Boardwalk Badness Weekend, Part 4: Sunday (and more pictures!)

As usual, I've forgotten some of the Priceless Party Moments from Saturday night, so I must catch up a bit.

1. Chatting with KatBrat in the ballroom, having her regale us with stories about the private nicknames she and her friends have given to the Creepers. John then asked, "OK, so do you guys have a name for me?" She looked at him, absolutely deadpan, and quipped, "Yes -- we call you Erica's bitch."

I owe you for that, toots. :-)

2. And speaking of Kat, later in one of the suites she approached me, holding a bag and grinning madly. "I saw this on the Boardwalk and thought of you!" I opened the bag and laughed like hell -- it was a teeny-tiny pair of drawstring shorts, with KISS MY printed in bold block letters across the butt. I put them on then and there and pranced up and down the hallway showing them off. Don't have a picture of them, though. Kat said she has a feeling we've started a terrible tradition of buying each other gag gifts!

3. In a suite, Magic Steve approached me and asked if I'd do him a favor. I said sure, and he handed me a roll of Scott toilet paper, asking if I'd autograph it! He said it was going to be party prize at a future date. How funny was that?? I took the Sharpie and wrote "Erica" above the printed "Scott," then wrote "BBW 2012" below. I've signed quite a few things in my time, but toilet paper is definitely a first.

4. Very late Saturday night when we were in the hall saying our goodbyes, Ten came out of her room, saw me and called out, "Hey! It's Erica Fucking Scott!" I called back, "Hey, it's Ten Fucking Amorette!" She made her way over, a bit tipsily, leaned into me and said, "I'm a little drunk." "Really? Couldn't tell, honey." Another woman next to us had a bubble wand and soap, and she started blowing bubbles. Ten waved her hand around, snatching at the bubbles, and she grabbed my boob. "Oh God, I just grabbed your boob." I laughed and said, "Yup, you sure did!" She looked a little concerned that I might be offended or something, but I hugged her and assured her it was totally OK. She smiled, and then patted my butt. "Oh God, I just grabbed your ass." "Yes, you sure did!" Then, referring to that debacle on FetLife a couple of months ago, she gasped, "Hey -- since I've touched you twice, does that mean I have to give you money?" I answered, "No, but you really should kiss my royal paid-for ass!" And she dropped to her knees, lifted my dress and did just that. Standing back up, her parting shot was, "Wish we had that on film -- that clip would sell hundreds!"

A few pictures from Friday/Saturday night:

Dana Specht and I, the Ladies in Red, flanking beautiful Sarah Gregory on Friday. Look close -- notice that her shoes match her dress!

Sarah and I on Saturday night:

And my new favorite picture of John and me -- thank you, Sarah!

Sunday morning, I actually got up sort of early (9:00 a.m.). It was the last official activity of the party -- coffee and bagels in the ballroom, and then Strict Dave's Punishment Court -- and I didn't want to miss it. So we headed down to the ballroom around 9:45; lots of bleary-eyed and happy-looking folks chugging coffee, munching mini-bagels and chatting. We sat at a table with Steve, Cailin, Fineous and Alexis, and we had a perfect view of the stage for the court. This was the third time I've seen Dave's court skit and it was hilarious as always.

Unfortunately, in the middle of the court proceedings, all the coffee I'd mainlined took effect and I needed to run to the restroom. Not wanting to miss anything, I dashed out of the ballroom, not taking my purse (and my badge was inside it). When I came back, our friend Linda was watching the door, but I knew by this time that it wasn't really necessary to have the badge, so as I ran past her, I threw out, "I don't have my fucking badge -- deal with it!" I could hear her laughing behind me.

The party was officially over, but it would continue until well into the night later in the suites. So John and I and our friend Mir decided to go for lunch on the boardwalk, heading for that little diner we'd seen on Friday.

OK, kids. I do believe we had a quintessential Jersey experience with this lunch. Fortunately, we were in no hurry and we were in mellow moods, so it was all hilarious.

Got a table, perused the menu. Our server came over to get our orders and I went first, asking for an egg-white veggie omelet. Here in CA, it's very common to substitute sliced tomatoes for fried potatoes with breakfast items, but when I asked her for tomatoes instead of home fries, she looked at me as if I'd ordered sheep's brains. "Tomatoes?" "Yes, sliced tomatoes." "Well, they're going to put the potatoes on the plate anyway." "Well, tell them not to." OK... to drink? "I'd like a Diet Coke and a glass of water, please."

"We don't serve water."

Huh?

"We have bottled water, but you have to buy it."

OK. I glanced over behind the counter and saw both a sink, and a water dispenser on the drink machine. You mean to tell me that they couldn't take a glass and fill it with water? No, she said, it's against our policy.

She went on to John. He ordered a veggie burger, but he didn't want the French fries. Could he substitute anything? No, she said. He looked at the menu, and saw that chips were served with cold sandwiches -- could he have chips instead of fries? No, she said. Good lord! She smiled apologetically -- it wasn't her fault, she was just doing her job. But this was ludicrous. John then changed his order to an omelet, and he asked for tomatoes as well. Same incredulous look. Mir ordered a salad and asked for a different dressing on the side. But the server seemed so confused by this, Mir changed her mind and said forget it, just serve it the normal way.

We got our drinks within minutes. But our food? Not for another 40 minutes. I was ready to chew the napkins by now.

And guess what? John and I both got potatoes. We had to ask again and they brought us tomatoes several minutes later. Too funny!

We couldn't stop laughing about the "no water" thing. John wanted to do a "Five Easy Pieces" kind of order. "Bring me a cup of coffee. But I don't want any coffee grounds in it. And I want it in a glass, not a cup. Put some ice in it."

Here we are on the Boardwalk:





Back at the hotel, we were both seized by bone-deep exhaustion and went back to our room to sleep. Nothing was happening for several hours, so we had lots of time to prepare for the final blow-out of the weekend, Sunday night. Which I do believe I will cover in Part 5.

Boardwalk Badness Weekend, Part 3: Saturday

Have to wrap up one last detail from Friday night -- the story of my most egregious faux pas. I've been choking on my foot ever since.

After my scene with KrampusUK/Steve, I was standing in front of the badge-check table, chatting with Steve, Stephen Lewis and Marie. Marie said she'd bought Steve an implement at the vendor fair. I was flabbergasted to hear this. "What did you do that for?"

"He needed a cane!" she said. I blurted in reply, "No one needs a cane!"

I then followed her eyes, and looked behind me. Passing behind us, a few feet away, was a party guest... walking with a cane. And no, not the beating kind.

I was mortified. She wasn't looking our way and it didn't appear that she'd heard me, but still. I clapped both hands to my mouth and doubled over, and Marie and Stephen started laughing hysterically. Finally, I was so embarrassed, I crawled under the table! It was draped with a floor-length cloth, so no one could see I was under there until I came crawling back out a minute or so later. (This, ladies and gentlemen, is how rumors start!)

To the woman with the cane -- in case you did hear me, and you just happen to be reading this blog, I am so sorry!

Finally, I forgot to mention another couple of highlights from Friday: meeting Alexis Steele in person at last, and getting to see and hug our beloved Pixie, who was a trouper extraordinaire, showing up so soon after her latest surgery. It was SO GOOD to see her!

Onto Saturday. Once again, I slept in while John worked out. When he got me up, he opened the curtains so we could see the sunlit view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Nice, huh? However, John seemed to prefer this view:

Checking the BBW itinerary, we saw that there was a group lunch at 12:30, and at 1:45, an SSNY movie screening. We showered and dressed and headed for the Capriccio room, where we found a buffet of prepared sandwiches -- turkey, roast beef, salami, tuna salad -- and loads of cold sodas and bottled water. Perfect! John and I got our food and sat by the window, looking out onto the boardwalk. The sandwiches were delicious; I chose turkey, which was left plain (no dressing on it), so I added mustard. All I had to do was pull off the cheese and give it to my personal garbage disposal (AKA John).

After eating, we walked around and chatted with others, including Fineous and beautiful Cailin all the way from Ireland, until it was time to head for the theater. Outside of it, they had a popcorn machine with a cart set up, covered with cups of fresh popcorn, and we each got one as we walked in.

The movies were fun -- we saw a short one called Spankback Mountain (a hilarious spoof of Brokeback Mountain, with Mike Tanner and Richard Windsor), and then the feature, College Days, about a Catholic girls' school in 1959. Even though F/F isn't my thing, I still enjoyed it -- it was richly detailed and well done with great production values.

There were several more activities later in the afternoon/early evening, but I had to pass them up; I chose to take a nap before the main events in the evening. How people go day and night at these weekends without any sleep is beyond me!

I showered again, washed my hair and got into my dress for the evening, a form-fitting, sleeveless shift dress in stripes of purple, black and turquoise. The dress theme for Saturday was the 70s, but you know what? I lived the 70s. They sucked. I enjoyed seeing the others dress up, but I wasn't about to do it! I also put on a garter belt and stockings, and my highest heels. An extra bonus: I had a pair of lacy Frederick's of Hollywood panties in the exact shade of purple as my dress (which had cost me a whopping $20 at Forever 21).

The ballroom was pumping with 70s music and everything looked very festive. John and I joined a table with Dolly and Jon, whom we hadn't seen for several years; it was so good to catch up with them again! Others joined us, including Chief and Lolo, and Sandy and Rad, who were dressed in identical black pants and black T-shirts that read, "DISCO SUCKS."

OK... it must be said. The food on the buffet? Not the greatest. Basically, it was the makings for beef or chicken cheesesteak sandwiches, salad, and some vegetarian subs and Philly pretzels. That was it. But you know, we weren't there for the food, and I never want to eat too much anyway. So I ate some of the chicken on a roll and some salad, and then I splurged on dessert. They had a tray of brownies, cookies and TastyCakes, and the brownies were to die for. I wrapped a couple of them in napkins and put them in my purse, knowing John and I would love them back in our hotel room in the wee hours after the suite parties.

There wasn't a dance floor, but a few people got up and danced to some of the slow songs anyway, including John and me. Later, they showed an encore of the Hitler film and then started the talent contest. What a blast that was! Lots of fun acts, including singing from Sarah Gregory, Dr. Lectr, Dana Specht and Alexis Steele, and some dancing as well. But when Caroline Grey came to the stage and began to sing "Danny Boy" a capella, the room went still. Her voice rang out like an angel, and her delivery of the song was so poignant, she had several people in tears (myself included). Needless to say, she won the contest prize, which was a free admission to BBW next year. Nice!

The gathering in the ballroom continued until midnight. I wandered about, mingling and chatting, and I actually asked two men if they'd like to play later -- JCSpanks and GG Mountain Man (their names on FetLife). I had decided I wasn't going to sit back and wait for invitations to play; if I wanted to play with someone and the opportunity presented itself, I would do the asking! (Those of you who know me, know this is not easy for me. But I'm glad I did it.) John and I ended up sitting and talking with PTL for quite some time, and then Jules joined us and we had a nice chat with her as well. That woman is soooo damned funny!

And then it was time for the suite parties. Before we ventured there, we went back to our room to freshen up a bit, and so I could lose the stockings/garter belt. Once again, the entire suite floor blended into one big party, with people spilling in and out of the rooms and gathering in the hall. I lost track of whose room was whose, but it didn't matter. First scene of the evening was with JCSpanks, who took me to his room and gave me a lovely hand spanking, as well as a strapping with several of his toys. He said his favorite was a well-worn London Tanner strap; turned out that was my favorite too! It was buttery soft, but had a great snap and sting to it. JC asked me to please tell him if I didn't like any of the straps, but as it turned out, I said no to only one -- a braided thing that looked pretty but was much too thuddy for me.

Later, I had a fun scene with GG, who was a charming Southern gentleman, tall and burly with a rich deep voice. I told him his face reminded me of a young Martin Sheen (not Charlie, but Martin, many years ago). He was a sweetheart and so complimentary to me. His girlfriend was yet another "talked to her online but never met her" person, SweetNPetite on FetLife. What a doll!

As I mingled in the hall, I saw a very cute guy showing a woman a horrible thick paddle with "Defiant" printed on it. I knew the woman, but for the life of me, I can't remember who it was! (I'm so sorry; I usuall don't forget these details.) Anyway, I walked right up and commented about how nasty that paddle looked. He stuck out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Rick." I said "I'm Erica," and he answered, "I know. I've been following you online for years."

Well, a short while later, I ended up playing with him, thanks to John, who threw me under the bus with him! It was quite the lively scene; he had a selection of wicked implements, all wood (spoons and such), and he was peppering me rapidly with each one. "Say when!" he'd say. In other words, he wouldn't stop until I told him to. So guess who got stubborn and determined to not say "when"? I screamed and hollered and squirmed, but it took a loooong time with each for me to finally screech, "OK OK OK WHEN!" It was a loud, exuberant, perfect party room scene. He did whack me pretty hard on the upper thigh a couple of times and I got marked there, which I think concerned his wife, as she was worried that I'd be upset about that. But I wasn't.

Alex (IMLX), bless his heart, was there, being his usual sweet self and enduring the teasing from Sarah and several others. We all love to give this man a hard time, for some reason! He's such fun. When he asked me if I'd like to play, I said yes right away. So we had a scene on the couch, playing to the crowd with banter and insults. I was at my snotty best, firing off smart-ass remarks, and poor Alex couldn't come up with comebacks quickly enough. "Just imagine me shooting off a really witty line here!" he said, and I answered, "My imagination isn't that good!" "Well, I can't spank and think at the same time!" "You can't do them separately either!" LOL!

Poor dear... I'm afraid he got a wee bit of a blood blister between his fingers. As Ten would say, I assed his hand. Oh, did he fuss about that. Later, he came into another suite where John and I were talking with several others, and he brought it up again. NYIrishRed asked to see his hand, and when he showed it to her, she blurted, "That tiny little thing?" We all nearly fell down laughing. Ah, I love Alex.

Toward the end of the night, John and I settled into a suite, watching Missy masterfully strap Miranda Marx and a few others. Alexis joined us and we chatted with her for a while. Aagggh... I know I'm forgetting other bits and pieces from Saturday night, but everything blurs into one big fun mishmash of talk and laughter after a while. Perhaps it's time to wrap this up for tonight, and maybe more will come back to me tomorrow. Sunday -- the grand finale -- is still to come!

(and yes, when we got back to our room late that night, we did eat those brownies. Delicious.)

Boardwalk Badness Weekend, Part 2: Friday night

Dammit!! I knew I'd forget stuff if I blogged last night, since I was so tired. So before I start Friday evening, I have to catch up with what I'd omitted.

First of all, my bad -- how I forgot this, I don't know. But on Thursday night, after the Burger Bar mixer, there was a gathering in the official BBW suite at 11:00, with demos. John and I, after relaxing briefly in our room, headed up there and got a good spot at the opening of the bedroom, where Mike Tanner et al. were doing demos of various implements and techniques.

Mike and the lovely (and hilarious) Jules were demonstrating the ill-reputed "licking stick." I had seen this thing but never felt it -- to the uninitiated eye, it looks fairly innocent and light. HA!!! Jules was shrieking and cussing and saying how she hated that thing so much, it made her want to rip Mike's face off. Well now. I asked her if it was worse than the dreaded "Family Strap," and she shouted, "Oh, WAY worse!"

Naturally, John thought I should test it first hand, so when Jules got up, the dear man pushed me forward toward the bed, and people started cheering him on. What could I do, really? So I pulled my leggings down and knelt on the bed.

Holy Shit.

Jules wasn't kidding. That thing SUCKS!!! I let out screeches that could probably be heard all the way down the Boardwalk. Fortunately, I just got four. Granted, I hadn't had any sort of warm-up and took the strokes cold, but still. Who knew. The looks of implements will often fool you. The innocuous-looking ones can be pure evil, and the heavy, scary ones oftentimes will end up being all show and little substance.

We stayed to watch some more of the demos, including Mike Stein with the paddle and Richard Windsor with the cane. Greeted a few more people, including Beth. I know you're a shy one, B, and this may embarrass you, but it must be said. Beth is one of the most amazingly attractive and sweet-faced young women I know. I swear, when I'm talking with her, it's all I can do to keep from blurting, "DAMN, but you're so pretty!" In fact, I think I did at one point. Plus, her personality is sweet too. :-)

And then it was off to bed.

The next day after lunch, John and I went for our first walk on the Boardwalk. I'm not much for tourist-y things, but I just had to do that! We walked quite a ways -- it was a bit nippy, but the sun was out and it was a pretty day. Bundled into my jacket, I felt OK, but the wind was biting on my face.

Tons of seagulls too, squawking up a storm and flapping about. John threw one of them a peanut. Watch the birdie!

A lot of pizza and ice cream places! Craig had suggested I get a frozen custard while on the East Coast, but it was too cold. Saw quite a few saltwater taffy places too. We noted a diner that actually had some healthy items on the menu and decided we'd go there for Sunday lunch.

I had to get an Atlantic City magnet for my collection, so we ducked into one of the many souvenir shops. While perusing the magnets, my eyes fell on one and I started howling with laughter. Some of you on FetLife know about the running commentary on bacon worship, often led by Kat, AKA Katbrat, AKA The Famous Kat. So what did I see but a magnet of two chubby pink pigs humping, and underneath in block letters was "Makin' Bacon." I had to buy that for her. John thought I'd lost my mind, but understood once I let him in on the joke.

Cut to the mixer later -- I saw Kat come in, and I dashed over to her. "I have a present for you!" I said, gleefully holding out my hands, with the tissue-wrapped magnet in my cupped palms. She gave me a quizzical look, opened the tissue, and then practically doubled over, she was laughing so hard. Just the reaction I'd hoped for! She took a photo of it immediately and it's now posted in her FetLife pictures.

OK, so NOW we're ready for Friday night. I wore a red halter-top dress, red panties with black lace trim and black sandals, bare legs. We headed to the ballroom and the vendor fair, which was great fun. More greetings, more hugs, and lots of fun stuff at the vendor table. One couple had spanking furniture, including an amazing bookcase that opened up into a mini-dungeon, with the middle hollowed out for the sub to stand in, wrist and ankle restraints and pegs all along the sides for hanging implements. Pull it closed and lock it, and it looks like ordinary bookshelves.

I got to meet Adelina, whom I've talked to online for a million years but never met in person. She had a vendor table, so I bought a keychain from her. It's a little wooden paddle, with "Angel" on one side and "Brat" on the other.

In fact, over the course of the weekend, there were many of those "talked to online but never met" encounters, and if I try to remember them all, once again I'll forget some people. But it was lovely to finally meet Dotty and Cindy-NYC -- have "known" them for years! And sooo great to meet PartTimeLondoner (hereon known as PTL), whom I've chatted up a fair amount on FetLife.

We got into the food line; we could smell garlic, but had no idea what they were preparing. Turned out it was chicken fajitas, with a cook stir-frying the chicken, peppers and onions, plus tortillas and taco shells and all the fixings, including a wonderful fresh mango salsa. Yum! We got our plates and sat with our friend Mir, catching up with her.

A bit later, they showed some of the SSNY short videos. I have to tell you guys -- if you haven't seen these, you've missed out. They are freaking hilarious!! And quite irreverent; these folks, as they were quick to point out, are equal opportunity offenders. They lampoon everything. One of the films, for example, was a "What Would You Do" style video, with Richard Windsor playing the "Over-the-Top Top," or, as he was called in the video multiple times, the "Assssshooooooooole!" But the most outrageously funny was the Hitler video. Yes, I know that sounds bizarre, but you had to see it. They had found some stock footage on YouTube of actors playing Hitler and his Third Reich cronies, and Hitler is ranting and complaining in German. Mike, Jules et al took the footage and added English subtitles, and it became Hitler ranting because his application for the BBW party had been turned down for the third time.

Oh, my God. I nearly wet myself, laughing so hard. Among other things, Hitler was ranting about who was going to be there and what he would miss.

"Don't tell me that prick Richard Windsor is going to be there!"

"But he has a blog, sir."

"Fuck Richard Windsor and his fucking blog!"

"I was going to play with that hot ass Jules!" "Miranda Marx was going to beat my Nazi ass!" "I'm sick of spanking all these German skanks!" He then went on to name all the women he wanted to play with, and right in the middle of it all, I saw the subtitle, "Erica Scott is going to be there too!" LOL!!

Later, Hitler called Mike Stein for the umpteenth time ("Oh God, it's Hitler again! That guy is such a pain in the ass!"), demanding to be admitted to the party. Mike called him "Mein douchebag" and hung up on him.

The ballroom was beautiful, and they had an area cordoned off with curtains where people could go play in private without leaving the room. Nice! I know other parties do that as well, but I'd never seen it.

Mir and I had gone off to the restroom and left John at our table; we meant to come right back, but you know how these parties are. You get sidetracked and start talking, so it was a while before we returned. I saw John hugging a woman with long dark hair, and fleetingly thought, "I know her!" When she turned to look at me, I shrieked. It was Linda from NY, whom we haven't seen for years and years, but we used to hang out with her all the time about 10 years ago. In fact, we were with her when she met Paddy13 at the Riviera in Palm Springs, who became her husband. I jumped up and ran to her, and we hugged and hugged deliriously.

After the vendor fair ended, it was time to wander up to the suite parties. This is where I have to stop and say how very impressed I was with the set-up. There was an entire floor of suites and rooms that was all us, and the doors to the party suites were left open. So the entire hallway became the party as well as the rooms, since we knew we wouldn't disturb anyone. What fun! In the center of the hallway was a table set up so the volunteers posted there could check badges (you couldn't go anywhere party-related without wearing your badge, which kept the crashers out), and then people would meander up and down the hall, in and out of the various rooms, talking and laughing. (we didn't spank in the hallways, though)

Aside from the brief demo with the licking stick, I hadn't played yet. I wasn't concerned, though. This party wasn't about amassing play for me, because it was such a new experience and I wanted to absorb it all. It was only Friday night, after all -- there was all weekend ahead. So mid-evening, I was in the hallway with Marie, Stephen Lewis and Steve (KrampusUK on Fet), Marie asked if my bottom matched my dress yet. I said no, it was white, since I haven't played yet. Steve looked at me in shock and said, "We can't have that, can we? Come along, then." (Imagine that in a delicious Brit accent.) I had been dying to play with him; I'd seen him at parties before and we'd been introduced before, but never played. We had a fun little scene in one of the suite bedrooms, alongside of Tammy and Harry. Tammy was repeatedly throwing me under the bus, dear girl that she is, until I finally blurted, "Please don't take offense to this, honey, but would you mind your own fucking business??" Then I got extra swats for foul language. I'm telling you, a bottom can't win at these things. Humph.

Later, we ended up in Joe and Ten's room, chatting with several others. Alex and Vito had both given me tiny bottles of Kinky Liqueur, since I'd liked it so much at the last SL party, so I drank one of them and got even chattier. When Sarah Gregory came in (looking absolutely adorable in PJs and her hair in pigtails), she joined us on the bed and we spent the next hour or so talking with her and catching up. I didn't play again that evening, and I didn't care. I wouldn't have missed that conversation for anything. I adore Sarah and I've missed her. Everyone lives so damned far away! :-(

Oh -- I will be getting some pictures from Sarah soon. She took a couple of John and me, and Dana Specht and me (we were both in red dresses), plus there are photos of Sarah and me + Sarah, Dana and me. Can't wait to see them!

I think that's it for Friday night. It wasn't super late, just about 2:30, but we decided to head back to our room. I was determined to pace myself this weekend and avoid those damned emotional meltdowns I tend to have when I get too tired and overwhelmed. (Happy to tell you all, I succeeded!)

More to come...

Boardwalk Badness Weekend, Part 1: Pre-Party

I'm home. It's Monday night, and after months of anticipation, our first BBW experience is behind us. My mind is crammed with so many details and the task of recording it all is daunting. I know I'll forget things, as always. But I need to make a start. Especially since I'm being nagged by the Peanut Gallery on FetLife! :-)

First and foremost -- WE HAD A BLAST! Yes, getting there was stressful for me. But it was well worth it. Thursday afternoon until very late Sunday night were crammed with fun and laughs, play, new friends and old ones, and tons of hugs and kisses. The SSNY people really know how to put on a party and please the masses.

Thursday morning, I got up at 1:30. Yes, a.m. John came over at 3:00, we piled his stuff into my car and headed for the airport. There were some stressors early on: 1) We couldn't find Parking Lot C at LAX (what a zoo that place is!); 2) it was raining and we got drenched heading for the shuttle depot; 3) the TSA agent held back John's carry-on and made us sit and wait while he went through it, not saying a word of explanation to us. Turned out he didn't like the Thermos John had in there; 4) the A/C on the plane wasn't working properly and we were boiling; 5) the plane ride and elevation aggravated John's knee and his lower leg swelled up like a balloon. But we got there in one piece, regardless. And Sarah and RG, bless them, were there waiting for us. So very nice of them to offer us a ride! It was fun to finally meet them.

We rode with them and Becka (who was a hoot!) to the Resorts Atlantic City hotel, which took about an hour. By the time we got there, around 5:00, I was exhausted. John had slept on the plane, but I couldn't, so all I wanted to do was get to our room and sleep for a while before the socializing began. I so wanted to greet everyone we saw as we made our way through the hotel, but part of me was screaming, "SLEEEEEEP! I need sleep! And some peace and quiet. I will put on my party face later; right now, I am running on fumes." I was afraid anyone who saw me at that time would think I was most uptight and unpleasant.

So we finally got our room keys and straggled upstairs. However, sweet peace and comfortable bed eluded me a little longer -- we stepped into our room and found a disaster area. The beds were unmade, the carpets were wet and there was a fan blowing in the middle of the room. The bathroom was trashed, wet towels everywhere and mold in the shower. I called the front desk, explained what we were seeing and he put me on hold. Finally, when he came back on the line, he said the room had been flooded and we shouldn't have been put there. He apologized and said they'd switched us to another room on the same floor. Of course, we had to shlep down to the front desk again with all our stuff and get the keys. (groan)

I cannot tell you how lovely that clean, neat room looked, how good that bed felt, when we finally checked into #4203. :-) We unpacked and then hit the bed for a nap.

The official party wasn't starting until Friday, but they'd organized an Early Registration event for the early arrivals at one of the hotel's restaurants, Gallagher's Burger Bar. This hotel was huge, with multiple floors and towers and corridors, and it took a while to acclimate ourselves and find things. But we wound up where we needed to be, and the greetings began in earnest. Hugs and introductions swirled through the crowd lined up to get our information bags and name badges. One of my favorite random moments was when Sarah Gregory and I caught sight of one another and started shrieking and jumping up and down. The next hour or so was a blur of names and faces, some so dear and familiar, others new and friendly. John and I were both welcomed warmly and it gave me that lovely fuzzy feeling I get nowhere else quite like at a spanking party. If I try to name the names of everyone I was delighted to see, I will inevitably forget some of them and upset someone or another, and I so don't want to do that.

The restaurant was very crowded and loud, but we managed to join a table with Sandy and Rad, Brad and Geeeee, and a few others. I had my first food shock of the week when I saw the menu and all the rich, heavy, meaty and cheesy choices. I was not in California anymore! John and I both ordered a spinach salad, hold the bacon. (I will now pause while the bacon-lovers assault me mercilessly.) We enjoyed the company, but neither one of us could handle the noise and having to scream above the decibel of it to be heard, as we were exhausted, so we finished our food, gave Sandy some money and asked her to please pay for us, because we were heading off. We decided we'd call it a night, and the next day after a proper night of rest we'd settle into the party fully.

Friday morning John got up to find a gym and work out, as he always does at these hotels, letting me sleep until 11:30. The hotel had several restaurants, and we chose to check out a café called Breadsticks. Once we were seated, I looked at the lunch menu and was surprised again -- nothing I could eat. I know, I know... I'm an obsessively picky eater. So I also know how to make things work for me on a menu. I saw they had a turkey club sandwich with bacon and mayo, so I asked if I could have just a plain turkey sandwich on wheat, no mayo, no bacon, and our server said sure, why not. Then she indicated my purse on the floor at my feet and suggested that I might want to move it closer to me, or put it on the table, or else someone might snatch it. Really?? John and I couldn't help laughing -- welcome to Jersey!

Later that afternoon, there was another meet-and-greet, this time in a large airy room with a bar and a balcony where people could go smoke. John and I got there promptly at the beginning so John could get a seat on one of the couches and stay off his leg. What a fun afternoon! Lots of folks showed up and the room was buzzing with activity. We did a lot of chatting, and eventually John felt OK to get up and move around the room a bit.

We ended up at the other end of the room near the balcony, talking with DaChief, his friend Lolo and IMmsunderstood. The three of them were BBW newbies as well, so we hit it off. Then along came my old pal Jersey John, who was up to his usual tricks. He untied my shoelace, then pulled off my sneaker. "What are you doing??" I cried, and my John yelped, "Throw it off the balcony!" So the two of them ran out to the balcony, where a few others were smoking, and made like they were going to toss my shoe away. I went frantically hopping after them, yelling "Give me that!" and managed to snatch it away from JJ. Off to the side, a beautiful redhead was having a cigarette, and she motioned me over. I hopped over to her, and she held out her hand for my shoe. How nice! I thought. She's siding with me and she's going to help me put my shoe back on. But nooooo! Once I handed it to her, she reached around and gave me four smacks with it! Everyone started cracking up, including me, and then she did indeed kneel down and help slide the shoe back onto my foot. Upon standing, she gave me a huge hug, which I returned, giggling madly. This lovely copper-haired woman was none other than Caroline Grey.

John and I stayed at the gathering until around 5:00, then decided it was time to decompress a bit and prepare for the Friday night festivities. The party proper was just about to begin, and already my voice was cracking from overuse! I was determined to pace myself and not burn out early. There was a whole lot of fun to be had and I wanted to be up for every bit of it.

To be continued...

Almost time to leave for AC

Sitting here at 10 a.m. having some coffee, which is the last thing I need, come to think of it. Oh, how I envy men before spanking parties; y'all throw some clothes and toiletries (and maybe implements) into a bag and you're done. Women don't have it quite so easy! And this woman tends to fret that she'll forget this or that, or she won't pack the right things.

So. Bangs are trimmed, toenails are freshly painted for the peep-toe sandals, mail and newspapers put on hold for a few days, shuttle from the hotel to the airport on Monday booked. I've been playing with my new phone for the past couple of days and I think I've got enough familiarity with it to use it properly during our mini-vacation. Although yesterday, when I tried to enter Sarah Thorne's phone number into my contacts (she and RG are picking us up at Philly airport tomorrow), I tapped something wrong by accident and ending up calling her. Then, when I tried to send a text to John, I accidentally tapped send, mid-text. Butterfingers.

Today, I need to pull everything together for packing, wash my hair, do all the last-minute bits and pieces. John is coming over at 3:00 a.m., so I will get into bed early tonight and attempt to get a few hours of sleep, as I have to get up around 1:30 a.m. Ugh! I'm usually just getting to bed then! I am so glad we're going Thursday instead of Friday. I have a whole day to decompress.

I don't think I will blog while in AC, but you never know. But at least now I have Internet access and I can monitor/reply to comments. I don't have to worry about anonymous flame-throwers sneaking in and hurling a bomb while I'm offline for days on end. I was going to turn on moderation, but now I don't have to. :-)

Nervous? You know it. This is a new party for me, with lots of new people mixed in with the familiar. Very different feel from Shadow Lane; many more organized activities. I've already resigned myself to the fact that I'm not going to find California-healthy food there (not that I will be eating that much, anyway). I have not committed to any scenes; I'm leaving it all to where the party takes me. When I go to Shadow Lane, it's late summer in the desert; I bring nothing but the lightest clothes. But in AC, it's going to be in 50s during our stay. I have to have dual thinking -- play clothes and non-play clothes. And of course, there are my usual worries about being overwhelmed and coming off like an uptight snob to those who don't know me. Or upsetting friends who want to spend time with me, but I'm too distracted to give them the proper attention they deserve. Plus, out of nowhere, John's knee swelled up again yesterday. And what if our flight is delayed/canceled? And what about...

UGH! Shut up, Erica. Put one foot in front of the other and show up where you're supposed to. Smile. Breathe. The rest is out of your hands.

At least neither one of us has caught a cold. I have been drinking Airborne non-stop.

Anyway. I will see some of you there, and I can't wait. But thanks to my new toy, I won't be completely out of touch with the rest of you for four days. I'll do my best to stay somewhat caught up during the down times, if there are any.

Touching back briefly on the subject of anonymous comments -- as we all know, some nasty cowards out there hide behind anonymity in order to say cruel and vicious things. However, there is a flip side. Some people are shy; they want to say something nice, supportive, complimentary, etc., but they don't wish to give themselves away. I have had some incredibly lovely comments from nameless, faceless individuals, and I often wonder who they are.

Case in point: I received this comment last month, and I keep coming back to it. It makes me smile when I'm down. It tickles and flatters me. And I can't help but wish I knew who wrote it.

What is it about you that causes men to connect with a woman who is feisty, kittenish, mischievous, bright, articulate, and--most of all--a person who exacts respect for femininity?

Whoever you are, know that you made my day, and several more after that, with this brief missive. Thank you. ♥

Have a great rest of your week/weekend, y'all. Wish me luck!