2021 Palm Springs Weekend

[youngboldone]

I had a wonderful time meeting many great people at the dinner on Saturday and the pool party on Sunday! I have been sad all day that this fabulous vacation is over, but all good things must end as they say, so it's back to reality tomorrow. Thanks again to Oliver for organizing, for the hospitality, and to Epigonos for the delicious array of food and most particularly, those delectable deviled eggs!! Is the weekend always held the second weekend of April? Was wondering on what the 2022 dates will be and forgot to ask before we left. Wanting to get a room booked now for next year.

[+ keroscenefire]

I'm off to have look at the Salton Sea.

 

 

Apparently it has had a storied past . . .

 

 

. . . though its best days are behind it.

 

 

I can definitely relate to this. ?

 

If anyone feels like coming along, please send a PM. Planning to leave in an hour or so.

Those pics look interesting. I'll have to check it out next time.

[Lookin]

Those pics look interesting. I'll have to check it out next time.

 

Even though it's 223 feet below sea level, the Salton Sea high point for me was Bombay Beach. It's a fifteen mile drive from the visitor center along Grapefruit Boulevard (honestly!). It was once a gathering place for the young and the beautiful, then a haven for older and less affluent folks who are now being joined by a few artists and hipsters. It's gone from chic to derelict and perhaps - slowly - back to chic. I definitely felt an affinity.

 

 

(Sorry for the highjack. The Canyon Club kindly gave me a free night and I had to find something to while away the extra hours. Hopefully this will provide a brief interlude while others decide how much of the good stuff they're going to share. ?)

[+ purplekow]

I can’t speak about debauchery but I had a great time yesterday. It was a pleasure meeting and talking to some of you.

Hmmm does that mean that it was not a pleasure meeting and speaking to others? Or more likely, or at least more politely, that you only had to opportunity to speak with and meet some of the people.

[Caliboy95]

Hmmm does that mean that it was not a pleasure meeting and speaking to others? Or more likely, or at least more politely, that you only had to opportunity to speak with and meet some of the people.

My apologies. I didn’t mean to come across as being rude. I wasn’t able to introduce myself to every person at the event, yesterday. Not because I didn’t want to meet them but more that I didn’t get the chance to speak/meet them personally.

[+ purplekow]

My apologies. I didn’t mean to come across as being rude. I wasn’t able to introduce myself to every person at the event, yesterday. Not because I didn’t want to meet them but more that I didn’t get the chance to speak/meet them personally.

I did not think you intended to mean what you said in that particular sentence, but I could not resist a bit of tweak. Glad you had a good time and I hope to be part of the some you enjoy meeting next year.

[kingsley88]

Just got home here in NYC after flying the redeye JetBlue flight PSP-JFK. Lucky for me there were only 37 people on the flight so I had my own row and slept the entire way.

I, too, had a great time at the events I attended (Sat eve dinner and Sun afternoon pool party.) Many thanks to Oliver for hosting the Sunday pool party and to Epigonos for catering/cooking! The deviled eggs were pretty good but my favorite was the bacon wrapped dates!!! I really enjoyed meeting everyone I had the opportunity to talk to and given it was my first time in Palm Springs, everyone I met were friendly and welcoming. Thank you. I learned so much from talking to @jawjateck , @Epigonos , @IronMaus , @asianmusclebttm , @Oliver , @David-SF , @keroscenefire , and many others about our hobby, Palm Springs, and of course, the late Guy Fawkes.

BTW, I managed to rent a car from Hertz and glad it didn't run out of rentals (my flight arrived at 9pm so I was a tad bit worried Hertz might run out of cars... even for those who had reservations.) In terms of sightseeing, I only went to the Botanical Gardens and am ok with that.

I hope more East Coasters will come in the future but I also understand more people from the east coast tend to go to the DC event.

[SlimJim]

What a great weekend! Thanks for the Friday gathering, David, and thanks to Oliver for hosting the Sunday pool party. Epigonos' hors' d'oeuvres were terrific. This newbie had a great time meeting so many people and I look forward to coming back again!

[+ BobPS]

What a great weekend! Thanks for the Friday gathering, David, and thanks to Oliver for hosting the Sunday pool party. Epigonos' hors' d'oeuvres were terrific. This newbie had a great time meeting so many people and I look forward to coming back again!

Ditto! I had a great time at all the events. I enjoyed meeting and chatting with everyone. Thanks to all but especially Oliver, David and Epigonos.

Edited April 13, 2021 by Cooper

[CuriousByNature]

Just confirmed my flight and hotel for this weekend! Can't wait to meet everyone... oh, wait. Looks like I'm a week late...lol. But seriously, I'm glad a good time was had by the sounds of it Travel is still out for me - probably won't get my first vaccination for another two months, and then my second around September. ?

[+ purplekow]

The DC weekend has traditionally been held on Martin Luther Kind Weekend in January to coincide with the MAL leather event in DC. Last year, it never was arranged. The DC get together has had several organizers over the years and unfortunately no one has come forward to organize this even on a yearly basis. That weekend usually consisted of a general get together at the MAL Host Hotel to meet and greet and ogle the boys strutting their leather adorned bodies. That was on Friday night. Saturday afternoon usually was free but with many of the men getting together at a Gay Sports Bar and sharing drinks and high calorie, high fat, fried and generally unhealthy food. That part was a favorite of mine. Saturday night there was a dinner and many of the men went to a local strip bar afterwards. The main event was a Sunday afternoon brunch at Annie's, a well known local restaurant where Sunday Brunch is a well attended event.

As this is January in DC, there is not much flesh to be seen out in the city but the strip bar and the leather event supply plenty of eye candy and MAL has been known to get rather wild. MAL usually takes over an entire hotel, (Hilton I believe) with about 500 to 1000 attendees staying at the host hotel. Doors are usually left open to welcome visitors. There is a ramp which looks out over many room windows. Those rooms usually have drapes open and debaucherie on view.

Hopefully, one of the local DC guys will consider restarting this event. It was great fun. Though the weather outside was frightful but inside it was delightful and as long as they are on show, let em blow let em blow let em blow.

Edited April 14, 2021 by purplekow

[mike carey]

I am interested in learning more about the DC event - or are there others too?

I live in Provincetow. I loved attending this past weekend in PS, and would be delighted to attend another similar type gathering in DC.

The DC event is different. For a start it's January in DC so the pool party takes on a whole different ambience. (Spoiler: there is no pool party.) The forum event there is essentially a brunch in the Du Pont Circle area. It is timed to coincide with MAL and many of the forum members attend some MAL events. In addition to the brunch, there is usually a contingent who would meet at a strip club, and some meet informally. The last time I attended, in 2019, about a dozen of us went to a bar on (IIRC) P street for a couple of hours after the brunch. Another significant difference is that for the Palm Springs weekend, most people stay in two or three resorts, so there's a degree of collegiality lacking in DC where people are scattered between numerous hotels across the District. (There was extensive discussion about both the 2016 and 2019 events in these pages, both about the preparations for them and the post-match reports, that would give you a good idea about what happened.)

 

That said, I have enjoyed both my DC trips (even in a perverse way enjoying the three days I was snowed in in 2016). As you would expect I made each of them pretexts for longer vacations in the NE.

Edited April 14, 2021 by mike carey

[+ Pensant]

I am interested in learning more about the DC event - or are there others too?

I live in Provincetow. I loved attending this past weekend in PS, and would be delighted to attend another similar type gathering in DC.

 

Regards

Peter

There’s an informative thread on the DC Meetup

https://m4m-forum.org/threads/dc-forum-meetup-2022.163769/

[youngboldone]

Is the Palm Springs event always held the second weekend in April? Or is it different each year?

[Epigonos]

I'm going to make an uneducated prediction here. If Oliver decides to host the Palm Springs Weekend again next year I would guess that it would be the weekend of April 9th and 10th. The Weekend would never be planned to coincide with Easter Sunday which in 2022 is April 17h thus that weekend is out. Oliver always departs Palm Springs for the drive home to the Midwest on May 1st and needs time to pack and prepare so it would NOT be held after Easter. Weather also plays a factor so I wouldn't expect to have it held in either February or March -- those months have frequent spells of cool weather not particularly conducive to pool events.

Please keep in mind that I'm guessing here and NOT speaking for Oliver.

[Lookin]

The Weekend would never be planned to coincide with Easter Sunday which in 2022 is April 17h thus that weekend is out.

 

Oliver always departs Palm Springs for the drive home to the Midwest on May 1st and needs time to pack and prepare so it would NOT be held after Easter.

 

Weather also plays a factor so I wouldn't expect to have it held in either February or March -- those months have frequent spells of cool weather not particularly conducive to pool events.

 

 

If Oliver decides to host the Palm Springs Weekend again next year I would guess that it would be the weekend of April 9th and 10th.

 

I could swear I had this exact question sixty years ago on an SAT test.

 

[+ Robster]

I'm going to make an uneducated prediction here. If Oliver decides to host the Palm Springs Weekend again next year I would guess that it would be the weekend of April 9th and 10th. The Weekend would never be planned to coincide with Easter Sunday which in 2022 is April 17h thus that weekend is out. Oliver always departs Palm Springs for the drive home to the Midwest on May 1st and needs time to pack and prepare so it would NOT be held after Easter. Weather also plays a factor so I wouldn't expect to have it held in either February or March -- those months have frequent spells of cool weather not particularly conducive to pool events.

Please keep in mind that I'm guessing here and NOT speaking for Oliver.

That sounds like a very educated prediction to me! What you said makes perfect sense, and I'll bet you're right. But I'm not speaking for Oliver either!

 

Rob

[+ Oliver]

Is anyone missing a navy blue Speedo???

[DruJac]

The DC weekend has traditionally been held on Martin Luther Kind Weekend in January to coincide with the MAL leather event in DC. Last year, it never was arranged. The DC get together has had several organizers over the years and unfortunately no one has come forward to organize this even on a yearly basis. That weekend usually consisted of a general get together at the MAL Host Hotel to meet and greet and ogle the boys strutting their leather adorned bodies. That was on Friday night. Saturday afternoon usually was free but with many of the men getting together at a Gay Sports Bar and sharing drinks and high calorie, high fat, fried and generally unhealthy food. That part was a favorite of mine. Saturday night there was a dinner and many of the men went to a local strip bar afterwards. The main event was a Sunday afternoon brunch at Annie's, a well known local restaurant where Sunday Brunch is a well attended event.

As this is January in DC, there is not much flesh to be seen out in the city but the strip bar and the leather event supply plenty of eye candy and MAL has been known to get rather wild. MAL usually takes over an entire hotel, (Hilton I believe) with about 500 to 1000 attendees staying at the host hotel. Doors are usually left open to welcome visitors. There is a ramp which looks out over many room windows. Those rooms usually have drapes open and debaucherie on view.

Hopefully, one of the local DC guys will consider restarting this event. It was great fun. Though the weather outside was frightful but inside it was delightful and as long as they are on show, let em blow let em blow let em blow.

Sounds interesting...I haven’t attended the DC weekend but I have attended MAL weekend. Both times I returned to NY with the sniffles for walking around half-naked in the January cold.

[+ Charlie]

The first Palm Springs Weekend actually was held in February, but it was a high-toned event of intellectual conversations, with no nude frolicking around a pool. Then Oliver got involved.....and suddenly more people wanted to attend.

[+ WilliamM]

Is anyone missing a navy blue Speedo???

@MikeBiDude might have, but he wasn't able to attend. Nice guy, the best!

[+ purplekow]

My guess is the Navy Blue speedo belongs to Robster. First, I have seen him in a navy blue speedo in the past. More importantly I have seen him dropout of that nevy blue speedo at each PS event I have attended. And most especially, Robster has not sense of difference of being naked and being dressed when he attends these events so he is very likely to have left the pool party either naked or commando.

Call me inspector Clueless or Matcock.

[+ Robster]

Nope, it's not mine. I've never worn a navy blue speedo, and I always try to wear something different at each year's pool party. Briefly. ?

 

Rob

[+ purplekow]

Nope, it's not mine. I've never worn a navy blue speedo, and I always try to wear something different at each year's pool party. Briefly. ?

 

Rob

So whose navy blue speedo did I wear on my head? You are right, could have been anyone's.

Edited April 14, 2021 by purplekow

[DamianQuantas]

Back to Chicago, I am glad that I made it to Palm Springs last weekend and got to enjoy some time with this amazing group of guys. It was my first time in there and I know for sure that I’ll have many more future visits. Thank you Oliver for hosting a lovely pool party.