I managed to get an evening to myself, and called my friend Krys to arrange a "get together". I actually had a reason to be up in the city (San Francisco) that evening, and Krys suggested we go to the Castro district to peruse the curio shops and get something to eat. Although I've lived in the Bay Area for many years,

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I'd never had a reason to visit the famous gay area known to the locals as the Castro. Chances are, if you're going to be safe while out and about en femme, it would be in a predominantly gay area. "Why not", I thought to myself, "It'll be an adventure".

I packed a suitcase with the clothes I wanted to wear - something warm, as it can be chilly even on a summer's evening in the City by the Bay. (What was it Mark Twain once said... "the coldest winter I ever spent, was a summer in San Francisco". And he wasn't far wrong).

I got dressed at Krys's house in record time. The laser treatments on my face, although not yet finished, have dramatically reduced the need for multiple layers of foundation. So applying my makeup is much less painstaking. Once satisfied with our respective appearances, we hoped into my car and off we went. I was driving very cautiously: one; I didn't want to get pulled over for speeding, and two; I did NOT want to risk getting into an accident.

We made it to the Castro district safe and sound, with me driving and Krys navigating. Finding parking was another matter, and we circled like vultures, waiting for any sign of a space opening up. It didn't. Consequently, we ended up in a little back-street, with very poor lighting. I notice that when in the Jenn frame of mind, I start to be much more concerned about dark streets and the possibility that I may be accosted. In drab, the though rarely occurs to me. However, this time the two of us were not bothered by anyone and we headed for the main street, several blocks away.

I was a little nervous. It'd been a while since I was last out in public, and as usual, I was feeling very self-conscious about my height. I only had two inch heels, but it gave me that added boost in height I could have done without. Krys has a natural advantage in that she is about an inch-and-a-half smaller than me anyway. Plus this evening, she had chosen to wear flats. (You can't really tell from the photo above, but I'm squatting, trying to decrease the height difference between us). Thankfully it didn't take long for me to acquire some self confidence, and blend in. Indeed, there were so many outrageous characters on the street, that the last thing any of the tourists were interested in was us... two fairly normal looking females.

Castro Street is lined with quaint shops and restaurants, some of which sell some 'interesting' merchandise.

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Krys was having fun lining me up against one such window and strategically placing my hands against the glass. The result was the photo to the left. Not a very lady-like pose I'll admit, but it was quite funny. Several passers-by saw the humour in it as well, and had a chuckle along with us.

Now, of all the nice restaurants available to us on Castro, Krys was craving Pizza! And, not from some fancy gourmet pizza place either, but from a little "hole in the wall" place she'd been to a number of times before. I enthusiastically went along with the idea, and I have to admit the pizza was excellent. One thing I have had very little experience of is eating with my hands while made up. You have to contend with hair getting into places its not supposed to be (like one's mouth); pizza sauce under your fingernails; and lipstick coming off onto the napkin no matter how hard you try to gently dab at your lips. All in all, its quite a production. We had plenty of opportunity to chat about all kinds of things, though not too loudly as there were a number of other patrons in the restaurant.

Afterwards, we stumbled across this great little shop that had a very wide selection of knick-knacks and interesting artwork, scented soaps, sculptures, and all manner of other products. We spent quite a while in there just browsing around and calling eachother's attention to this or that. It was a great feeling to be out with a friend and feeling totally at home as myself. One of those all too rare occasions when my outward appearance matched my inner perception of myself, and I felt really calm and at peace with the world. Sounds silly really, but that's what it felt like to me.

All too soon it was time to take out purchases and stroll back to the car. We chatted fervently all the way back to Krys' place, and I have to thank Krys for taking me into her confidence to the extent she did. That kind of conversation ( and the subject matter) is much more common amongst women than men, and that made a wonderful conclusion to the evening. I'd love to do it again sometime and next time, perhaps we could eat in a slightly more posh eating establishment.