Sisters on Vacation?

 

Liz. Outside of Harpoon Harry's
in Key West.

The first inclination I was being accepted as my authentic feminine self on my vacation came when a few of the other women on the trip began to casually talk to my wife Liz and me. 

Since most women are curious by nature, they started the conversation by asking if we were sisters, which was music to my ears. It was especially meaningful because the bus was heavily populated by farmers from Southeast Indiana. Not known as one of the more liberal places to come from. The cute part came when Liz said we were not sisters but in fact were married. Without fail, the reaction was aloud surprised "Oh!". On a couple occasions Liz had to tell them we were wife and wife. 

Surprisingly to me, the overall reaction was either positive or at the least non-committal. The only half negative reaction I received was from one man and his wife who we ate dinner with one night. Both of them chatted freely with Liz while mostly ignoring me. I got over it easily and even used the women's room after dinner with no problems.

I was very fortunate the entire trip, especially during my time in the Georgia hospital, Liz led the way telling repeatedly everyone my true pronouns. For the most part, on the bus I did not need the help and especially in Key West. I can't say enough about the good time I had there. To start with, of course it is an incredibly diverse place. We were pre-booked on the Conch Train which toured all the sites which helped with my lack of mobility. Included was the Earnest Heminway House which Liz wanted to visit. 

Of course, being the huge Jimmy Buffett fan I always was, we had to visit the Buffett store to add to my t-shirt collection. If you notice to the middle left of the image, you will see one of the handles of the wheeled walker I needed to get around. Sure, it was exhausting but worth it.

Sadly, all the good times which come marked the end of our adventure because little did, I know Covid was waiting on our doorstep to make the rest of our trip a real challenge. 

I'm Back...Mostly

 

Well, my wife Liz and I's vacation to the Florida Keys was eventful, with many unexpected turns.

Since I have quite a bit to write about, I will start at the beginning of our bus trip. As we boarded a nearly empty bus way before dawn in suburban Cincinnati the morning was very cold and clear. From our boarding point, we needed to make two other stops to pick up other passengers for the trip in nearby Northern Kentucky.  Since we were nearly the first on the bus, my paranoia about being the only transgender passenger was calmed, especially since I was under the cover of darkness. 

As daylight came around and the bus filled up, the pressure for me to make a good first impression came with it. I managed to cope with a small mirror I put away into my purse, along with my foundation powder and lipstick. So instant touch ups were within my reach.

Of course, all too soon came the all-important first rest room stop. I stayed very close to Liz as we went in and there were no problems with anyone on the bus, or other strangers who were already coming or going in the women's room. I did my business, washed up and left with no interference which made me feel relieved after all the months of worry I put into thinking of what could happen. 

At this point, our bus driver deserves a strong recommendation for his work in getting us safely through very snowy and icy road conditions we encountered as we made our way south from Ohio. He also was available to help me on and off the bus when needed. 

Long story short, we made it to Georgia and spent the night in Macon. Then off to Orlando for our next stop.  By this time, I could not wait to make it to our staging destination of Key Largo. Then Liz and I began to notice how many people on the bus had bad coughs. Which is a spoiler alert for what happened to me later in the trip and would involve a trip to a hospital in Georgia. 

More on it, plus a very pleasant trip to Key West coming up when I finally begin to feel better, because I caught Covid on the bus. Even though I had been given the booster three months ago. Make of that what you will.

 

 

Vacation Post

 

Image from Johannis Keys
on UnSplash.

The day finally is here before my wife Liz, and I depart for our long-awaited journey to the Florida Keys very early tomorrow morning. So, this will be my last post for approximately ten days. The first time in my history of writing a blog I have missed this much time in over a decade. 

As luck would have it, we are traveling on a charter bus and there are hefty storm warnings for the bus to attempt to out-run when we depart Cincinnati very early Sunday morning. 

Outside of the weather, long term, I have spent quite a bit of time worrying about potential hassles I may receive from a stray transphobe in the group. Magically however, after we packed this morning, my fears began to disappear. As Liz told me, this is not our first trip, and on the other ones, I have had no problems. In addition, I have steeled myself to facing any detractors if I run into them. Confidence in myself is one of my keys to a fun trip. After all, I paid as much as the next person to go on the trip.

After we arrive in the Keys, I am going to do my best to enjoy the brief respite to the Ohio winter and even try swimming for the first time as a transgender woman. Hopefully, this trip will be less physically demanding on me since I have mobility issues. Since the last trip we went on out west to Colorado seemed to leave very little time to relax and enjoy our surroundings before moving on, I was exhausted before we came back. I didn't like it.  Plus, this time, I have made sure I tried to walk as much as I could to build a little stamina. 

I look forward to rechecking back in with you all after we return and hopefully share a few pictures of me with my new short hair cut. 

I'm sure I will go through some sort of withdrawal when I can't write daily but then again, a little break should do me good so I can refocus my efforts. 

Hope to see you then.