSAPre had a 10-minute lineup so security took longer than I thought. After screening, I walked to what I thought was toward my gate. But I had to pick up a bottle of Propel -orange raspberry flavour- before my flight. After I left the store, I noticed I was in the wrong section, so I walked to it, past from the screening I came from. I get to Gate 15 but notice no one was boarding or any attendants were there. Gate 14, which was for Charlotte, was boarding. It wasn’t until some guy asked a lady sitting down if there was a gate switch and she replied yes - that the screens weren’t updated. She was right as the attendant of Gate 14 couldn’t switch the destination information on the screen. It took awhile to get a message from the American Airlines app to let me know of the gate change. The first five groups were called up at once before mine. I sat in 23A and ended up having the whole row to my myself. There was no assigned next to me but a guy who sat in the aisle seat had to be moved as the seat was technically broken. Ah well, more room for me!
We departed past the 6:17am schedule but it was no big deal. I did nothing for the whole flight but nod on and off while having a Coke Zero and biscuit. We touched down in Dallas-Forth Worth 8:31am. I had a quick pee after exiting the plane and then took the Skyline to “C” gate. I got off one stop early without realizing it but no biggie. I walked toward Gate C39, the last gate. I noticed that I was passing the gate I was at last Wednesday so knew where I was. I needed to eat so I had a Chick-Fil-A breakfast of a spicy chicken biscuit, a Greek yogurt fruit parfait, and a Coke Zero. It was decent and should last me until I get to Fresno. I sat near Gate C39 and waited for an hour and a half for my flight. I just typed on my laptop and had a quick piss before I boarded the next American Airlines flight. I sat in 18F, and it was another good move on my part as there was only one other guy in my row. He was actually quite sexy: early 50’s, goatee, and about 300 pounds. He sat in the aisle row, so I had good legroom. We departed on time before 11:30am. During the flight, I watched Casablanca on the AA app. I haven’t seen it for over 11 years and enjoyed it. We landed in FAT early at 12:37pm PST though 12:55pm was the target to be at the gate. I texted Kevin while we taxied to the terminal, who said he was on his way over. I grabbed my bags and waited for Kevin to arrive around the ticketing area. He found me and we gave each other a hug. We waited for Eugene in the arrival area, watching people on the Arrivals camera walking through the main hallway. We noticed a lot of hot bears around! Kevin says this is normal. Eugene arrived about 2:15pm as he was delayed about a couple of times from both Spokane and Seattle. We gave him hugs and then went to baggage claim to get his one bag. Kevin drove us out of the airport, and we had lunch at a nearby Carl’s Jr. Both Eugene and I had chicken sandwiches while Kevin had some zucchini nuggets. Kevin them took us to Hotel Piccadilly, which I booked through their website. I get a shock that my Visa card -which I’ve been using the entire trip- wouldn’t work because it is a “mobile app” type card, and their system can’t read it! My debit card wouldn’t work either which meant Eugene had to use his credit card to get us in! I felt embarrassed, but I thanked him and would pay for his meals the rest of the trip. Kevin soon after said goodbye as he had to get home to nap. We would see him again shortly after his nap. Eugene and I walked to the building behind the lobby where our room was: 168. Inside, we relaxed and chatted until dinner a few hours later. We got picked up by Kirk and Riis to be taken to Huong Lan. I haven’t seen Riis since Gathering 2019 in Long Beach. When I got in the van, I handed Kirk the packages of Tassimo coffee pods I’ve lugged from home as a gift to Kevin and him. It turns out they no longer have a Tassimo but a Keurig instead! Aw fuck. I hope they will still get good use of them somehow or give to a friend (note to self: buy Keurig for Kevin from now on.) Inside the restaurant, we met Tom, a Fresno Knight we haven’t seen in years! Jordan, the young Knight whom we met last year in San Jose also joined us. I had a beef stew pho that Kevin recommended to me and rare steak flank pho. Both were excellent and I paid for Eugene and me. We said goodbye to Tom plus Kirk and Riis too. Kevin took the three of us plus Jordan back to our hotel room. We spent the next couple hours chatting and watching some YouTube videos. I gave Kevin the last of last year’s Knights Anniversary buttons to hand out to members of his chapter. Jordan left first and then Kevin later on. We wouldn’t see Tom, Riis, and Jordan for the rest of the weekend. After Eugene and I were alone, I went out and walked east for about ten minutes to a 7-Eleven and got a jug of purified water and a bottle of Pepsi Zero Cherry. The night temperature was decent and humidity not high when I walked to and from the store (unlike how bad it was back in Wisconsin that week!) After I got back and filled my CPAP with the water, I had some relaxation with Eugene before he turned in for the night. I went to bed after 1am and I slept pretty well.
Saturday 26th
I snuggled and humped Eugene with my morning wood from behind, which we enjoyed. Since it was past 9am, we missed breakfast from the hotel. I got out of bed sometime after 9:30am, we had our separate showers, and got dressed. For an early lunch, we went to Jack in the Box just east of us. I got a couple of chicken sandwiches, fries, slice of cheesecake, and a freestyle fountain drink while I paid for us. After eating and chatting, Kevin calls and suggests we join Kirk and him at their home for the day. A splendid idea! We returned to the hotel room to relax and wait for Kevin & Kirk. They arrived in front of the hotel around 3pm to pick us up.
We spent almost 5 hours at their home, had a couple of pizzas from Dominoes, and watched videos of past Yosemite Knights events including Kirk’s step down of his Cheeks & Chaps title around twenty years ago. We also watched a past Beards and Burlesque video by the Golden State Bears. It’s sad they no longer exist as a local bear group. Bryce soon joined us for pizza and chatting. After the movies, I tried to get a hold of Rich from the Seattle Knights to talk about things, and Daddy Rick as it was his 60th birthday, but neither picked up.
Bryce left us about 7pm and we left at 8pm to go to dinner at Hadramout, a Yemeni restaurant. Just before reaching the restaurant, I called Bryan of the Seattle Chapter and found that he was with Thad & Charlie as it was their 25th Anniversary, plus Fugi and his lover Armando were up visiting too! Great timing! We gave them well wishes before entering the restaurant, but at least everyone got to say their hellos and quick comments. For most of our visit, we were served by this young boy. We could tell this was a family-run restaurant, but I was surprised he could remember our order without writing it down! I can see this kid running this place in his 20s. I ordered a chicken skewer dish and a lemonade. While I’m not into Midde-Eastern cuisine, dinner was quite good, and we were all stuffed at the end as the portions were quite good. The lemonade was good, but they put too much sugar in it. I paid for Eugene and me. Kevin dropped Kirk at home and went back to the hotel with us for under a couple of hours. The sugar from the lemonade really hit me than I was fading in and out sleep on the bed as Eugene and Kevin were talking. Soon after having a poop break, Kevin said goodnight to us. Eugene stayed up for half an hour more before he went to bed. I went to bed after 2am. I got up twice to pee given how much I drank that day.
Sunday 27th
The sixteenth and final day of my summer US trip has arrived. I got out of bed sometime after 9:30am and had my shower after Eugene was done in the bathroom. Kevin would arrive for us at 11am check out. We puttered around a bit, and I finished my packing. Kevin arrived just as we walked the side of the complex, so I put all our luggage in the back while Eugene checked us out. It was about $203 with taxes for the two nights, which surprised Eugene and was happy about it. I’ll make it up to him come Knights Anniversary in November. Kevin took us back to his place for just over an hour of chatting though I said little. Kirk was sleeping in until he emerged from the bedroom not long before we had to leave. Sometime before 1pm, the four were driven to the FAT Airport. I unloaded our luggage with Eugene and I giving hugs to both Kevin & Kirk, thanking them for a great weekend. We had a quick talk about Knights Gathering in San Francisco next year, but the main issue for Kevin & Kirk is getting a hotel for Dore Alley weekend: not just getting a decent price per night, but even if hotels would be willing to give us a block of rooms on hold given the popularity of the weekend. I replied that I agreed with them that it would be the most outstanding issue to deal with. For an alternative, we could do San Diego to visit Fugi during Pride weekend or go to Reno again. I said I’ll first look into SF and see what can be done and if it’s not plausible, I will consider the other alternatives. Eugene and I then said goodbye and went inside to drop our bags off with Alaska. Eugene had no seat assigned to him so after I dropped my bag off, the ticket agent got him a seat as I waited with him. I then did TSAPre which took less than 10 minutes at entrance. Eugene had a bigger lineup in regular screening, so I sat and waited for him just outside screening. Gate 8 was nearby, just before the escalators going up to the larger area of gates. After we sat down, I did a washroom break and went to the upper area to see if there were any fast-food places to eat. None it seemed. So, at a Hudson shop I got a bottle of Smartwater for Eugene, a bottle of Coke Zero Cherry for me, plus a bag of Chex Mix for later on the bus ride home, and a bar of Twix to eat now. Eugene thanked me for the water when I got back and had a washroom break himself. Sometime after he got back, I dropped my carry-on off free of charge and was allowed to board earlier than my group letter. Just after 2pm, Eugene was one of the first to get on the plane though he is more towards the back of the plane than me. I got on about two groups before me and sat in seat 10A. We departed on time at 2:44pm but delayed by ten minutes to get off the ground. That happened at 3:07pm. I did little on the flight, mainly typing on the MS Word app and play a little Sudoku. We arrived on time at 4:55pm. I emerged from the gate and waited for Eugene so I could thank and say goodbye to him. Unlike the ending to my trip last year -and in SeaTac again too- I wanted to give one minute to Eugene before we parted. He had a long layover so there was no rush for him. I had a quick washroom break before I got to baggage claim. But it was only just over a five-minute wait for the bags to arrive. It was before 5:30pm by the time I went outside and walked the walkway to Door 2 where the QuickShuttle bus would show up eventually. It arrived 5:43pm and I was the first person to meet the driver. I asked if I needed to pay $20 for the carry-on to go into bottom storage (before my trip, I asked about this as I was allowed one free luggage with my booking but when I pressed on the carry-on, the agent said it will be determined by the driver and if chooses to charge, to have $20 cash on hand.) Luckily, he says it was my “lucky day” and I didn’t need to pay the fee! Yay! A small handful of people got on and we left the airport on time at 6pm. On our way into the city of Seattle, I called Daddy Eric and we talked about my trip and about Larry. I forgot to mention in Part 2 that I got a text from Daddy Eric that Larry had suddenly passed away in the early afternoon of August 18! Given we had just been introduced and how nice he was to me before I left for Dallas, it came as a shock. He says it is still unknown as to his cause of death and that he has since been cremated. He and Daddy Eric have been friends for just over ten years and were friends before Daddy moved and lived in Round Rock for eight years. I thanked Daddy for all he and Larry did for me two weeks prior, gave our love and friendship, and said goodbye. At the Seattle Convention Center, the bus filled nearly to the brim. I had to move my laptop bag onto my lap to let a young woman to sit. Not a big deal, but I wish my end trip could be more comfortable. The sunset on the way north on my left was pretty nice. There was no power/USB outlet so I couldn’t use my laptop. I used my phone the whole trip to watch some YouTube videos and make good use of my unlimited data. After a stop at the Puyallup Outlet and BLI airport, we reached the Pacific Crossing border at 9pm. We were the only bus there so no waiting for us. Customs was easy and the only questioning was to why I was bringing back over $500Cdn worth stuff, even though I wasn’t over the duty limit. Understandable. I mentioned my replacement phone and Gargoyles action figure as being the more expensive. The other passengers didn’t take long, and we were on our way in about thirty minutes after arrival. We got to the Chevron Station on 176th Street and 8th Ave soon after 9:30pm. I thanked the driver and wished him a good night. My father was already there, and we got home 9:45pm. I spent the night unpacking and copied all photos onto my PC. Only two pieces of mail were waiting for me: my monthly bank statement and my ICBC annual car renewal.
Last year’s trip was a much better experience for me overall though I did have a great time this year reconnecting with bear buds and my leather family. The experience with my phone really soured a lot of the trip, but didn't destroy it. I made a couple of mistakes that I hope to learn from should it happen again in the future. Finally, the whole thing with Hotel Piccadilly and their lackluster credit card system was an embarassment and felt sorry that Eugene had to save my butt - again! I'll make it up to him come his next visit to Vancouver.
The total cost of my trip this year:
All flights, train, bus, and hotel: $1649.86
Metro by T-Mobile SIM card from SF, reactivation in Irving, and September payment: $247.32
Baggage fees: $155.27
Drink, snacks, water for CPAP: $79.11
Uber/Lyft/Taxi: $113.54
Restaurants (including paying for others): $566.09
Purchases/gifts: $685.84
Miscellaneous: $9.52
Total: $3506.55 (likely round up to $3550)
Due to my car purchase months ago, I definitely scaled back compared to last year. I only have one more major trip left this year -Palm Springs- though it isn’t impossible I could squeeze in another if funds allow it.