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View Full Version : Fantastic night out in the Gayborhood



JamieG
07-25-2015, 03:58 PM
Last night my friend Kerry (a fellow CD) and I got dressed to the nines and went into Philly for a girl's night out. It was a rather last minute thing. It turned out my wife and kids were going to be out of town Thursday and Friday night, so I quickly put a call out to my friends. It turned out that Kerry didn't have plans on Friday either, and we quickly zeroed in on wanting to go into the city. Thursday night I scoured my closet but felt like I had worn all of my nice outfits too recently. So the next morning I went shopping before work, and ended up with two dresses and a pair of shoes for just a little over $100. Everything was on sale and I got an additional coupon at the door. After work, I got home, tried on my new dresses, chose one, accessorized it, and drove to Kerry's place. I drove in drab, but underdressed, which is a good thing, because I'm pretty sure at one light I was stopped next to a coworker. I didn't look too closely cause I didn't want to draw attention to myself.

I changed at Kerry's and then she drove us to the "gayborhood." The Gayborhood is essentially the center of gay life in Philly, with a large number of gay bars and club. All of the crosswalks are painted in rainbow colors, which is so cool! Of course, the crowd in this area is pretty accepting of whatever your bag is. We had a tasty dinner at Tavern on Camac and then asked our waiter for recommendations about where to go dancing. We had seen a place called iCandy around the block, but he said, "You don't want to go there, it's very young." We pretended to be offended, and asked, "Do we look like a pair of old maids?" and he said, "No, I was using young as a euphemism. It's a fine place if you want to get beer spilled on you." That settled it: he recommended their upstairs or a bar called Woody's. We decided on a change of scenery and after walking around a little just to see what else there was, ended up at Woody's. We interacted with so many cool people there. There were Bacardi girls (GGs) in red miniskirts and knee high boots. I don't think they were used to being so ignored at a bar, but Hello, this was a gay bar, and most of the clientele were men. One Bacardi girl wanted to give us free "rum and coke" samples, and I said "I'll try one, but only if you tell me where you got your boots," and then we got into such a girly conversation about Jessica Simpson brand shoes. There were some tall gay guys trying on these ultra-high heels and we gave them some pointers on how to walk. Some people had glowsticks, and we asked one lady how she got it, and then she just gave it to us. Later, we ran into two young women (again GGs) and I just had to tell one that I loved her figure-hugging floral print dress, and they in turn coveted our newly won glowstick. At one point, one of the two girls was asking me what fashion mags I read. "Vogue? No, are you a Cosmo girl?" She also helped me fix my hair after it got messed up from trying the virtual reality goggles that was part of the Bacardi girls' shtick. Somehow the four of us became BFFs for the night and we ended up going upstairs and dancing with them. The dance floor is incredible, with an awesome light wall. There was also steam and lasers and a disco ball. Pretty crazy stuff. While we were up there, this gorgeous blond from the UK had to come over and tell Kerry and I that she thought we looked fabulous. Everybody was so nice, and all of them were cisgendered. What a great feeling it was to go out and just be accepted for you.

We finally left around 1:30am and got back to Kerry's by about 2:30am. It was 3:30am before I got into my own bed. I was exhausted, but it was worth it.

pamela7
07-25-2015, 04:13 PM
wow, we need a new word for beyond fantastic, what a night!!

Jaylyn
07-25-2015, 04:44 PM
As Pam said WOW maybe I should say WOOOOW. Sounds like a fun night. Any time your up to 3:30 am partying it has to be a big wow.

Belle Cri
07-25-2015, 04:54 PM
I absolutely LOVE this story and am jealous beyond words.

kimdl93
07-25-2015, 05:06 PM
What a wonderful night out, Jamie! So glad you and Kerry were able to pull something together on such short notice!

LucyNewport
07-25-2015, 05:55 PM
Sounds line an awesome time! I haven't been out that late in forever... I'm not super familiar with Phillie but the gay areas of NY are the best places for our kind to go out. Congrats on a night to remember!

Kandi Robbins
07-25-2015, 06:24 PM
Sounds like a terrific night out!

BLUE ORCHID
07-25-2015, 06:43 PM
Hi Jamie, Reading your stories shows that you are really living the dream.:daydreaming:

Krisi
07-25-2015, 07:44 PM
That's amusing because just a couple days ago there was a post about going out in Philadelphia and most of the replies said not to go there. A few were pretty derogatory.

The truth, of course is, every city has it's good parts and it's bad parts and in some cases, one person's good part is the other's bad part.

Glad you had a good time and I hope you get to go again. As for your co-worker, assuming you dress "all the way", they should not recognize you unless you have a unique vehicle, especially if you don't turn and look at them.

Victoria Demeanor
07-25-2015, 08:07 PM
Good for you Jamie... I love reading stories of those having a good time out. Oh how I wish I could be out with you...:)

JamieG
07-26-2015, 09:52 AM
That's amusing because just a couple days ago there was a post about going out in Philadelphia and most of the replies said not to go there. A few were pretty derogatory.


Yes, I think that was the thread I started as we began to shape our plans. I'm glad it didn't scare me off. I highly recommend the Gayborhood to anyone who decides to go out and Philly. As long as you're not homophobic (and unfortunately, some CDs are), you'll have a great time. Here's a helpful map:

http://www.visitphilly.com/gay-downloads/

We found parking a block away for $18 for the whole night (that sounds expensive, but is actually pretty reasonable for safe and convenient city parking). Never once felt in danger, although at the beginning of the night a homeless man crudely propositioned us. We just ignored him and kept walking. I normally try to treat the homeless with respect, but "No, I do not want to suck your [insert four letter word for male organ], and telling me that it is your birthday won't change my mind." He was the only rude person we met all night.

Krisi
07-26-2015, 10:38 AM
A nearby city is well known for history and is a big tourist center with lots of museums, restaurants and nightlife. Yet, as one who's "in the know", I can tell you that you can stray a couple blocks and end up in "the hood" where a stranger is in danger of being attacked or robbed. I accidentally made a wrong turn once and ended up going the wrong way on a one way street to get back to where I felt safe.

Pretty much any city has places where you don't go unless you live there. Especially after dark.

Melissa in SE Tn
07-26-2015, 10:43 AM
Absolutely , positively loved reading about your adventures!!! How great it must have been for you!! You really have your femme light glowing!!! Peace,mel

Alexis08
07-26-2015, 12:30 PM
Sounds like you had an awesome night. Gay bar seems like a good place if you don't want to be surrounded by desperate men. lol

Katey888
07-26-2015, 01:00 PM
What a fantastic experience Jamie... makes me soooo envious but I still have to appreciate you sharing it with us... :D

Philly must already be on my bucket list... :)

Katey x

LaSirenaBella
07-26-2015, 02:10 PM
The Gayborhood is a wonderful place. The parking? Not so much. What a night!

Sandie70
07-26-2015, 02:49 PM
A wonderful night our! Makes me want to be where you are. And I love how often times GGs are so accepting of us. What fun!

Tracii G
07-26-2015, 05:09 PM
Sounds like a super fun night!!!

S. Lisa Smith
07-26-2015, 06:38 PM
Very cool!!!

Adelaide
07-26-2015, 10:26 PM
Wow, wish I'd be with both of you on that Friday night!

mykell
07-27-2015, 07:40 AM
hi jamie,
just makes me more envious of you, ive been to philly (never the gayborhood) and wondered why i stayed... i feel that the bad parts are oversized compared to the good ones, but you make it seem so tempting,
hope to join in the fun someday,
thanks for sharing your story....