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bigmacbear) wrote2026-03-13 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2026-03-13 11:59 pm
Texas Bear Round-up 30, Day 2 of 4
FRIDAY
When my alarm went off, I got up to use the bathroom and went back to sleep, setting a second alarm for 8:30. Gary was surfing the net the whole time and got up to prepare for the day when the latter alarm sounded, leaving me a few more minutes to rest if not sleep. We went to breakfast at the hotel restaurant around 9:30. We saw Happy and John while we ate, and when we finished, we had a brief chat with Marc while his boy was at the buffet. We sat in the atrium outside the restaurant for a while, taking pictures of the glass elevators, surfing the net and people watching. About 10:30 we descended the escalator to the main lobby and sat on the outdoor patio by Reunion Tower. Gary decided he needed his sunglasses (thoughtfully provided in the run bag), and on the way back to the room to retrieve them, I suggested he go back and I'd meet him in the lobby, while I grabbed a photo of a sign for the Geo-Deck and made a joke about geoduck for my Facebook.
I found a seat on the lobby fountain behind the elevator bank and was pleasantly surprised to find it was also the meeting point for our Tacos and Margaritas excursion less than an hour thence. While we were sitting there, Chuck from KC stopped by and we had a nice chat, William from Indiana and his friend Brad from Iowa came over for the excursion, and G-Bear (Mr. TBRU 2023) greeted a friend and I said hi and introduced him to Gary. A big ginger bear who went by Tedd-E Bear was our group leader. We boarded the motorcoach, and my local buddy Oren with the long braided chin beard sat behind Gary. We went to two different restaurants, sitting with William and Brad at each.
At the first, Ocho, we were served chips and fine guacamole with our margaritas, followed by beef and chicken street tacos served with a spicy salsa. William bought a second round of margaritas for the table (except for Gary, who nursed what we learned was his first margarita ever). We shopped at the adjacent Yu Yu store and picked up small fridge magnets of Frida Kahlo and a skull mask.
The second restaurant, Maskaras, featured Lucha Libre (wrestling) outfits and action figures. We were served a large, stronger margarita with chips and queso. The next course, a birria taco about double the size of the previous street tacos, was mistakenly not served to our table until after the dessert of deep-fried Oreo cookies. The tacos were worth the wait, though.
When we finished eating, Gary decided to skip the ice cream at Baskin Robbins, and I had a cup with a scoop of banana dulce de leche and one of Jamocha coffee ice cream. I sat with Oren while we ate. William and Brad were just finishing their ice cream and chatting. Our official tour guide shared that she was a bit apprehensive about conducting a tour for the Dallas Bears, thinking it was a sports team, and wishing she'd been told up front we're *those* kind of bears since she'd bartended at gay bars before. I shared the story of the lady at Evergreen State Fair who inquired about our bear club T-shirts (You've heard of the Elks and the Moose, we're the Bears...).
I returned to the group waiting to board the bus, and introduced myself and then Gary to a cute cub from Nova Scotia named David who I'd spotted earlier while we were boarding the bus. For the last leg of the trip, I sat by the window for a change.
When we arrived at the hotel, we returned to the room about 3:30 to find the housekeeping staff hadn't figured out how to close the malfunctioning door without the room key trick we'd been using. Fortunately, nothing was missing. We napped; I set an alarm for 5:30 and Gary for 6:20. While Gary slept, I caught up with my journal. When I was done, I went back to sleep until about quarter to eight.
We got dressed up for the hospitality suite and had dinner at the Italian restaurant next to Centennial where we had breakfast. I had chicken Parmesan, Gary had a small order of cacio e pepe, and we both had tiramisu (🎶 like the desserts miss the rain... 🎶). After dinner we reported the broken door latch to the front desk, then explored the pool and fitness center on the third floor before making our way to the hospitality suite.
Gary pointed out Benny the Pooh behind the bar. We sat at the back corner with a trio of locals, Ken, Bryce, and Tim. We saw Happy and John a few times throughout the evening, and caught up with Chuck and Robert. I had a brief chat with Mario (Pup Naranja) outside the party room on the way to the restroom, and also chatted with Marc (who relayed greetings from Sora), Bourbon, and Trey. Around quarter to midnight we were fading fast. Gary was more awake, so we agreed to wait 15 minutes which would put us just after midnight. We stayed a few minutes after that, and on the way out, I got to introduce Mario to Gary. We returned to the room, sharing an elevator with a bear in a chair, and were pleasantly surprised to find the door latch had been repaired. I finished my evening rituals, set an alarm for seven, and got to bed around one AM; Gary stayed up surfing the net a bit later.
When my alarm went off, I got up to use the bathroom and went back to sleep, setting a second alarm for 8:30. Gary was surfing the net the whole time and got up to prepare for the day when the latter alarm sounded, leaving me a few more minutes to rest if not sleep. We went to breakfast at the hotel restaurant around 9:30. We saw Happy and John while we ate, and when we finished, we had a brief chat with Marc while his boy was at the buffet. We sat in the atrium outside the restaurant for a while, taking pictures of the glass elevators, surfing the net and people watching. About 10:30 we descended the escalator to the main lobby and sat on the outdoor patio by Reunion Tower. Gary decided he needed his sunglasses (thoughtfully provided in the run bag), and on the way back to the room to retrieve them, I suggested he go back and I'd meet him in the lobby, while I grabbed a photo of a sign for the Geo-Deck and made a joke about geoduck for my Facebook.
I found a seat on the lobby fountain behind the elevator bank and was pleasantly surprised to find it was also the meeting point for our Tacos and Margaritas excursion less than an hour thence. While we were sitting there, Chuck from KC stopped by and we had a nice chat, William from Indiana and his friend Brad from Iowa came over for the excursion, and G-Bear (Mr. TBRU 2023) greeted a friend and I said hi and introduced him to Gary. A big ginger bear who went by Tedd-E Bear was our group leader. We boarded the motorcoach, and my local buddy Oren with the long braided chin beard sat behind Gary. We went to two different restaurants, sitting with William and Brad at each.
At the first, Ocho, we were served chips and fine guacamole with our margaritas, followed by beef and chicken street tacos served with a spicy salsa. William bought a second round of margaritas for the table (except for Gary, who nursed what we learned was his first margarita ever). We shopped at the adjacent Yu Yu store and picked up small fridge magnets of Frida Kahlo and a skull mask.
The second restaurant, Maskaras, featured Lucha Libre (wrestling) outfits and action figures. We were served a large, stronger margarita with chips and queso. The next course, a birria taco about double the size of the previous street tacos, was mistakenly not served to our table until after the dessert of deep-fried Oreo cookies. The tacos were worth the wait, though.
When we finished eating, Gary decided to skip the ice cream at Baskin Robbins, and I had a cup with a scoop of banana dulce de leche and one of Jamocha coffee ice cream. I sat with Oren while we ate. William and Brad were just finishing their ice cream and chatting. Our official tour guide shared that she was a bit apprehensive about conducting a tour for the Dallas Bears, thinking it was a sports team, and wishing she'd been told up front we're *those* kind of bears since she'd bartended at gay bars before. I shared the story of the lady at Evergreen State Fair who inquired about our bear club T-shirts (You've heard of the Elks and the Moose, we're the Bears...).
I returned to the group waiting to board the bus, and introduced myself and then Gary to a cute cub from Nova Scotia named David who I'd spotted earlier while we were boarding the bus. For the last leg of the trip, I sat by the window for a change.
When we arrived at the hotel, we returned to the room about 3:30 to find the housekeeping staff hadn't figured out how to close the malfunctioning door without the room key trick we'd been using. Fortunately, nothing was missing. We napped; I set an alarm for 5:30 and Gary for 6:20. While Gary slept, I caught up with my journal. When I was done, I went back to sleep until about quarter to eight.
We got dressed up for the hospitality suite and had dinner at the Italian restaurant next to Centennial where we had breakfast. I had chicken Parmesan, Gary had a small order of cacio e pepe, and we both had tiramisu (🎶 like the desserts miss the rain... 🎶). After dinner we reported the broken door latch to the front desk, then explored the pool and fitness center on the third floor before making our way to the hospitality suite.
Gary pointed out Benny the Pooh behind the bar. We sat at the back corner with a trio of locals, Ken, Bryce, and Tim. We saw Happy and John a few times throughout the evening, and caught up with Chuck and Robert. I had a brief chat with Mario (Pup Naranja) outside the party room on the way to the restroom, and also chatted with Marc (who relayed greetings from Sora), Bourbon, and Trey. Around quarter to midnight we were fading fast. Gary was more awake, so we agreed to wait 15 minutes which would put us just after midnight. We stayed a few minutes after that, and on the way out, I got to introduce Mario to Gary. We returned to the room, sharing an elevator with a bear in a chair, and were pleasantly surprised to find the door latch had been repaired. I finished my evening rituals, set an alarm for seven, and got to bed around one AM; Gary stayed up surfing the net a bit later.