kaitlincd
12-16-2006, 04:26 PM
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. My primary reason for going was to see Barry Manilow at the Hilton on Thursday night (GREAT concert, by the way) but I figured if I was going to have a free night in Vegas, what better time and place for me to make my up close and personal debut as Kaitlin.
I have been out as Kaitlin many times for late night walks in the neighborhood and driving around but 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. (See pix below)
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 get a good workout as Kaitlin!
I have been out as Kaitlin many times for late night walks in the neighborhood and driving around but 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. (See pix below)
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 get a good workout as Kaitlin!