My first carry.

[trentwhite778]

I got my plastic in yesterday but haven't had a chance to break it in until today. I took my wife, six year old son, and his little friend to the "celebrate Roanoke" festival this afternoon. As soon as we got there we were immediately surrounded by police and hundreds of people so I guess it was a good place to get used to carrying in public. We stopped and watched the Texas legends group perform a skit and mock gun fight which I found a bit ironic. We hung out for a couple of hours and saw everything there was to see. My son and I talked to the local firefighters and they showed him all kinds of stuff on their truck. After we all got home, I went by myself to Walmart to grab a couple if things for my wife. I decided to turn this into my Wally walk so I made sure to spend at least 45 minutes in the store. Took a few deep breaths and realized that almost everyone there would have no idea nor would they even care if I was armed. I decided to just wear a t shirt so that I'd be the most exposed that I'd ever be for the attire that I normally wear. Even though I felt like I was printing like crazy ( like everyone does in their first outing) nobody noticed a thing. I picked up some dog food, some milk, and a couple of movies, and managed to not shoot a single person or myself. :-)
All in all I'd say it was a good first experience.

[Excaliber]

I got my plastic in yesterday but haven't had a chance to break it in until today. I took my wife, six year old son, and his little friend to the "celebrate Roanoke" festival this afternoon. As soon as we got there we were immediately surrounded by police and hundreds of people so I guess it was a good place to get used to carrying in public. We stopped and watched the Texas legends group perform a skit and mock gun fight which I found a bit ironic. We hung out for a couple of hours and saw everything there was to see. My son and I talked to the local firefighters and they showed him all kinds of stuff on their truck. After we all got home, I went by myself to Walmart to grab a couple if things for my wife. I decided to turn this into my Wally walk so I made sure to spend at least 45 minutes in the store. Took a few deep breaths and realized that almost everyone there would have no idea nor would they even care if I was armed. I decided to just wear a t shirt so that I'd be the most exposed that I'd ever be for the attire that I normally wear. Even though I felt like I was printing like crazy ( like everyone does in their first outing) nobody noticed a thing. I picked up some dog food, some milk, and a couple of movies, and managed to not shoot a single person or myself. :-)
All in all I'd say it was a good first experience.

That was a very successful Wally Walk - congratulations!

[RPB]

I got my plastic in yesterday but haven't had a chance to break it in until today. I took my wife, six year old son, and his little friend to the "celebrate Roanoke" festival this afternoon. As soon as we got there we were immediately surrounded by police and hundreds of people so I guess it was a good place to get used to carrying in public. We stopped and watched the Texas legends group perform a skit and mock gun fight which I found a bit ironic. We hung out for a couple of hours and saw everything there was to see. My son and I talked to the local firefighters and they showed him all kinds of stuff on their truck. After we all got home, I went by myself to Walmart to grab a couple if things for my wife. I decided to turn this into my Wally walk so I made sure to spend at least 45 minutes in the store. Took a few deep breaths and realized that almost everyone there would have no idea nor would they even care if I was armed. I decided to just wear a t shirt so that I'd be the most exposed that I'd ever be for the attire that I normally wear. Even though I felt like I was printing like crazy ( like everyone does in their first outing) nobody noticed a thing. I picked up some dog food, some milk, and a couple of movies, and managed to not shoot a single person or myself. :-)
All in all I'd say it was a good first experience.

Every so often the train that goes to Burnet, TX still gets robbed and there are gunfights in front of the saloon close to the Downtown Square ( http://burnetgunfighters.org/About_Us.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) This is close enough that I hear gunshots often enough I don't even "jump" at the sound any more ... but differently desensitized than the Chicagoans who hear gunfire nightly ...

[sepiid]

congrats on your first wally walk. and the printing like crazy worrying, you will get over quickly. nobody notices anyway.

[RoyGBiv]

Congrats.!
Now that you're comfortable, find a reason to carry at the airport. I find that place a particularly interesting carry location.
Picked up WifeGBiv last night. Just stood around and watched football on the TV's above the baggage carousels waiting for her delayed flight. I've had a CHL for over 15 years and the airport still makes me uneasy.

[chasfm11]

Congrats.!
Now that you're comfortable, find a reason to carry at the airport. I find that place a particularly interesting carry location.
Picked up WifeGBiv last night. Just stood around and watched football on the TV's above the baggage carousels waiting for her delayed flight. I've had a CHL for over 15 years and the airport still makes me uneasy.

Given the TSA's propensity for "extending their boundaries", I'd say that your uneasiness at the airport is well founded. They've pretty much proven recently that they cannot even follow their own policies, let alone the laws of the State. Who knows when they might institute a "freeze".

To the OP: Congratulations on your Wally Walk. You are far braver than I was. There is no way that I was going to show up in public in a t-shirt until I was carrying for more than 6 months. I've always worn my shirt tails out and have a number of shirts that hide my "ample" middle so covering a gun, too, was no problem. My Wally-Walk was in the middle of school supply season and the two different Wally Worlds that I went to (I was looking for something the first one didn't have in the office supplies area) gave me more concern about being bumped into than about someone noticing "the bulge." My first time of being very close to an LEO wasn't in Texas so that added a element of concern. I always wonder if LEOs in other States understand reciprocity for CHL as well as I think that I do.