Mates Leather Weekend - Provincetown

Good Evening Everyone,

I had just returned from Folsom on Tuesday and no sooner did laundry and kissed my husband hello before kissing him goodbye and flying out on Thursday to Provincetown for Mates Leather Weekend. Barry, Mr. Conn. Leather and my IML brother, had invited me to the event and it just looked like too much fun to pass up.

I arrived on Thursday afternoon and Barry picked me up and we drove the few hours to P’Town. We stayed at Barry and his partner, David’s, condo. We went and grabbed a quick drink once we arrived; however, we decided an early night was probably the best as the weekend was busy with events.

Friday we toured downtown and I logged onto to look at my school website only to realize that I had a paper due THAT day. I had already read the materials, books, conducted the research, etc.; however, I had not written the paper. So I sat at the internet café in P-Town and wrote a 7 page paper. That blew the afternoon! We then went back to the hotel and got dressed for the opening reception. Ran into many friends and met more people. Barry is very involved in the community and was able to introduce me to many people. Gladly, I also ran into Loren and Alex. It’s funny, in the last two weeks I have seen more of them than I have of my own husband! LOL

We then went to the Uniform Party and then to this pizza place that gets packed as soon as they close the bars. The pizza was great, but damn it was salty. The next morning, I was so in need of water and I felt so dehydrated (and no, it wasn’t due to alcohol consumption).

Saturday we toured P’Town some more. I bought four pounds of salt-water taffy (David loves that stuff). It was rainy, so we had to maneuver through the rain to get places; however, it was still great to see the sites. I got some great shots of Bear. I know, everyone wants to know what has happened to Bear. Bear is still touring and has had little time to blog, Facebook, or anything else for that matter. However, he is still traveling with me and living the life of Riley. He’s thrilled that we are now Platinum members on American Airlines and he gets to board early and grab a good spot in the overhead compartment.

Saturday (late afternoon), Barry’s husband, David, joined us. We got ready for the Meet and Greet and the contest to be held that evening. Barry and I, along with Tim (Mr. Boston Leather and an IML brother), were serving as judges. The First Mate contest was a great time. I do not think I have ever judged a contest so quickly. Eleven contestants and we were done in 45 minutes. Congratulations to Addam for being selected First Mate 2009! Had a great time judging it!! I will tell you one funny story: I totally busted my ass walking up to the stage they had set up for the judges. I didn’t think couldn't see the first step and there was about a three inch step and I totally busted my ass. But I thought quickly and saved the camera from hitting the floor. Unfortunately, I had a drink in my hand and that went everywhere. Grace – at it’s best.

After the contest, we hung out at the party and then headed to pizza place again for more pizza. It was so good. Not as good as a hotdog from a hotdog street vendor at 2 a.m., but none-the-less, enjoyable.

Sunday was the BBQ. I got to enjoy more hotdogs (I love hotdogs!!) and spend some time with Chris and James. Chris was MAL 2008 and he is incredibly funny. I taught him to sign “Leather Royalty” and he has since learned to point to himself and sign “Leather Royalty”. Unfortunately, I taught his partner how to say “Mental Bitch”. You can imagine the scene. Chris signs “Leather Royalty”, to which James signs “Mental Bitch”. I have created a monster. LOL

The jock party was after the BBQ. I wore my yellow and black Nasty Pig jock. Had a great time. Lots of eye candy, to say the least!! We then changed into regular clothes and Chris, James, Barry and I went to eat at Bayside Betsy’s. Great food!! Make sure when you are in P’Town to go by there and eat. She supports our community and we need to pay it forward!!

After dinner, we went for ice cream (yeppers – I had Lemon Ice Cream!!!). Then Barry and I headed to the condo to clean it up and pack. We then drove to his mother-in-laws home where we spent the night. Monday morning we were up with the cows (had there been cows) and drove the three and a half hours to Hartford so I could hop on my flight back home to Dallas.

Thank you Barry and David for providing a place for me to stay and to Rick, for providing an incredible event for the entire community. I will most definitely make it again next year.

Next up: Tulsa for Oklahoma Mr. Leather this weekend.

Your Leather Brother,

Jeffrey