SIX DAYS AS KAREN

Early, very early Tuesday morning, Pat and I got dressed. I did my makeup and put on blue jeans, white shirt and a pink jacket vest. Tennis shoes completed the outfit. We left at 5:15 am from Santa Rosa heading south. We stopped in Gilroy for gas. The woman attendant said, "Sir…Ma'am." Oh, oh, am I in trouble. She was busy so she may have made an innocent mistake. Who knows! But it had me concerned.

From there we went to Denny's in Gilroy. Everything went fine. I was called Ma'am. I used the restroom there. I was starting to feel better.

We continued on and stopped in Santa Barbara and walked along the wharf (pier) area. We took pictures and ate fish and chips for lunch at a restaurant there. Also used the restroom again.

Finally arrived at our destination for the first day. We stayed at the West Coast Hotel in Long Beach, near the Queen Mary. We checked in and I walked around the hotel area. We settled in and relaxed.

We got up, dressed. Today I wore khaki pants, green long-sleeved ribbed tee and brown moccasin shoes (loafers). Our first stop for the day was breakfast at, where else, Denny's. Again, just like the day before the first person I come in contact with said Sir then Ma'am. Now I am getting concerned. Oh, well!

Next we took in the Long Beach Aquarium. It was a wonderful display of aquatic life. The exhibits were very well done. The entire experience at the aquarium went very well. I don't believe anyone paid any attention or noticed me.

It wasn't until we went into the guest shop that something happened. I bought a couple of items using my Karen credit card. Well, the clerk decided to ask for identification. I pulled out my driver's license and commented that she would be surprised. I told her I was TS. She quickly looked at it and handed it back to me and said, "Thank you!"

It wasn't a problem. My wife commented she was proud of me for the way I handled it. How else would you?

Near the aquarium is Shoreline Village, a group of specialty shops, which is also part of the convention center complex. They have done a fabulous job in modernizing their city. We liked Long Beach very much. When walking between the aquarium and Shoreline Village I was read a couple of times. I could tell by a couple of people talking and looking. One person on a bike said, "That's a man."

In the afternoon we started out for Anaheim. We stayed at a motel near Disneyland. The accommodations were not what we had expected. We will not return to that motel again. After unpacking I called Lisa (LAL) to see if we could visit with her. She said, "Sure, come on over." I changed my top to a beige knit sweater and wore a print scarf to go see Lisa.

Thinking we didn't want to interrupt any plans she had for dinner we stopped and ate before going over there. That was a mistake. She had called Stephanie to join us and we all were going to go out for dinner. I had to apologize for the misunderstanding.

We stopped at the Hill Street Café in La Canada for dinner before going to Lisa's. Pat and I ordered salads. They were large portions. The food was very good. When we were being seated a little boy at the table across from us said, "Why is that man trying to look like a woman?" His father leaned over and said something to him and nothing more was said. My wife and I were baffled in how he could tell. When we returned I mentioned this to my therapist and she said it also happened to her and it was because of the voice. It may have happened when the waitress was seating us and asked if the table was okay. I may have answered with a male voice not thinking. It is amazing the simple things children pick up with uncluttered minds.

After dinner we went to the store to pick up something to take to Lisa's. I stayed in the car this one time trying to figure out why the little boy was able to tell. Plus the store was really busy. That was the last time I avoided anything.

Finally, we dropped in at Lisa's and she was waiting for us. We had a nice long visit with Lisa and Stephanie. Both Lisa and Stephanie are post-op transsexuals. It was good for us to ask questions. Pat was helped much by these discussions. Lisa offered us something to drink. Pat had decaf coffee and I had what Lisa was drinking; brandy over ice, sipped through a straw. Lisa is very caring and a thoughtful hostess. Stephanie has had an amazing and intriguing career. Pat and I were both fascinated by her stories.

We finally said our goodbye and thanked them for letting us visit. We had to get back to the motel and sleep. Tomorrow was the big test, Disneyland.

The day started easily enough. We had bought bagels the night before so we had them for breakfast with coffee. We dressed for the long day. I wore blue jeans, white tee, and sweatshirt. Of course, tennis shoes completed the outfit. Very simple and something that would fit in with everyone else.

We joined the crowd from the motel at the bus for the ride over to Disneyland. It was no problem. We walked to the window and I paid for the tickets with my credit card. We went into the park and walked down Main Street to a gift shop. Pat bought Mickey Mouse earrings and put them on. She loved them. Then we headed for Tomorrowland.

Our first stop was Star Tours. After the ride Pat had to use the restroom. I waited for her and while waiting I heard a boy say, "sissy boy". I didn't see anybody looking in my direction but I took it as a read. He was with some of his friends. From there we went on several other rides and ate at one of the restaurants. I received no unusual looks. Things were going well considering the number of people I passed while in line at the various rides.

We continued into New Orleans Square and rode the Columbia, a replica of an old sailing ship, and then went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. After that ride I noticed a young man talking to his father. They turned around to look at me. I have no idea what he may have said. Nothing more came of it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking all around the park and enjoying ourselves taking in various amusements. Also we had our picture taken with Mickey. We went to the gift store again on the way out to buy some mugs. All was going well. We stopped in front of the train station at the entrance of the park before leaving to take a picture. While there two men were talking and smiling when they passed us. I took this as another read.

Overall, I thought the day was very successful and a lot of fun. I felt comfortable in the park and didn't feel I was being stared at. Outside of the three probable reads that I am aware of, it was a fairly uneventful day. We got on the bus and returned to our motel, tired and needing rest. We ate cheese and crackers in the room and went to bed.

We got up early and dressed for a day of shopping. I was wearing jeans, shirt and tennis shoes once again. We checked out of the motel and headed east to Garden Grove. We ate at Polly's Bakery & Café near the Mainplace shopping center. We had a nice breakfast; the cinnamon roll provided with the meal was excellent. We then went to Mainplace to do some shopping. The center has Nordstrom's, Macys and Robinson's-May. We first looked in Nordstrom's found nothing we liked or the prices were too high. We walked through the mall to Macys. There I found on a clearance rack a beautiful long olive green jumper with buttons down the entire front. It cost only $18.00. I loved it. Pat then wanted to check out August Max. She found a beautiful black evening dress and a sweater. I had to wait in the store for an awfully long time while she tried various outfits on. The clerk commented to Pat that she (referring to me) has been very patient waiting. I appreciated the comment.

We finally returned to our car and headed north to the Holiday Inn-Burbank. We got our room, changed and drove to the CBS Studios in Studio City. We checked in with the pages and then I had to use the Ladies room. I am glad I did. The taping of Caroline in the City lasted five hours. Tapings usually take between 2 1/2-3 hours. Our particular show is scheduled to air on November 16^th. It was a good experience but I don't plan on doing it again.

On the way back to the hotel we were hungry so we stopped at a Burger King. My tired voice must have given me away. The drive-thru person said, "Sir." When I drove up to the window to pay he looked embarrassed. I didn't have a problem with any of it.

After returning to the hotel I went downstairs and called Lisa to tell her thank you for the hospitality she extended to us the previous Wednesday evening.

I woke up early, well before my wife. I shaved my legs because today I was going to were a skirt for the first time on this trip. I touched up my nails. They had held up very well but the shine was beginning to fade. After getting dressed and putting on makeup we checked out of the hotel and went to Taco Bell and ordered breakfast burritos. This time it went fine. Now for the long drive to Fresno.

Near the end of our drive we stopped at Anderson's Split Pea Soup restaurant. We, of course, had soup and rolls. It hit the spot. Everything was going very well today.

Before checking into a motel in Fresno we stopped and bought a few items at a Rite Aid near where we were to meet Terri Main, a TS involved in Christian ministry. One of the items was bleaching cream for my arms. Pat prefers I don't shave my arms so this is the alternative. I needed to do that because I was wearing a short-sleeve sweater that evening and a short-sleeve dress to church on Sunday.

We located a motel in Fresno, checked in and changed. Finally, I felt I could really look female by wearing a skirt and a red knit sweater. I at least thought I looked really nice.

We drove to Brooks Ranch Restaurant and met Terri. We had a wonderful meal and time chatting with her. Pat and I asked several questions. It was a beneficial time for both of us. Before we left we asked if we could go to her church in the morning. She said it was. We told her we would meet her there.

When I woke up this morning I was very anxious about the prospect of attending church as Karen. I didn't know what to expect. I wore a black dress with a white collar. I thought I looked fabulous. Fortunately, my wife concurred. We met Terri at the church. She introduced us to the associate pastor. We also shook hands with most of the congregation later in the service. I don't believe there were very many who knew about me. It seemed that they couldn't tell either. I felt welcomed and very comfortable there. We said goodbye to Terri and thanked her for meeting with us.

After church we were hungry and went to eat at Fresh Choice. I wandered throughout the restaurant without feeling intimidated. It was nice knowing you looked good and you were not in fear of being read. I realized how much easier it seemed to be in passing when wearing a dress or skirt.

Following lunch we headed for home planning a stop at an outlet mall in San Leandro. During the drive both of us changed our clothes. I changed into a pair of blue plaid shorts, a ribbed tee shirt and tennis shoes. When we arrived at the mall it was cold so I put on a white sweater that belonged to my wife.

At the outlet mall we walked through several stores including Nordstrom's Rack, Talbot's, and Easy Spirit. We found nothing we wanted to buy so we went into Starbucks and bought lattes for the road. We arrived home late in the evening, exhausted but happy!