At The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, Texas. June 18, 2016.

Took another road trip down to see my friend, as I mentioned on my last post. I got out of work half past midnight, and I think it took at least another hour to wind down. After only napping about an hour and a half, I got up, got dressed, and drove down to the DFW area.

The drive wasn’t too bad at first. I had been having car trouble for a while. My water pump was giving me trouble, as well as my a/c. I replaced the water pump last Wednesday, having to take a sick day. I though I fixed my a/c, but alas no. There’s a leak that refuses to be found. I drove the entire six hours without air conditioning, which was one of the reasons I wanted to start early.

I drove with my windows open, which did a number on my wig. Also, I’ve been to self-conscious about the whole bathroom debacle that I limited my water intake so that I wouldn’t have to pee. So, I was in my car the whole time, not taking time to get out and stretch. It was hot, and I think by the time I got to Sherman it became a problem. I started having heart palpitations, and I fought a panic attack the remainder of the way.

By the time I got to my friend Amy’s house, all I wanted was to strip my sweat soaked clothes. I felt hot and constricted, though my friend said I looked nice. I had to walk around a bit, and she had to throw her dogs outside so that I could cool off and have my episode run its course, which it did. I undressed, and we went to Plano and had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. I would have loved to have gone as Stef.

It wasn’t until Saturday that I had a chance to explore a little as Stef. Since her husband was home, and he doesn’t know, I went to another friend’s place to change, and her husband has not issues with transgender people. So I changed, and both Tyler and Amy remarked how jealous they were of me, which I rather enjoyed. Then Amy and I set forth on our adventure

Our original plan was to go to the Dallas Museum of Art, but it was too late. Then we thought about going to the movies. We ended up going to The Shops at Willow Bend, a mall in Plano. We walked a bit, but since I had lost my belt, we decided to leave and head on over to Target so that I could buy one. From there we thought about going to the movies, but Amy had a client coming over to pick up a dog from her dog sitting service, so we decided to head home.

Having no time and no other recourse, I changed in the car, which isn’t an easy feat in metroplex traffic. I wonder what the other drivers thought about that, lol. But I was prepared for such an eventuality, and I had the necessary wipes and towels to take off my make up and nail polish. By the time we got back to the house, Stef was folded neatly in a bag, which made me sad.

I didn’t have a chance to dress again, and I didn’t want to suffer another scorching trip back home on Monday, so that’s all the Stef time I had. I’m hoping to take another trip soon, and stay in a hotel in Dallas. I want to go to the clubs, maybe see the sights, and take more pictures.

I had fun being out in public, though I did catch a few stares from other women. Amy said they were probably jealous of how I looked, and as much as I would love to believe that, I think I stuck out like a sore thumb. I obviously don’t pass, but I’m also crazily self-conscious. I did my best to enjoy myself and not let my own doubts bring me down.