Gathering 2016
This year's Knights Gathering was in Palm Springs, California and hosted by the Fresno chapter from July 1-4. For most of the weekend there were only 4 of us but we got a small surprise later on.
Thursday night I didn’t sleep at all as I spent it finishing up the monthly blog entry and doing some more last minute packing. I took a shower and it was 4am by the time I emerged and relaxed on my bed, hoping to nap. I knew MasterG would call and wake me up and at 4:30am, he did. I met him and Wayne outside the house (first time both of them have been here) and I put my luggage in the car. MasterG drove us to the Truck Crossing border and it was only about a 5 minute wait. By the time we were in the middle of it, a lot of cars were behind us. The customs officer didn’t ask any questions, only where we were going. Easy! We continued driving during the morning though the sun hadn’t appeared yet. We got to Bellingham International Airport about 5:30am and we were the first in line for Allegiant airlines. No ticket person was on shift and we had to wait until 6am before they arrive. People started to line up behind us - obnoxious people. With no one at the counter, they took advantage of the weight so they can check their luggage and see if it goes over the 40lbs limit (one of my pet peeves with Allegiant). They were budging behind Wayne and while a few excused themselves, others were just rude. My luggage was 36.6lbs while Wayne’s was 28lbs. Being the first in line, we got checked in and showed the boarding passes I printed Wednesday night. They didn’t scan them which was irresponsible because we went to security screening and the customs lady couldn’t scan the passes I printed! So we had to go back to the ticket counter and they had to print passes for us for free (if you don’t print them at home or use their phone app, they charge $5 to print them at the airport!). We were then lead into security and WOOF! one of the Customs guys was a big, solid built bear! Too bad I didn’t think to screw up and let him pat me down. Anyways, security was fast and easy and we went to Gate E and waited about an hour to board our flight. There was no free open wifi in the airport (derp!). On the plane, Wayne and I were assigned to the way back of the plane: row 29, seats A & B. Thankfully, we didn’t get a third person in our row and I put myself to the window seat while Wayne got the aisle. The trip had one bout of turbulence but was otherwise fine. Over halfway through, I finally got to look outside and see the mountains and deserts of California. We arrived at PSP on time but were warned to keep the windows closed so not to heat the inside of the plane. When Wayne and I stepped off the plane and onto the bridge - holy shit was it hot! In fact, temperatures were averaging around 40C throughout our visit! On our way to baggage, some of the airport was in open air, especially between security and the gates. Since Wayne and I chose to be one of the last to come off the plane, our luggage came pretty quickly. While waiting, I took my Blackberry off airplane mode and my data roaming plan kicked in. PSP had free wifi so I used it even if we were leaving soon. We then took a taxi ride to Posh Palm Springs Inn, which was less than $20. Our host hotel was owned by a gay couple named Tony & Santo (Tony is a nice leatherbear!) and after I checked-in with Wayne, we were given room #9. Even though we were just after noon, our room was thankfully ready. After settling down, we found Eugene from Spokane had already arrived about an hour before us. Kevin was about a couple hours away, driving all the way from Fresno. The three of us chatted and watched some funny Star Trek-related videos before his arrival. Eugene stayed in room #10 and Kevin in room #2. The rooms, while different depending on what you pay, are very nice. They come with a pretty good A/C, mini fridge, flat screen TV (with HDMI input, great for my laptop!), walk in shower, nice beds, coffee maker (Keurig I believe), charging dock, etc. The hotel includes free bottled water near the eating area, free wifi (that actually works good!), free breakfast from 9-10am every day, and a nice pool in the middle. After Kevin arrived he needed a nap after the long drive and wanted me to wake him at 4:30pm. I arrived to his room which then proceeded into long talking and snuggling together. Sometime after 6pm, we took Kevin’s van to Jake’s, a restaurant suggested by Tony. It was kind of funny approaching and dining at the restaurant as some of the patrons were looking at us as some kind of biker gang, given our vests. One of the waitresses asked us about the vests in a friendly manner and we explained to her about the Knights. I supposed it calmed everyone down LOL! We sat in the outside patio and there were mist blowers near us to cool things down. In fact, a number of places around town had them. For dinner I had a New York steak and then a chocolate peanut butter cupcake for dessert. Both were excellent. Afterwards, the four of us went to Bear Wear, which was in a court within the gay village. Kevin’s belt snapped and he needed a new one. It wasn’t a bad store though the majority of the t-shirts were too big for me. While Kevin got suspenders and Wayne paid for his new belt as a gift, I bought a bear flag towel. Next door was Gay Mart and I gave a quick look around but outside of poppers and lubes, there was nothing of interest. We returned to Posh before 10pm. We were chatting in Kevin’s room but I was tired and nodding off due to the lack of sleep the previous night. I went back to my room after saying good night to the three of them. After a shower and adjusting the A/C, I went to bed. Wayne eventually came back soon and it wasn’t long that he started playing with me.
We were almost late for breakfast the next morning. Tony and Santo were serving quiche (not my thing), strips of bacon, and apple slices. I had orange juice as my choice of drink. A bear buddy of Kevin’s that used to live in Fresno but moved to Palm Springs, was going to meet us for brunch. We drove to a restaurant called Billy Reed’s and met John. Much to my surprise, both he and Wayne knew each other because they originally met at Assembly 1994 in San Francisco. I recognized John because of his profile on Recon and while I could guess that he knew Kevin, I didn’t know that they were buddies, For brunch, I had a New York steak with a small bowl of chicken noodle soup, banana bread, and Dr. Pepper to drink. All were yummy. Like Jake’s the previous night, we though this place was great. We said goodbye to John after brunch. We then went to Gear, the city's main leather gear shop. It was very nice and we spent about 20 minutes there. Wayne bought a neoprene singlet that fit him very well. I bought a couple of BDSM books (to replace what I should have inherited from David...) and a beautiful leather flogger for over $300Cdn altogether. While in the shop, I was getting messaged on Biggercity by a Daddybear originally from Calgary but happened to be in Palm Springs. I actually used to cruise this guy all the way back in 2001 when he had a small photo with his personal ad in the first issue of Bulk Male magazine I ever picked up. I would later recognize his screen name on Biggercity and while we cruised each other, he was partnered at the time. He invited me to his place and a naked dip in his pool so Kevin dropped me off at his house in Cathedral City. His vacation house was pretty nice and clean. He offered me water and then we got naked and went into the pool. It was very nice and cool. I can't remember the last time I was in a pool. But we played around and talked quite a bit about ourselves for about an hour. I found out he was no longer partnered but he still lives with his ex. He's also an elementary school principal and was in Palm Springs to work on some books before returning . We seemed to get along and he dropped me off back at the hotel later. Meanwhile, I found that Kevin, Wayne, and Eugene went to Stater Bros. Markets and then to a very interesting Starbucks afterwards. It's interesting because unlike most other Starbucks that have friendly and attentive employees. These ones acted liked zombies and their service was shit.
After sunset, we went to Denny's nearby for supper. I had a good chicken sandwich with fries. For dessert, Eugene had a banana split while I had a maple bacon sundae! Yummy! After that, we went to the leather bar, the Tool Shed. It was pretty packed and quite a few guys were shirtless and pantless - mainly in jocks. We went to the smoking room in the back of the bar to get some room. I noticed throughout the night that I was wearing the most leather but later there was a handsome leatherbear I was cruising but he didn't notice me. Wayne was starting to have fun with this one guy but got to the point that the guy got too rough and bit his nipple really hard! Wayne had to excuse himself to the washroom to check to see if he was bleeding and thankfully was not. He came back and stopped playing with the guy and his lover. After 1am, we left the Tool Shed and returned to the hotel. I spent the night with Kevin in his room - something we haven't done since Assembly 2006 in Seattle (and it was in my room).
In the morning I fucked Kevin though didn't cum this time. He enjoyed it and he would later tell me that it reminded him when I first fucked him back in 2006. For breakfast, Tony & Santo made French toast, sausage, slices of cantaloupe, and I had apple juice this time. As we were talking, I got a phone call from Fugi Gonzalez in San Diego (I had to call him back via Skype to avoid getting charged). Both he and Arnie Norem planned to come up and wanted to know if any rooms were available that night. Tony had one more room left so they drove up and would arrive in 2 hours. While waiting for them, Eugene and I were watching a few videos on YouTube, a couple of them Pokémon-related since he was a fan of the franchise. As we were watching, Fugi and Arnie called and they were outside the hotel. I let them in and after all of us greeting them, they talked to Tony and negotiated a room for the night. So for the rest of Gathering, there was now 6 of us. The reason Arnie happened to be in San Diego was that his work had him stationed there for a few weeks. Great timing!
At 2:40pm I called to order the Interchapter meeting as Kevin made me the Chair. All six of us were accounted for but in terms of votes: Kevin got all 3 of Fresno votes, Wayne and I had 1.5 votes each for Vancouver, and Eugene got all 3 votes for Seattle. We approved last year's Minutes and then we all did our Chapter reports, the longest part of the meeting. Seattle will be hosting Gathering next year but they haven't yet decided on a place nor date as they are busy with Campout. Portland was highly possible, Spokane again too, and so was Reno or Vegas. After a few more things and we were taking too long, the meeting ended at 4:32pm. While we were waiting for the formal dinner, Fugi and Arnie asked about how I was coping after David's death and I talked about him.
We had another big surprise: Gary Sixsmith and his partner, Jorge (John) came for a visit around 5:30pm! After some chatting, we started to dress in our Knights formals including Fugi as he brought his. After 7pm, we returned to Billy Reed's from the previous day. We got the larger table, not far from where we were before. I had another steak but this time a Top Sirloin and with the same sides too (chicken noodle soup and banana bread). For dessert, I had a good slice of Boston Crème Pie for dessert. Near the entrance of the restaurant, Wayne and I took the formal group photos. My battery died in the middle of it so I used my Blackberry to take a few final ones. We then all went to the other leather bar but on the other side of town: The Barracks. We spent over an hour on the outside patio which had mist sprayers that were going off to cool the night temperatures. It didn't take long as to know what kind of bar this was... most guys there were cruising around like it was a back room. One guy was near a barbecue bent over, others were making out and groping, and there was this one stocky older guy with a shaved head going around, trying to get laid. He was sitting next to some, masturbating at times, and it seemed he got some quickies with a couple of guys, including the one by the barbecue wanting to be fucked. I was cruising him but I don't think he noticed or was interested. During our visit, Gary and Jorge said goodbye and that was the last we could see them. There was one guy Fugi was cruising and while he got to cop a feel on him, the guy admitted he wasn't much interested. Still, Fugi liked feeling him up. We left sometime around 11pm and we all went back to the hotel. In our room, Wayne and I started packing early and discussing things, especially about possible plans for next year's Gathering and about David. Before I was done, he went and visited Kevin in his room to keep him company. I took a shower and joined them. They had some snuggle time and after some chatter, Wayne returned to our room while I spent the final night of the weekend with Kevin.
As I woke up in the morning, I stroked a bit and went on my left side and fucked Daddy Kevin from behind. He was taking me in but I couldn't cum in him just yet so I pulled out, stroked, and once I was about to shoot, shoved my cock back in his hole and orgasimed deep inside him. It was fucking hot and Daddy Kevin was well pleased to take my cub seed (he told me a little later that I managed to get back in him good and deep as it was my worry that I didn't aim well in that small window of opportunity). We waited many years for this moment and I hope we get more opportunities for many years to come! I returned to my room to shower from the experience and then go to our last breakfast. This one had sausage patties, quiche, and melon plus I chose orange juice for drink. All six of us were there and after breakfast, took the last group photo. Of course, Kevin and I had our photo together as per tradition. We grabbed our bags and thanked our hosts, Tony & Santo for their hospitality. After saying goodbye to Fugi and Arnie, Kevin then drove Wayne and I to the airport with Eugene tagging along. We arrived at PSP at about 10am. Kevin dropped Wayne and I off first so we could drop our luggage off and he could park the car. At the counter, I had to pay for our boarding passes since there wasn't much of a way to print beforehand and due to the screw up back at BLI (I also refuse to download their app). I found the clerk to be kind of a jerk too. After our luggage passed the weight restrictions and were given our passes, we all walked toward security. We said our final goodbyes to Kevin and Eugene. We thanked Kevin for all he did when picking Palm Springs for this year and being our host and chauffer. Wayne and I then went into security which wasn't a problem and walked to the gate. Our wait was over half an hour but Wayne had snacks to keep us fed. We then boarded and while we were close to the way back this time, the original seating plan had Wayne at the window seat, myself in the middle, and some lady in the aisle seat. After it looked like everyone boarded, the lady then took an empty row of seats, freeing me to take her seat and give myself some room! We departed on time and throughout the flight, had some snacks while I worked on my report here. We landed a little early at BLI. I took my phone off airplane mode and a message from MasterG eventually came in that he was waiting outside for us in the front. We then grabbed our bags after a 5 minute wait and sure enough, he was waiting in the parking lot though he had to yell my name as I couldn't make out his car. We loaded our bags and MasterG drove us to the border. There was almost no one there so it was smooth and we were back in the country in less than a minute (we found out later that it wasn't long that the crowds came and waits were up to around 2 hours!). MasterG dropped me off at my parents home and I paid him my share of his chauffeuring us (Wayne paid his on the way down) and he then drove away to take Wayne home.
I had a very nice time in Palm Springs and can see us Knights visiting it again given we liked the resort and the restaurants were very good. While it would have been great to have had more Knights, we were fortunate for the ones who could attend. The only disappointment for me was not meeting up with a couple of Leatherdaddies: one wasn't feeling well but at least let me know, the other was a flake and wouldn't respond when I was in the city. While Kevin and I got to play a decade of catch-up and not be bothered from outside forces, I didn't get a chance to play with Eugene. I'm hoping that chance will come if he makes it to our Anniversary weekend later this year.
Since Seattle hasn't determined where we are going just yet but there is a strong inkling that it'll be Portland, Oregon I'm hoping we can get at least 10 Knights at the next Gathering wherever it may be.
