It was really great, but I feel like I could sleep for a week! The trip down was great and we were able to break up the drive by staying with family members for 2 nights about midway between here and New Orleans.
We arrived to the hotel late Wed afternoon and then went out and wandered New Orleans a bit. I had forgotten what a crazy constant party town it is! I am not really a big drinker any more. To be honest I have always been a bit of a lightweight and these days I just do not enjoy it as much as in my younger days. I much prefer to have one, maybe two drinks to relax and STILL remember how much fun I had the next day. Ha! Brett naturally booked us a suite that looked right over Bourbon Street and while it can be really fun to people watch … the noise all night long got a little bit tiring, :-/ They seriously went until 3am or later every night!
Anyway, I managed to attend a bunch of Industry only classes on Thursday and it was great spending time with other Pro Dommes and hearing their perspectives and experiences, especially regarding how much things have changed and how they have been dealing with it all for the last 2 years. I got to meet or take classes with some amazing presenters, some of whom are legends in the scene! Mistress Precious, Mistress Cyan, Simone Justice, Becca Cleary & Mastress Leigh Oshiro, Mistress Mia Darque, BallerinaGoddess Mz Emily, Master Ezra, and Lady J and her slave Male. All brilliant and talented people!
That evening there was a “red carpet” social prior to Opening Ceremonies. I got a couple of pics taken but to be truthful I didn’t really focus on getting a lot of pics on this trip. The event required every person that attended to be fully vaccinated AND they also required us all the wear masks in all public areas of the event which I know if smart but to be honest – I am definitely feeling a bit mask fatigued at this point in the pandemic and don’t think they make for great pics but here is a smattering of pics from the trip.
Anyway – one sad note for me was learning that we lost 3 dominant ladies from our community in the last year. Tragically two of them took their own lives and, they did not know any details about Vendela Zane who also passed. I met Vendela years ago at the DC Sub Club and thought she was pretty “rad”. <smile> Unfortunately. I didn’t get to know her well but I know that she was a huge animal lover and ran a pet food pantry. She loved whips, so she was definitely okay in my book! In fact, her website www.whipgirl.com is still up so please feel free to check it out.
To pay tribute to these ladies, Simone Justice and Domcon sponsored a “second line parade” with the Jaywalkers on Saturday evening. Simone hired the band, arranged city permits and even got us a police escort! They also had posters printed of the ladies we lost this year and I volunteered to carry Vendela’s image in the parade in tribute to her memory and celebrate her life. May they all rest peacefully and be remembered fondly. I don’t know how many people total came from the event but it was a really great turn out and a whole lot of fun! We marched about a half mile and although there were loads of camera’s going I have not seen many photos or videos get posted yet. Here’s one that was posted on Twitter of the end of the parade. Domcon 2nd Line Parade
But I’m getting ahead of myself, Friday morning I went for my usual 3K interval run in spite of a fairly sleepless night due to noisy revelers and then hit classes all day long. By the time the evening rolled around, my Brett and I went out to eat and I made the mistake of having a cocktail with dinner. We made it back to the room and I almost instantly fell fast asleep. That is until a 2 am fire alarm woke the entire hotel up!! Not my favorite part!
Went for another run Saturday morning and once again hit a bunch of classes. I have always enjoyed going to classes, even ones on topics I know well because I always like hearing other presenters share their knowledge and you never know what delightful pearls of wisdom you will pick up.
Saturday night after the fun we had at the parade, my sweetheart and I did finally hit the dungeon for a bit. It was a fairly small space and it had great energy in spite of the Covid rules and restrictions. My Brett and I had a bit of fun with some floggers and my single tail and that was really nice. He and I definitely do not play often enough but it seems like life gets in the way so often! Later that evening I got to do a bit of a hit and run scene on one of Ms Viola Voltairine’s fan boys, a really sweet guy named James. I don’t think he had a lot of in person play experience so we did a bit of a pick up play quick negotiation and a fairly short but very enjoyable scene that started on a cross and ended up on the floor in a hog tie. He seemed to really enjoy himself and I truly love making people happy so it was a lovely win win for both of us. 😊
Speaking of Viola… one of the highlights of the weekend for me was getting to meet Ms Viola Voltairine and Ms. Renee Lane and their submissives Robbie and Butler. Renee is the author of the book “Finding Love through Female Domination” and Viola is a director that is in the process of raising the funds to turn it into a movie! As I mentioned in a previous post, Brett in an investor and has been excitedly involved in helping them in lots of little ways like advertising, website work, as well as setting up and minding the vending booth for them at Domcon etc. Here is a clip from the video that is taken from an event in Renee and Butlers real lives.
One of the other most interesting parts of the weekend for me was meeting Master Joshua and Miss Cat who have formed a group called the Kink Collective, who believe in “People before Kink”. I attended several classes with the 2 of them and enjoyed their philosophy on kink very much and would like to dive deeper into understanding what really drives my clients to explore BDSM and how they want to feel and put less focus on the activities. Joshua has offered to share his intake process with me and says that he feels it helps him and his clients get a deeper understanding of what they are seeking. I also hope to be able to head to the city for some of their events in the near future. I’ll keep you posted for sure!
Oh and no trip to New Orleans could possibly not include a rave review of the FOOD! I absolutely loved every meal I had there! We lunched at a few different places but we had dinner 3 nights in a row at the Red Fish Grill! While I tried a different set of appetizers and entrée every night, Brett had the exact same dinner each of the three evenings and loved it every time. (Coffee rubbed Filet Mignon and a dozen oysters in case you were curious) I also of course made sure that he got to experience hot fresh beignets and he being the sugar lover that he is, was definitely a fan. 😊
The ride home from New Orleans was a bit brutal however. Nearly 24 hours straight and sadly I am not good at sleeping in moving vehicles so of that ride I was probably able to get an hour’s sleep at close to the end of it. So although it was really great and a lot of fun. I was so happy to finally get home to my kitties and Toni the turtle and sleep in my own comfy warm, relatively quiet bed. (lol) I am now unpacked, settled in and ready to have some fun with all of you. Drop me an email and let’s get together soon.
