So we're back in Seattle as of late last night from a fantastic weekend in sunny, sultry Portland, Oregon. I have only been to Portland as an adult a total of two times now, which I do realize is a very sad fact since I've lived in Seattle my entire life. It's a very pretty city, and both Sir and I are guilty of saying how very pretty all the different bridges are on multiple points throughout the weekend. Portland is one of the quietest, cleanest cities I've ever been in. Then again, there's also very few children (by percentage) within the city so that might have a lot to do with it...
Anyway, we left Seattle around 12:45 on Friday afternoon and arrived in Portland around 5pm, I would estimate (traffic was a true nightmare on Friday). We were hosted by a member of the Portland Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and her wife, two very funny women I have to say; it was nice staying in a house, not a hotel for once, it didn't feel so impersonal to walk in. I hate how sparse and bare hotel rooms always feel.
Well, we arrived and took a few minutes to shower off the trip and get ready for the meet&greet at Embers. Fortunately, we were only a mile or so from the location, so we walked over on Friday despite the heat because we didn't know if there would be parking available. Among other things, there was a cycling race going on downtown so we got to watch that as we walked by.
Once we reached Embers, we immediately felt better. For starters, they had AC! On the less shallow end, there were leathermen and -women everywhere we looked - many we knew and many more we didn't yet know. I'd like to believe we got a chance to meet everyone who attended by the end of the weekend but if we missed anyone, it certainly wasn't intentional. The meet&greet was delightful, they had a rather unique idea for the auction and did a Vegas style blackjack table room. For a donation, you could purchase a buy in and then use the "funny money" to gamble, or you could just buy the credit towards the auction. At the end of the Vegas period of the night, all players were encouraged to count up their winnings and then bid on items in the auction with their winnings.
There were several really awesome items donated to the auction including a cigar/humidor set that Sir and I both wanted rather badly but it went for well over what we had to spend (I bought in $200 of auction credit and increased that to around $900 before the auction) - selling for $1200 or more. I can't remember the final bid on this one, sorry. As disappointed as we were, there was another item that I actually wanted far more: a set of Women's Engineer boots, size 6, donated by Oregon State Bootblack 2011 / International Mr. Bootblack 2011 Nick. I am happy to say that I did win the boots and for a lot less than I expected them to go for since I apparently was the only size 6 in the room. With that in mind, Sir & I won an aftercare/body care kit including a bath salts set, a bar of muscle aches&pains soother and a body spray that I think actually smells really good (for a change haha!).
As the final item of the night came up, Sir and I pooled all of our remaining bidding funds and were able to win a private bootblack session with Nick. We'll still have to sit down and negotiate how that will work, but it was a busy weekend and we'll have to work on that a little later on in the month, I think.
After the auction wrapped up, it was time for a final drink and then some socializing before we headed back to our host house to get in some sleep.
On Saturday, Sir & I met up with one of his friends for brunch. We chose to try The Stepping Stone Cafe, which reminded me of Beth's or The Hurricane - but with less food poisoning involved. The food was fantastic, the service was friendly, but it was very loud and extremely busy. If you ever go, I suggest grabbing the homemade biscuit - it's huge and delicious! After brunch, we went back to our host house and hung out for the afternoon before heading back to Embers for the contest.
We had figured out that the Portland Streetcar ran very close to our host house the night before and decided to take it back into town to grab dinner before heading to the contest. As luck would have it, we made the standard mistake of tourists and missed our stop by nearly a mile. By the time we backtracked and managed to grab dinner, we were getting close to contest time but we managed to get there in time to find seats and say hello to a few people.
The contest itself was really amazing, if very quick - there were 2 contestants for Mr, 1 for Ms and 1 for Bootblack; they all had very short but poignant speeches, clever and quirky pop questions (and answers) and the fantasies for both Mr and the Ms contestant were all very well done and displayed how varied and interesting our community truly is. I always wish Bootblacks got a fantasy too, though I do understand that asking them to have a technical and a fantasy would be far too much work for them to complete in the weekend.
Due to some minor technical difficulties (which the tally masters handled superbly) we were asked to say a few words while the counts were completed along with a few other folks who had announcements or were visiting. I was sad to hear that the brand new sex-positive center was opening up for it's first event on Sunday night - when we would already be on the road home again. But don't worry, Portland, we'll be back!
At this point, I want to extend another congratulations to the just stepped down title panel: Oregon State Mr. Leather 2011 Tarsus, Ms Leather Ms Tracey and Bootblack 2011 Nick. Their year was amazing and the first year Oregon has had a Bootblack title - you three left large boots to fill. Thank you for your commitment and your passion.
And also - I'd like to say congratulations to the new 2012 title holders : Oregon State Mr Leather 2012 Danny, Ms Leather 2012 Michelle and Bootblack 2012 Sammy. We eagerly and wholeheartedly extend to you our warmest wishes and support. Should you need anything, please let us know, our dear sash-brothers and -sister.
After the contest was over, Sir & I drove Sammy up to the celebration after-party at the Portland Eagle where we had the chance to oil a pair of leather shorts Sammy had won during the auction the previous night. We spoke with a lot of interesting people, I got the chance to actually chat with this years American Leatherwoman, Trinity - what an amazing woman! By the end of the night, I was wilting a little from the busy day, but had truly enjoyed every minute of the whole day.
We woke up late on Sunday and headed over to the brunch, fortunately there was plenty of time before they started the awards for the community. It was wonderful to meet the people recognized by Portland as their honored persons for the year and the stories of some of these individuals were heart warming to hear.
Our trip home was long and stressful due to a few engine hiccups (my car is grounded), but we are safely home in Seattle now and looking forward to the next chance we have to visit.
I still owe our hosts spanikopita too...
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