I had one of the greatest experiences of my life the week of April 22nd! I attended Diva Las Vegas 2007. It is billed as a CD vacation – not a convention – and it truly lives up to its billing. As a mostly closeted CD, I was a bit apprehensive knowing that I would be out in public as Kaitlin many times during the week but for most events boymode or girlmode are equally acceptable so I knew I had flexibility to push my comfort zone as much or as little as I wished. Everyone at Diva was great and supportive and I would recommend Diva to anyone who wants to get out and gain experience going out dressed in public!

I arrived in Vegas on Sunday afternoon after the short drive down from southern Utah. I got checked in at the St. Tropez and decided, since I was running late, that I would not dress for the optional dinner at Greek Isles. Also, since it was a nice evening, I decided to walk to dinner. I had forgotten how long the blocks are in Vegas. I ended up walking nearly 3 miles to get to dinner. The closer I got to the Greek Isles, the more nervous I was but I fought through it, walked through the front door and found the group at the bar. I was greeted warmly and introduced around. Someone made the comment that it would be good to have one guy with the group on that first night. That made me feel even more at home. We had about 15 for dinner and it was a great evening.

Monday was the official opening day. We began at Studio Lites. I, again, decided on boymode since we were going to Sahara for lunch. I was still not feeling comfortable with being in a mainstream venue dressed as Kaitlin. Everyone at Studio Lites was great. I found several outfits that I only wish I could fit into. Note to self – it is REALLY time to lose those extra pounds before the next Diva!

Lunch at the Sahara was the usual casino buffet but quite good and quite reasonable. I met some more of the girls and a few SO's. After lunch we all went down the street to Elvis's Restaurant for a mature fashion roundtable, moderated by Susan and Kay – two of the group's SO's. It was very informative and well worth the afternoon. After the roundtable, two of my new friends asked me when they were going to see me as Kaitlin. I told them I would be dressing for dinner so back to the St. Tropez I went to get ready. I met one of our group who was staying at the St. Tropez and we walked the short distance to Suede for dinner. It was a lot of fun meeting lots of new people and getting comfortable as Kaitlin. While it was a private party, there were still more people there than had EVER seen me as Kaitlin before. After dinner I walked back to the St. Tropez solo and headed off for some blissful slumber.

Tuesday morning we were taking a boat cruise on Lake Mead. Again, being that this was a mainstream event, I decided to go in boymode. It was a lot of fun and it was fun to ride to and back from the lake with Joan, who is a local in Las Vegas, and a couple of others. Tuesday night we were supposed to have happy hour and dinner at Paris. I walked from the St. Tropez (about 2 miles) and, again, since it was in a mainstream venue, I decided boymode was best. About seven appeared for happy hour but only Mindy and her SO Diane and I ended up at dinner. Mindy is also a local and it was good to get the scoop on things to do in Vegas from her and Diane.

Wednesday morning was the Diva Las Vegas Invitational Golf Tournament, organized by Mindy. We had 15 players and it was a hoot! I played in girlmode because Mindy threatened anyone who wanted to play in boymode with having to play from the very back tees. I had never played in girlmode before and it was not as hard as I expected. I didn't play very well but I was respectable and had a great time. Afterward we had lunch and a blind prize draw and headed back to our St. Tropezs.

Wednesday evening was Eating Out Night. The Diva organizers had selected several restaurants and we chose which one we wanted to go to. I ended up at the Blue Ox (in girlmode, this time) with about eight or ten others. I was struck at dinner with how personable and friendly the whole group was – we all truly seemed to get along. A slot tournament was scheduled for after dinner but there were not enough people there to play so I headed back to the St. Tropez.

Thursday we had lunch at Harrah's buffet. I was in boymode again (as I was for most everything on the Strip) but the lunch was really good. Afterward, I walked back to the St. Tropez, doing some shopping and sightseeing along the way. Another six mile walk! A girl has to do something to counter all of these buffet lunches!

Thursday night several of the group went to see Love at the Mirage and then on a limo tour of Las Vegas. For those of us who didn't make the limo tour, Thursday night was the Big Show Pity Party. It was karaoke night at Elvis's and, for the most part, the singers were OK. There was one guy who about drove us all nuts and I swore if he got up again I was leaving. We had a good time, though.

Friday was a big day. First we had lunch with Ginger at the Sahara buffet again. Even though the weather had heated up a lot, I decided to walk the four miles to Sahara from the St. Tropez. It took about an hour and I was ready for lunch (and a LARGE drink) when I got there. We had a good crowd and, as always, a good group, and the lunch was a lot of fun. While some of the group headed off to Glamour Boutique for their open house, I walked the four miles back to the St. Tropez to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was organized at Bahama Breeze and there were about 70 of us in attendance. In addition to happy hour and dinner, we also had an anniversary celebration for two Diva attendees and celebrated the Commitment Ceremony (held earlier in the week) of two others. Dinner was great and followed by anniversary and wedding cake. How do you beat that!

Saturday was the final day. I had planned to return to Utah on Saturday night but thought better of that idea the week before Diva. When I called the St. Tropez to try to extend my room, they told me they were booked up for Saturday night. Then I went to Expedia to try to find a room nearby but EVERYTHING on or near the Strip was booked solid so I ended up at a Best Western up near Nellis AFB. Since I had to be out of the St. Tropez by Noon and couldn't check in at the Best Western until about 4, I had the afternoon to kill. As any red blooded American girl does when there is time to kill, I did some shopping. I didn't buy much but the shopping is the important part! I arrived at the Best Western about 4, got checked in and immediately started dressing for dinner and the party. The theme was retro but the most retro item I had was a paisley top so I decided it would have to do. I think I fit in pretty well. The dinner was good, although I think Elvis's was a bit overwhelmed. The party afterwards was really nice as it gave all of us a chance to reminisce a bit and say our goodbyes.

After the party, I went back to the Best Western, cleaned up and got a little sleep before returning to Utah on Sunday morning. When I got up on Sunday, I drove down to the Gold Coast, my usual breakfast stop on the way out of Vegas but having forgotten it was Sunday and I was an hour early for the brunch so I decided just to head home.

All in all, it was a great week and I am looking forward to doing it again another year. It was a great event for a beginner, the group was extremely friendly and supportive and it truly was one of the greatest experiences I have had.

Well, Wednesday was finally the night.  As many of you know, my birthday was last week and, to treat myself, I went to Las Vegas for a couple of days this week.  I had planned to be in Vegas for Halloween and test out my "half man / half woman" costume but events prevented that.  My primary reason for going this time was to see Barry Manilow at the Hilton on Thursday night but I figured if I was going to have a free night in Vegas, what better time for Kaitlin to make her up close and personal debut.

I have been out as Kaitlin many times for late night walks in the neighborhood and driving around but she had never been in such a public place before.

The anticipation and excitement as I drove the two hours down from Utah was intense, to say the least.  I had broken the pair of earrings I wanted to wear so I stopped at Wal Mart to get another pair.  They didn't have the ones I was looking for but did have some nice crystal clipons that would do just fine.

I checked into Harrah's around 5:30 and headed for my room to unpack.  I ate a quick dinner and began the transformation to Kaitlin.  It took nearly 2 hours to get ready which was a shock since I can usually do my makeup and dress in about 30 minutes.  I must confess that about half of that time was spent dealing with the fake fingernails that just wouldn't cooperate.  I took a few pictures and headed out into the real world around 9:00.  I was wearing my favorite blue turtleneck, a new black ruffled skirt I bought on Ebay and my 3" closed toe strappy sandals.  My makeup was my usual look.

 

Being that I was staying in the middle of the Strip, I had a plan.  I would go down the elevator, through the casino and out into the Carnaval Court.  Then I would walk up Las Vegas Boulevard to the Venetian, across the street to the Mirage then down to Caesar's, back across the street and back up to Harrah's.  I expected it would take about 20 minutes or so and I figured that would be enough.

As I walked from my room to the elevator lobby, I was secretly hoping that there would not be anyone waiting for the elevator or in the elevator when it came.  The gods were smiling on me and I had the lobby and elevator to myself.  When the elevator hit 1, I took a deep breath and walked out as if I owned the place.  There was someone waiting for the elevator as I walked out and he just looked at me and smiled.  So far, so good.  As I walked past Starbucks, I got a couple of looks from people seated drinking their coffee and one girl talking on her cell phone gave me a quick double take.  I walked on and a couple of guys I passed snickered a bit.  I knew I was going to be read and was prepared for it.  I just held my head up and kept walking.

As I walked around from the Court to the Strip, I had to walk through the usual crowd of people watching the airbrush artist.  A couple of them looked at me but didn't pay me much attention.  I got read a few more times on the way to the Venetian and, when I got there, had to wait for the light to cross Las Vegas Boulevard.  An older couple came up beside me and the man stared at me several times.  As we crossed the street, he said something to his wife and she turned and stared at me.  I didn't really care – I was having too much fun to worry about them, although my feet and calves were starting to hurt a bit.

Walking down Las Vegas Boulevard in front of the Mirage was interesting.  There were, as usual, a bunch of people wandering around waiting for the volcano to erupt.  I just kept moving until I got to the corner across from Harrah's.  While I was waiting for the light, a couple of guys carrying beers and obviously feeling pretty good walked by me.  One of them said something to the other one and they burst out laughing.  I heard one of them say that he "was going to have some fun with that one" and he walked up beside me.  I didn't feel like dealing with him so I moved to the other side of the crosswalk, and went back across Las Vegas Boulevard.  He and his buddy went on their way.  By now my feet were really sore (I need to walk more in heels) so I decided to call it a night and walk back through the casino to the elevators and head for my room.

Several people gave me funny looks as I walked through the casino but I still didn't care.  I showed my keycard to the security guard and he just nodded (he was dealing with a Japanese couple who didn't understand why they had to show their key card to ride the elevator).  I quickly got on the elevator and headed for my floor.

I was destined to have one more encounter before calling it a night.  As I turned the corner to head for my room, I met a female member of the hotel staff.  She put her head down as she walked by me and it was all she could do not to burst out laughing.  I guess if I ever did have a hope that I would pass, by that point it was long gone.

All in all, it was a fun and exciting night and something I really want to do again.  In retrospect, though, I think I would have been a lot more convincing had I been wearing jeans or pants rather than the skirt.  The skirt would have been fine on a Friday night in the summer but nobody wears skirts in Vegas on a Wednesday in December.  I also need to lose a bunch of weight – I looked kind of like a whale in a skirt tonight.  For a first outing, though, it was a rousing success.  I hope I can attend Diva Las Vegas in April and give Kaitlin a good workout!