I knocked on their door (Sandblast in Asbury Park & The Maverick Men)

The Friday of Sandblast was the day that it hit 100ºF in NYC. I was aiming for the 5:07 out of Penn Station, but due to complications from the heat, everything was delayed. NJ Transit was being quite vague about how delayed each train was, so I ended up missing 2 trains before leaving around 6.

I had this conversation with Med School Mess.

Did I mention he left Penn Station an hour after I did!

I had to make the best of my situation while I waited for the transfer.

Med School Mess and I arrived just in time to miss dinner at the Empress, so we just went directly to the Berkeley to meet the rest of the boys staying there with us.

Shower. Change. Drinks.

That night was the kickoff party at the Beach and Aqua bars (basically, 2 sides of one wrap-around venue on the beach). Corey Craig, one of my fave NYC DJs, was spinning a surprisingly housey set (perhaps appropriate for the circuit crowd). Double Dutch, whom I hadn't seen in forever, was getting quite touchy-feely with two guys, one of whom backed off after a bit. It all fell apart when I witnessed a not-so-common scene for NYC: the moment when both of them realized that neither was willing to bottom for the other.

And out of nowhere, NYC party promoters Alan Picus and Justin Luke (you know, the guy who wrote Gulliver Travels) showed up! I ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the night. It's always a treat to hear a nightlife person's perspective of someone else's event.

The next morning, the 8 of us that had booked the rooms together tromped downstairs for the hotel's breakfast buffet. I think everyone was still a bit tipsy from the night before because we were loud and giggly as hell! Luckily, it wasn't too crowded.

Med School Mess in the elevator: "You've heard of Irish coffee... Well, this is Polish coffee.”

Me: “Like with vodka?”

MSM (wearing a smug grin as she went to take a sip... and then): “Agh! This tastes like shit!”

Me: “How the hell are you a doctor!”

After my first meal in almost 20 hours (not counting the screwdrivers and that amazing cake-flavored Pinnacle vodka drink Alan had treated me to the night before), the boys got their stuff and headed to the beach. I stayed back for a few to get some work done (I had two jobs this summer, girl!).

This year, Sandblast's Saturday beach party moved to the opposite side of the Pavilion from the gay part of the beach. I was hoping the gays would adjust accordingly, but they all camped out in their usual spot (you couldn't even hear the music from the party).

“Oh my god, y'all! Amy Whinehouse is dead!”

“For real?”

“Yeah, the BBC reported it! And they report shit that CNN misses!”

image of Ari Kiki from Jessica Versace's facebook profile

As I tipped my water bottle to her memory (ever so slightly), I wished aloud that we had some music.

Med School Mess: "My friend has a boom box he's not using. Want me to grab it?"

Turns out some 21 year old MSM had met in Miami this past winter was at the beach and had abandoned his towel to go play in the water after his hung-over friends ditched. MSM trotted across the insanely hot sand to dude's towel (where no one had been sitting for a long while) and grabbed his stereo.

Me: “You totally look like you were stealing that. Sketchball.”

His 21-year-old, TSWB friend joined us and insisted that we do a shot on the beach. It would have been rude to turn him down.

Around 3, some of our boys packed up to hit the Berkeley's pool. I had managed to negotiate a wristband for the Sandblast party, but I hadn't actually been inside yet. I left with them (stopping in the coffee shop in the Pavilion for a cherry smoothy that was even amazing before I added the vodka), dropping off my beach stuff in the room.

Then I saw this on Grindr.

In the time it took me to tweet the screenshot, I'd already gotten a message from them. Turns out they'd seen my tweet, too. 

My first thought was, “D. Kareem, don't you dare! They probably have hidden cameras all over that room.”

5 minutes later, no one answered when I knocked on their door. Just kidding: it was like 2 hours later.

Did I mention that my experience inside the Sandblast Beach Party, our show at Sunday's pool parties and my actually catching up with the Maverick Men in the hotel will have to wait for a subsequent post? Yeah.

You should definitely plan on attending Sandblast Weekend next year. Click here to see my top 10 reasons why.