Upcoming Family Cruise

In the past I have blogged about the travels my husband and I have enjoyed both on cruises and trips to various parts of Europe, often from an LGBT travel perspective. Now, we are embarking on a new travel experience: we are taking my two daughters, their husbands and the five grandchildren - ranging in age from 3 and a half to 10 - on a family cruise.  We sail out of Norfolk on Monday to The Bahamas for six nights aboard the Carnival Sunrise.  Our wonderful friend Jenny will be staying at our home and house sitting and dog sitting our Chihuahua. 

Between now and then, I will be working through much of the weekend getting things ready for a large commercial closing while I am away.  As has been the norm, I will blog about our experiences and reflections on this new episode of family travel.  The take away for the vacation and cruise industry is that the pink dollar also includes family travel. 

Bermuda 2019 - Day 1

We traveled to Bermuda for the wedding of a young woman the husband has known since she was a child.  Amazingly, our flights on American Airlines were on time - the first leg we even arrived early.  There are a small number of folks from Hampton/Newport News - most of the guests are from Boston - so we will have our own group within the larger group. We are staying at a lovely B&B not far from the wedding venue at the Coral Beach Club.  Attire for the wedding for men will be "Bermuda formal": tuxedos except with Bermuda shorts (yes, I will post photos). The welcome dinner Friday evening will be at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

After settling in and having our first cocktail, we joined friends from Newport News for dinner at the Ocean Club at the Fairmont Southampton - shown in the photo above - one of the grander hotels on the island. Today, we plan on lunch at The Reefs - a fabulous hotel once owned by dear friends, the husband of the couple having passed away recently. The afternoon will likely involve a ferry ride into Hamilton and some shopping since I managed to leave part of my outfit for Friday evening at home. I will also try to get some beach or pool time in - the B&B has a gorgeous pool.

Blogging, it goes without saying, will be reduced during this trip.  A friend is staying at our home house/dog sitting while we are away.

New York City Weekend - Day 2

We had a great time yesterday afternoon and evening with the high point being seeing Hello Dolly with Bette Midler.   We had dinner in the theater district before the show and came across an interesting looking restaurant for dinner tonight.  After the show last night I had a chance to talk briefly with Gavin Creel - one of the cast members - as a collection for Broadway Cares (Creel is on the board of trustees) was taken up. We finished the evening with drinks at the Monster Bar located 1/2 block up the street from where we are staying. 

Today's agenda includes shopping, including some consignment shops where we have found great cowboy boots - we like them in the winter months - vintage formal wear and accessories.  This afternoon we are meeting the daughter of one of the husband's clients who lives here in NYC and works in the fashion industry.  Then it will be dinner followed by a gay themed off Broadway show.  Odds are we will end the day at the Monster Bar where there will likely be creative Halloween costumes based on what we saw last night (a guy in full Maleficent regalia was over the top).

New York City Weekend - Day 1

Looking forward to a fun weekend in NYC, starting with Hello Dolly tonight with the divine Bette Midler.   Once again, we are staying at a friend's apartment at 30 Christopher Street in the West Village.  Posting frequency may be down as we see friends, family that live here in NYC, and some of our favorite haunts.   On the home front, the Ralph Northam staffer that we have been housing since July 4th  weekend will watch after the house and the two Chihuahuas who have become very attached to him.  The photos are of the view flying in earlier today! 

London 2017 - Day 4

The husband at the Tower of London

After the utterly horrid rainy weather on Wednesday, yesterday was warmer and mostly sunny.  As a result, the husband and I were up and out the door early  to see sights that we had put off due to the rain.  We started the day by visiting the Tower of London,. with a highlight being the Crown Jewels exhibit which has totally been redone and greatly expanded from what it was 35 years ago, the last time I had seen it.  We then proceeded to the Churchill War Rooms back at Whitehall from which Churchill and his war cabinet directed the war effort from underground offices, sleeping accommodations - the works.  The site also has an amazing museum on Churchill himself.  We had lunch at the nearby Westminster Arms Pub situated in a 1913 vintage building.  The food was good and the waitstaff very cute. 

The highlight of the day came when we toured the state rooms at Buckingham Palace.   Highclere Castle was very nice (I'd live there in a heartbeat), but Buckingham Palace is in a league of its own.  Like the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace underscores that Britain was once the world's dominant superpower with all the wealth that entailed.  The Palace's "gardens" that one never sees in photos are likewise gorgeous.  What was striking was how many public functions are held at the Palace and the number of non-tourists visit it each year.

We then rushed back to the hotel and headed to the home of one of the husband's friends and sometimes client who is originally from Newport News, Virginia.  After cocktails we dined at Bradley's and had an amazing meal.  On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Compton's of Soho for a drink and then another one at the Admiral Duncan where we met a very nice young man with whom we had a great conversation.  As always., the issue of Donald Trump came up and the man is universally hated (one shop we walked past was selling tee shirts with Trump as Hitler on the front side).

The husband walking up to our friend's home

Based on our busy day, no posts were published yesterday! 

London 2017 - Day 3

Big Ben in the distance at center

It would be hard to describe the weather as anything other than wretched with heavy rain all day. Thankfully, tomorrow is supposed to clear and be mostly sunny.  As for today, only indoor activities were in order and when traversing the city, maximum use of the Underground was a must (we purchased 6 day unlimited passes).  Despite the rain, we did some shopping and I found two spot coats for work that had sleeves that were the correct length "off the rack" - something that never happens in American stores. 

The other main attractions visited were Westminster Abbey and the National Portrait Gallery - where the photo above was taken from the cafe.  We had hoped to see the Churchill War Offices, but the prospect of standing in line in the blowing rain ended that effort.

Several things I have noticed about London: no litter, few overweight people other than tourists, and many, many handsome men.  All contrasts from Hampton Roads, Virginia.

London 2017 - Day 2

Yours truly

Today was a wonderful but long and busy day.  The highlight was our visit to Highclere Castle located about an hour and a half west southwest of London (even though the show, Downton Abbey place the estate in Yorkshire to the north of London).  The estate is spectacular and the grounds are amazing.  Due to the early hour involved in heading to the estate, not posts were feasible after I had dealt with my usual office emails and preparing a few document.  Once we got off the tour coach, we visited Harrod's - which is amazingly opulent, albeit very expensive. 

We then took the underground back to the Soho area.  After a visit to Compton's of Soho for a cocktail, we ended up at a wonderful restaurant called The Ivy of Soho.

One thing that has been noticeable is the extreme dislike of Donald Trump literally everywhere we go.  We constantly have to stress to Brits as well as other Europeans we have met that we did NOT vote for him and that we find the man to be just as foul as they view him.  Indeed, perhaps even more negatively than the non-Americans do. Polls have shown that the good opinion of the United States has plummeted since November 8, 2016, and the drive factor is Donald Trump.   Believe me, the polls are 100% accurate.  Those planning to travel abroad had best get ready for statements that "you people elected him"

The husband

London 2017 - Day 1

Yesterday was exhausting with the drive to Washington Dulles airport taking over 5 hours due the growing gridlock on I-64 and I-95.  The trip was a reminder of why we rarely visit Washington, DC. Thankfully, our flight on Virgin Atlantic left on time- the service was very good - and we actually arrived early.  The downside of the early arrival was an even lengthier wait to get through passport control.  We took the Heathrow Express into Central London and then made our way to Soho and our hotel on Firth Street.  Our room wasn't ready so we got breakfast and walked a great deal, including going to Saville Row.  The clothing was gorgeous, but the prices were generally astronomical.  I would one pair of dress pants for 75% off and the husband and I both score with a sale on jeans.

The husband is taking an afternoon nap after little sleep on the flight - I will do the same shortly - then we''\ll shower, get dinner and then check out some of the plentiful gay clubs in the neighborhood.   More posting tomorrow morning.

Reduced Posting - London Bound

The husband and I are hitting the road to Washington Dulles shortly to catch our flight to London on Virgin Atlantic.  We booked this trip six moths ago and cannot wait to arrive.  I have not been to London since my in-house counsel days and it will be the husband's first trip to London.  We have our "London Passes," tickets to Buckingham Palace and on Wednesday will spend the day at Highclere Castle  - one of the husband's bucket list items.  As in the past, I will post as our schedule allows and post photos of our travel adventure.  Our Ralph Northam campaign staffer who is living with us through November will be house sitting and taking care of our dogs.  Since he's been with us for a month already, even our high maintenance, six pound Chihuahua, Sassy, has warmed up to him.  We are staying in the theater district and looking forward to all of the clubs and menswear shopping. :)

The Trillion Dollar LGBT Market Niche

A portion of the crowd at PrideFest 2017

When I was fired from a large local law firm after I came out in mid-life - a gay partner it was said would offend the sensibilities of the firm's "conservative" client - I made a concerted effort to market to the sizable LGBT market.  Who better to address the legal concerns of LGBT citizens than a gay attorney who knew about bigotry and discrimination first hand (hence my win as the best attorney in Outwire 757 recent reader's choice awards).  As part of that effort, I was a founder of the local LGBT chamber of commerce, Hampton Roads Business OutReach ("HRBOR") In the years since, both locally and nationally, more and more businesses have discovered that smart business means marketing to the LGBT community and other minority communities, e.g. the Hispanic-American community. Some businesses have suffered the attempted wrath of Christofascists who regularly have called ineffective boycotts against national companies advertising to the LGBT market, but have been undeterred (and typically saw they earnings increase).  A piece in Inside Business underscores why marketing to the LGBT community makes sense.  The explanation is ultimately simple:  LGBT individuals make up a trillion dollar market and have money to spend.  Moreover, they are loyal to those who are LGBT friendly - locally, I can tell you which law firms to avoid if you are LGBT - and engage in word of mouth promotion of merchants and professionals that they respect.  Here are some article excerpts:

Rainbow flags [could] be seen on the streets of Hampton Roads as the region prepare[d] for a series of celebrations for the LGBTQ community, wrapping up a month of gay pride celebrations.

Hampton Roads PrideFest alone expect[ed] 25,000 to 30,000 visitors from across the Mid-Atlantic for Saturday's festival in Norfolk's Town Point Park. Many of these visitors have booked hotels for the weekend and restaurants, stores and other tourism-related businesses expect big business.

The estimated purchasing power of LGBTQ adults in the U.S. ranges around $1 trillion. Witeck Communications released a study last year that showed a four percent increase to $917 billion while the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce estimates buying power at $1.7 trillion.

The Hampton Roads region is no exception. In fact, a 2015 Gallup study ranked the Virginia Beach-Norfolk metropolitan area as 12th out of 50 metropolitan areas with the highest proportion of LGBTQ adults (4.4 percent of our population). Old Dominion University's 2016 State of the Region Report estimated the LGBTQ working-age adult's average income in Hampton Roads totaled $2.017 billion, about 4.8 percent of total income of adults between the ages of 25 and 64.

This large purchasing power isn’t because LGBTQ adults are earning more than their heterosexual counterparts. In fact, studies cited in the State of the Region show gay men and lesbian women earn about five and nine percent less, respectively, than their heterosexual male coworkers.   Rather, this purchasing power comes from large disposable incomes due to the fact LGBTQ households often have two full incomes without any children and related expenses . . .

Much of this disposable income goes toward travel, hence the interest of the tourism industries. Virginia Tourism Corporation data shows LGBTQ visitors stay longer and spend more than their non-LGBTQ counterparts.

The Downtown Norfolk Council emailed local businesses with a list of suggestions on how to make the most of the gay pride festival and potential customers. Suggestions included showing off rainbow clothes, flags, signs, drinks and food along with offering discounts to people who wear rainbow colors in support. The council even offered to distribute rainbow flags and necklaces for free.

Ryan Downey of the Hampton Convention and Visitor Bureau said although there is nothing in Hampton that is exclusively for the LGBTQ consumer, the bureau hosts occasional meeting of local business owners to discuss LGBTQ events and efforts.

Pride events have included a river cruise, in which all proceeds went to ACCESS AIDS, and a historical feature on growing up gay in Hampton Roads called “Our Story, Our Time” presented by the Hampton History Museum.

The Virginia Beach Convention and Visitor's Bureau has produced an in-flight video for American Airlines featuring LGBTQ locals along with photos of LGBTQ couples, to market weddings at the convention center and the city's ViBe district.

The ViBe district boasts the Rainbow Crosswalk at 19th Street and Cypress Avenue. Virginia Beach leadership, all the way up to the mayor, has embraced this intentional, organic symbol by a local artist . . . .

Several organizations aim to help businesses overcome the marketing costs of advertising themselves as a destination for LGBTQ consumers.

The Hampton Roads Business OutReach aims to give local businesses national exposure. Tracy Skinner, the outreach group's president, encourages businesses to become certified as an LGBTQ business enterprise through the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in order to do business with larger corporations like Hilton and American Airlines.

Similarly, the Virginia Tourism Corporation urges business to add a free listing at Virginia.Org, which reaches 13 million annually. It also offers an extensive LGBTQ tourism resource guide. 

LGBTQ acceptance has been on the rise in the last decade since the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." Although many are encouraged by the growing acceptance, tourism industries of competing cities have struggled to “break through the noise.” . . . "It’s not enough to just slap a rainbow flag on something and check the box.”

As the article notes, locally, the LGBT community is over a $2 billion market.  What savvy business owner would not want to pursue that type of market?

Winners of the 2017 Outwire757 "Best of" Awards

Key West 2017 - Day 6

Sunset as we fly to Miami

Yesterday was our sixth and last day in Key West for 2017 - short of winning a lottery.  As with every week day of the trip, I spent a part of the morning on office work.  The balance of the day until our evening flight to Miami and then on to Norfolk was one of bittersweet relaxing, knowing that our time in paradise was drawing to a close.  Our friends from Washington, DC, came by and spent part of the afternoon with us at The Equator and we had a nice conversation with four guys visiting from Darmstadt, Germany who were at the guesthouse.  Before one last happy hour cocktail, we did one positive thing: we made reservations for our 2018 visit to Key West.

Pool side at The Equator

Key West 2017 - Day 5

View of The Equator's bar

Our fifth day in Key West proved relaxing even though I again spent 3.5 to 4 hours on office related work and e-mails.  Better to keep up than face a complete nightmare on my return to the office.    We have been so lucky weather wise with each day being simply gorgeous.  Last night we wandered Duval Street and local shops before dining at Mangoes (pictured below) with our friends visiting from Washington, Dc, who will likely hang out with us at The Equator before we head to the airport>  I would be lying if I said I was glad to be headed back to Virginia!!

Key West 2017 - Day 4

The husband and I continue to enjoy a much needed break in Key West.  Much of day four was a lazy day by the pool reading and interacting with other guests from across the country.  Unlike today, I did not do any legal work, nor did I review and respond to office e-mails.  One of my loves is reading and I got to indulge that love.

La Te Da - outside bar

In the afternoon, we made our annual pilgrimage to tea dance at La Te Da.  We were joined by our former neighbor in Hampton.  As always, we had a great time and I had a chance to indulge in one of my other loves: dancing.  For those visiting Key West who are here on a Sunday, I highly recommend La Te Da's tea dance.

We concluded the day with dinner at 7 Fish and were joined by both our former neighbor and friends from Washington, DC, who used to live in Norfolk.  The food and new location were wonderful.

Key West 2017 - Day 3

Yesterday was a wonderful day here in the paradise known as Key West.  As is our usual practice, we did the historic homes tour (see the image above) in the morning.  That was followed up with lunch at Louie's Backyard overlooking the ocean with one of the husband's clients who winters in Marathon Key - she is a combination of Auntie Mame and the unsinkable Molly Brown - where we enjoyed wonder food and adult beverages before biking back to the Equator Resort. 

Yours truly and the husband

The afternoon was spent by the pool and then dinner at the elegant Marquesa down the street (see image below).  Today, we will relax some more and then rendezvous with friends and a former neighbor for Tea Dance at La Te Da on Duval Street. 

click image to enlarge

Key West 2017 - Day 2

Our second day in Key West (yesterday) was great other than the four (4) hours I put in doing legal work/responding to office e-mails, text messages and phone calls.  The afternoon was spent by the pool at the Equator Resort, followed by cocktail hour pool side.  We had an early dinner at the Roof Top restaurant a few blocks from Mallory Square.  After dinner, we walked to Mallory Square for the ritual of watching the sun set (see photos above) before going to the Waterfront Playhouse to see the bawdy and very funny Avenue Q.

After the play, we braved the St. Patrick's Day madness of Duval Street and made our way the at new club behind Aqua that reportedly is a dance club.  It was a huge disappointment with so-so music and no one dancing.  After a quick drink - which we needed like a hole in the head - the husband and I walked back to the Equator and crashed. Today's wonderful events will be covered in a post tomorrow morning.

I absolutely love Key West and for those who have never visited, I recommend it highly!

Key West 2017 - Day 1

Our flights yesterday were both on time and we actually landed in Key West 15 minutes ahead of schedule.  The weather was great and we enjoyed the afternoon poolside at The Equator.  As usual, the other guests are from all over the USA, plus there is a couple from just outside of Paris, France. Our room is great and the guest house now has a full service bar in addition to its 5:00 pm happy hour.  

The downside, as is the case with all of our vacations, is that I NEVER escape work.  I had to field a dozen client calls and reviewed all office e-mails and dealt with documents until almost 3:00 pm, with half the afternoon shot.  That said, a couple of passion fruit daiquiris made things better. 

We dined at a great restaurant with a gorgeous waiter from Serbia and then window shopped on Duval Street.  The weather this morning is great and at 10:00 am I am finally done with work matters for now. Photos of our escapades will be posted as the trip progresses.

Key West Bound - 2017 Annual Pilgimage

Click image to enlarge

Posting may be reduced today as the husband and I head down to Key West for our annual pilgrimage so to speak.  We will once again be staying at The Equator on Fleming Street in Old Town - just a few blocks from The Island House.  This will be my ninth trip with the husband to one of our favorite get away destinations.  Added is fun comes from the fact that (i) two friends from Hampton will be traveling down to stay at The Equator, (ii) friends from Washington, DC, will be down for part of the time that we are there., (iii) former neighbors live in Key West, and (iv) one of the husband's clients who winters in the Keys will join us on Saturday for our annual lunch at Lattitudes on Sunset Key (pictured above).  

On the home front, a friend from the Hampton Yacht Club will be staying at the house to house sit and care for the two Chihuahuas while we are away.  As always, I will post about our visit to this island paradise. 

Fort Lauderdale - 2017 - Day 1

We arrived safely in Fort Lauderdale yesterday afternoon after flying out of Richmond on a direct flight on Jet Blue (there are no direct flights out of Norfolk, which has less than great air service). We took a brief detour before going to the airport so that the husband could cut the Lt. Governor's hair at his office to keep him looking good as he begins his run for governor. 

We had not seen the home of the friends with whom were are staying since last year when it was under construction.  The finished result is gorgeous. After a "welcome" Cosmo, we had dinner at a great Cuban restaurant, Mario's Catalina Restaurant.  After that we headed to Wilton Manor and bought a few clothes at Mix Men's Wear - I bought a tuxedo jacket that I will wear to the Equality Virginia in event in April - before going to nearby Hinter's for drinks and dancing (my passion).   

This morning we are headed to Sebastian Beach, may do some more shopping this afternoon and then dinner and a play tonight.

Fort Lauderdale Bound

After the holidays and the despondency of the last week, the husband and I are taking a short get away trip to stay with friends from Newport News at their home in the Sunrise area of Fort Lauderdale.  As a result, the posting frequency on this blog may be reduced.  We are packing and have the house sitter/dog sitter lined up to move into the house in the morning as we head to the airport.  As is my custom, I will post about the trip and our experiences - which will include many gay venues - plus, the news, of course.

2016 Caribbean Cruise - Days 5 and 6

Bohio Dive Resort from the water - click image to enlarge

Wednesday and Thursday were hectic days.  On Wednesday we were in Grand Turk and snorkeled and did rum tasting (the latter pretty much wiped me out) and yesterday I spent much of the day dealing with law firm work and finalizing my November column for VEER Magazine.  Both days I simply was worn out and trying to spend some time with the husband and friends also on the cruise. 

Of the islands we visited this trip, Grand Turk most won my heart, particularly since it is not over commercialized.  The international airport and main tourist hotels lies on the island of Providenciales (Provo as locals call it) on the other side of the island chain.   One of our friends arranged our excursion to be a snorkeling outing followed by rum tasting at the Bohio Dive Resort.  I cannot say enough good things about this small 16 room resort with a beautiful beach and a short boat ride from the Grand Turk "wall" where the sea bottom drops in a sheer cliff from relatively shallow to over 7000 feet in depth.  The fish and coral were amazing!

As for the rum tasting - which was after the snorkeling - our hostess did not skimp on the rum!   After trying shots of three local rums we moved on to rum drinks of various sorts.  I would definitely come back to Grand Turk and would want to stay at this resort.  With only 16 rooms, we could put together a group and have our own resort for a week. 

Busy tasting rum!

Boats that ferry scuba divers and snorkeling groups to the "Wall"

Yesterday was a day at sea.  We began the day believing were were bound back to Norfolk only to learn that a passenger had had a medical emergency and that we would be diverting to Nassau and the nearest significant hospital.  We ended up leaving Nassau around 8:00 pm and should learn when we will arrive in Norfolk tomorrow.  I suspect we will not be making our formerly scheduled 8:00 am arrival time. 

Sunset last evening as we headed South towards Nassau

Hopefully today will be less crazy work wise and we can savor our last day at sea before returning to the "real world."