My job was to make the hotel arrangements. After scouring the Internet for hours, I finally found a site that would allow me to book the reservation and NOT have to pay for the entire stay up front (we were splitting the cost of the room). The Bay Beach Inn looked to be clean and comfortable and was certainly affordable. I booked the room and hoped the place was as pleasant in reality as it appeared online.
To know AJ is to love her, and to love her means you love that she procrastinates about almost everything. Bearing that in mind, and knowing Pensacola is less than a 3 hour drive from my house, I figured I could leave around 1 and we'd arrive at the same time. People never cease to amaze me, though, and by the time I'd left the house, Audrey was already in Pensacola. No problem; she'd go ahead and get the room, rest up some, and we'd be ready to party that night.
About 30 minutes went by with no call from Audrey, so I assumed she was in the room resting and relaxing. I should have known, of course, that nothing in my life can EVER be so simple. I eventually got a call from my very stressed out friend telling me the hotel didn't have our reservation and that they were booked solid through the weekend. AJ went on to tell me that the hotel THOUGHT they might still be able to accommodate us, though. Ok, great, crisis averted. The hotel gave Audrey a key and told her to go up to a room. Thinking, as any normal person would, that the hotel clerk was sending her to an available room, AJ opened the door, and walked in to find the room occupado!
Quick trip down to the front desk, again another key was given. AJ walked to the next room-same DAMN thing-someone was already in the room! The third time must have been the charm, for although she walked into an empty room, it wasn't the room either of us thought we'd be getting. I booked a room w/a balcony, but there was no balcony to be had.
Audrey conveyd all this to me on the phone and said she was just going to rest after driving for 8 hours and let me deal w/it when I got there. That was fine by me-I have no problem arguing anyone. Before I get off the phone, AJ said there was something else neither of us had anticipated for our vacation: It was Gay Pride Weekend.....I laughed and told her I'd see her in a couple of hours.
All-in-all, it only took me 3 hours to get to Pensacola from NOLA. As soon as I'd arrived, I called AJ from the parking lot to let her know I was there and began to walk toward the room. You must know that I have no problem w/gay folks, straight folks, tran folks, or any variation in between; everybody deserves to be happy in this world and whatever makes you happy, I want for you. That being said, had I known ahead of time what I'd be walking into, I'd have dressed a little differently. A golfer cap, layered tank, ripped jeans, flip flops and coral jewelry didn't exactly scream heterosexual. Nevertheless, I smiled and laughed to myself as several other hotel patrons checked me out while walking to the room.
Dealing with the hotel staff was pointless. They informed me they didn't use hotels.com to book reservations so it didn't matter if I'd booked the room ahead of time or not. After several back and forths, we opted to stay in the one available room they'd put us in. Saturday night we attempted to socialize at the hotel and have drinks in their "club", ummmm....no. They served us hunch punch and played the most wretched music.
As if Audrey and I didn't already look like a couple, the NBA playoffs were on and Audrey is a huge basketball fan. So, w/nothing else to do and no men to flirt with, we took to watching the tv in the bar. I loathe all things basketball, so I was people watching more than anything. I will say, as far as my first Gay Pride Weekend experience was concerned, the Pensacola event seemed to have a very large, diverse showing. The organizers should be proud.
While watching tv, this incredibly drunk, and rather disheveled looking, man came up to us and was trying (emphasis on TRYING) to seduce Audrey. He was doing a little dance and even tried to drop it down. Of course, when he dropped, he couldn't get back up, but ya had to give him pointers for trying! I know I was supposed to be Audrey's wing-woman but I was laughing SO hard at this ridiculous man, I think a little pee came out! We've all made fools of ourselves when drinking, but this was something new for the record books!
The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. The weather was horrible except for one day and that one day was spent at the beach, which was fabulous-HUGE waves, cool water, porcelain colored sand, light breeze. It really was a shame the whole trip didn't afford us such glorious weather. All-in-all, Pensacola was a bit too family oriented for Audrey and I, but we both enjoyed the chance to see each other and relax away from the office for a few days.
I didn't get any pictures from the trip to Pensacola, because there really wasn't anything to take photos of except a whole lotta rainbow flags, our less than desirable accommodations, and poor weather, but here's a photo of AJ and I from last year.
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