Well, It was last Wed. and it was great ....THE END.
Ok I'll fill in some details. ha haaaa. I wasn't checking into the hotel until Thursday since I only signed up for Friday & Saturday at the SCC meeting. Lucky for me I have a friend who was there for the week and let me use her bathroom to get ready for the Princess Day trip to the spa/nail salon. Thank you Cynthia. I'm sure one of the reasons SCC picked this hotel was the large counter space around their sinks and I used just about every square inch of it.
I was running a little late and had to (rush) to get myself made up. In record time for me, only 1.5 hours. I would have liked to tweak my eye makeup a little more but it was good enough. Of course Cynthia was ready before I was and so when I finished it was time to step out the door. The first thing that hit me was the heat & humidity and not any kind of panic. I was surprisingly calm but not cool. Stupid S. Fla. weather !!! If they keep this event down here they need to move it to December !! So we walked from the building where Cyn's room was past the pool area and into the hotel lobby which had air conditioning, aaaaaahhhh much better !!
With so many (sisters) walking around the hotel it made it feel like no big deal. Girls were everywhere. Having Cynthia there with me was a huge boost to my confidence as well. If you can find a friend to go out with you for your first time I would highly recommend it. Makes a huuuuuge difference. So we get registered and head to one of the rooms where they are holding a pre-trip meeting for the Princess Day. We were the last few to show up but they checked us off their list and we headed down to where the shuttle bus was picking us up.
So at this point in the day it was already the longest distance I had walked in heels. I had my wedges on that seemed to be the most comfortable pair based on walking in my apartment. More on that later !! So we all get on the bus, around 25-30 gals I'd say, and head off to the nail salon/spa. When we arrive it is in a shopping avenue with stores on both sides of the street. Some gals go off shopping at other stores but most of us head into the nail salon.
This place was big!!! I had no idea there were nail salons with this many stations. So you sign in and then they send you to the wall of color where you pick out your color bottle of polish. I picked out a classic fire engine red. In a minute or two the cute little gal escorts me to the pedi station. It was a great experience and I recommend it highly. I didn't get my fingernails done because I still had to come home, after this first day out, and finish packing all my stuff for the rest of the week. Besides I had a set of Kiss French tip glue on nails that I was planning on using anyway. After getting mani/pedi's a group of about 6 of us walk up the street to the restaurant where they arranged for us to meet for lunch. They had a huge table reserved for all of us on one side of the place. Had a good meal and chatted with lots of the gals there. The restaurant was pretty busy but we were treated just like any other customers. It was great.
So after lunch back on the shuttle bus to the hotel. When we got back several gals we had been chatting with at the salon were talking about going out shopping on our own. I have to admit I was a little nervous about this but I figured I had done well so far I'd give it a shot.
We got about 6 of us together in 2 cars and headed off to Sawgrass Mills Mall. This is a huge outlet type mall I had been to many times in guy mode but never in a million years thought I would be walking around in crossdressed. Again having a group of us together was a needed huge boost in my confidence. Walking into the first store from the parking lot I was still a tiny bit apprehensive. Once we were inside the store for a few minutes and security had not been called nor were anyone pointing or making comments I started to feel like everything was ok.
We ended up at Victoria's Secret and all the sales ladies were very nice and helpful. I got some body spray and lotion cause a girl has to smell nice !! We ended up walking pretty much this entire mall and by now my feet were on fire !!! These wedges I thought were so comfy at first now felt like they were made of barb wire and plywood !! Maybe it was just too much too soon since none of my shoes are broken in. Heck they all only have several laps around my apartment on them. When we had finished shopping and got back to the hotel I was glad to take my shoes off and give my feet a break. But what an adventure !!!
I want to thank Cynthia and all the other gals that were there with us on my first day out as Samantha. I know I could never have done it on my own. And for those of you that still want to go out but have not done so yet I think you need to find a group meeting like SCC or similar and make it happen. I know the fear of getting out on your own so if you can find a group to join please do it, I doubt you will regret it.
Luv & Hugs...
Samantha G.
I knew you would do just fine once you got out there. Now comes the fun part of trying to solo, get out on your own! You also need to get more time under your belt by going to another conference or gathering to build confidence. You got the look, Samantha, now you need to develope the confidence. I am very proud you took that first step! 
paula
