Hot Springs Etiquette

Umpqua Hot Springs

We're on an extended road trip across the country and last week we stopped by a couple of hot springs here in Oregon.  Both were noted on web sites and by the signage there as being "clothing optional".  But it was obvious from the comments on the various web sites that a lot of people don't like the nudity (the "hippy-dippy naked people") they encounter.  We didn't have a lot of time, so we concentrated on just the two most popular public springs where nudity was supposed to be common.

Leading up to the forth of July weekend, we encountered a lot of people but only a few who were nude at Umpqua hot springs.  It was awkward.  The few who were nude tried to stay away from the textiles and their families, reaching for towels and covering parts of themselves up as they entered and left their tubs.  With my not wanting to put on my bathing suit (I reluctantly brought it) and my wife absolutely refusing to wear hers, we waited for an open tub far away enough from others that they wouldn't see us once we were in the somewhat murky water.

That didn't help.  A large clothed family settled into the tub next to us.  They seemed grudgingly OK with us not wearing anything, and I wasn't going to waste my time scurrying for a towel and trying to cover my bits as we moved into another basin.  Grrr...

It wasn't as I had hoped, but the next day we tried the other spring (Cougar Hot Springs).  What a difference.  A woman at the trail head collected our $6 each and asked us straight up if we were aware that the spring is clothing optional.  I smiled and said yes (thank you).  She answered questions, was very pleasant, and was there to watch the cars in the parking lot.  The outfit she works for cleans the springs on Thursday mornings.  Fortunately, it was Friday afternoon.  Unfortunately, it was the Friday going into the forth of July weekend, so there was even more people at that spring.

When we arrived at the spring after a short hike, it was wonderful to see that almost everyone there was nude, happy, and perfectly at ease.  People came, took their clothes off, socialized, and casually moved around no differently than if they were at a nudist resort.  Most of the time we were there the only people who were not completely nude was a few older couples and a couple of guys who were part of a large mixed group of otherwise happily naked young adult friends.  For some reason, those guys decided to keep their shorts on even though the other men and the women with them (who outnumbered the guys) stayed happily nude.

A couple of young (probably only 16 or so) girls came later and joined us.  I assume they grew up as nudists or at least grew up being nude in hot springs.  My wife was concerned about them coming on their own, but to tell you the truth, I felt they were much safer around the people there than around the people at the first spring.  One large older full blooded looking native american was there that my wife thought was a bit creepy around the girls, but I found him to be rather majestic.  There was a German, a Polish, and a Japanese couple there, about our age.  All chatty and fine with everybody being nude.

But most of the people there were young (20's, early 30's) with only a few being loose couples and the others being part of the large group of friends.   All very friendly and social.  We stayed several hours, chatted with just about everyone, and hated to leave.  Just as we left, another large clothed family with young children set up on one of the lower basins.  I felt sorry for the kids.  At least they should have been allowed by their parents to enjoy being nude there.

Are Nudists Born or Made?

I enjoy reading questions and answers on Quora.  I learn about a lot of subjects and I like putting in my two cents on topics that I have some knowledge of.  I do so under the name Rick Orlando, which is, of course, the name I use here.

Yesterday a question came up there that got me thinking:  Are Nudists Born or Made?  If you follow the link, you can read my response.  Meanwhile at about the same time, Nick Alimonos of The Writer's Disease wrote a very interesting article Sex Nudity and Science which I think is a "must read".  His article least likely to become a nudist has a lot of parallels with my own life.  Including my growing up not very far from (actually, scary close to) where he grew up.  Maybe it was something in the water...

Nick brings up the point that when he had a pituitary problem and his testosterone level sank, he lost interest in being naked.  From my understanding, having low testosterone causes men to lose interest in just about everything.  Plus, why do so many women love being nudists?  Or for that matter, why do so many of us of "advanced age" with lower testosterone levels still love being naked?

Beyond that, in the "Sex and Science" article he ponders the "nature vs. nurture" question.  In other posts I've talked about my background of being likewise painfully shy well into my 20's, yet raised in a family that was apparently more casual about nudity than most other families around me were.  Humm...  So did I come to identify myself as a nudist because it developed naturally from my upbringing?  Or was I genetically predisposed to become a nudist because I inherited it from my mother, who was the most casual one in the family about nudity?

I thought back to when I was dating my then future wife and she told her mother that I liked being naked (she has a weird habit of outing me, which I've learned to appreciate).  She said that her mother's response was a nonchalant "maybe he's a nudist".  What the heck was she thinking when she said that?  That men have their unique kinks, but at least that one's a rather harmless one?  As in, sorry dear, he was born that way and that's the way he is.  Or that he's been conditioned or influenced to be that way and maybe he'll grow out of it.  What's the truth?

So yeah, why do I like being naked?  The more I think about it, the more I think why the heck shouldn't I like being naked?  It's more comfortable, it's often more practical, I feel better about myself when I'm naked, and I feel happy for others when they're naked and feel accepted by me simply as they are.

Thinking further about it, I'm just resentful that my culture doesn't accept everyone just as they are.  And that for a long time, I didn't accept myself, simply as I was.  It's not that clothing is a perversion, but that the need to hide oneself in it so quickly becomes one.

So am I different?  No.  I'm sorry to say that other people have just simply made themselves different from me.  After a couple of bad decades of not being happy being what I was, I became happy to be as God made me and I've been happy to be that way ever since.

If I had it do do all over again...

It's easy to play the "what if" game.  I regret not marrying young and having a large family of my own.  But neither I nor my wife are the same people as we were in back when we were in our early 20's.  We wouldn't have met, and we probably wouldn't have even liked each other if we had met back then.  It was better that we became what we eventually would become, before we met.  Otherwise, we would have divorced before we got very far.

I regret not finishing my PhD.  I was working on my dissertation while on loan to a branch of my company, living out of hotel rooms in the mid-west, working 60+ hours every week for years on end.   Eventually I had to choose between burning out irreparably, or burning out in a way that I might eventually recover from.  So when push came to shove, I gave up the PhD work.  I would have loved teaching college in retirement instead of just doing a few guest lectures, like I do now. Plus my wife is an EU citizen and I could have taught in Europe.

Marrying late meant that I didn't have the large family I would have liked to have fathered.  Instead, I married the perfect person for the rest of my life, with two young kids who I couldn't have loved any more than if I had fathered them myself.

But let's be honest.  I made lifelong friends, learned more than I could ever have otherwise, and advanced my career in a way that set me up for the rest of my life because I worked those long hours and spent years away from home.  I didn't have the burden of time and money having a family when I was young, so I traveled extensively, disappearing for weeks on end deep into the mountains with my back pack and gear.  Plus, I had a head start on saving and investing that made it a lot easier to help us, and the kids, later in life.  Starting early has set us up well for retirement sometime in the near future.  Something everyone young person should think about.

The luxury of time and independence in my early 20's allowed my to explore my naturist tendencies.  I visited nude beaches and nudist venues in several countries, and I became active in a local club my politically connected future wife would never have allowed me to be active in. No, I didn't get to hike the Pacific Coast Trail or the full length of the Appalachian trail.  And I didn't get to raise my kids as nudists.  But I did confide in them my background and I expressed my hope that they'd at least be at peace with their own bodies, very early in their lives.  I hope they consider that option with their kids.

I'm happy with how my life turned out.  I love my wife, my kids (they are, to me, my kids), and our two grand kids (and counting).  And I look forward to a wonderful rest of my life with them.  My wife enjoys the freedom of not having to wear clothes around me.  And she's OK with coming with me to nude beaches and nudist clubs every now and again.  I've had a few discussions with the kids, and they understand their options.  I just hope they raise their kids to be as least as accepting as my parents raised me.  Sometimes, that's the most you can ask.

Degrees of Being a Nudist

Saying it that way makes it sound like "degrees of deviant behavior" instead of looking at it from my prospective of "degrees of being free of clothing compulsiveness", which challenges the alternative as being the unhealthy behavior.

Be that as it may, I was listening recently to the latest episode of the excellent Naturist Living Show podcast, Architecture of Nudism and Naturism, and it got me thinking as to what are the levels of involvement different people have with nudism and naturism?  Thinking about it, I came up with the following levels.  Many of them overlap and you might find yourself more in one category or the other, depending on your situation.  Either way, where do you see yourself?  And what "levels" would you define?

Intolerant of Nudity:  Unfortunately this is the position of many state and local governments here in the US to the point that they pass laws that define in excruciating detail what's acceptable and what's illegal.  Sometimes to the point of making you register as a sex offender if you're convicted of such a heinous crime.  Very few people are as personally intolerant about nudity as these laws are.  Even so, some people call the police when they see someone skinny-dipping, even in the remotest location.  They see what their own species looks like as being fundamentally immoral and it's their duty to report any transgression.  They object to any full display of the human form in art, movies, and TV, and consider any such display as being pornographic and obscene.  Those people need to get a life. Fortunately, though many people assume more people are that strict about it, very few people actually are.

Nude Averse:  These people actively avoid nudity whenever possible.   When they run into people skinny-dipping, stumble onto a nude beach, or go to a gym where people are too casual about nudity in the gym locker rooms or showers, they leave and they don't come back.  They avoid visiting family members who are casual about the nudity of their children.   They change the channel and cover the eyes of their children when nudity is depicted on the TV or in movies.  These people probably don't sleep naked , they get dressed right after they bathe, and they close and lock the door to prevent their kids from walking in when they're not dressed.  And they teach their kids to do likewise.  They've probably never skinny-dipped, or at least they'd never admit that they had.
  
Nude Tolerant:  Most Americans probably fall into this category today.  While they wouldn't visit a nude beach or nudist resort themselves, it's OK with them if others do.  They don't mind changing and showering at the gym.  Showering, that is, in a stall, not communally.  They don't mind too much if others in the sauna are sitting on their towels instead of sitting with the towel around them, like they do.   They don't mind their friend's kids running around naked in their house, but they wouldn't let their kids do that.  They sleep naked if they want to and they don't scream at their kids if they walk in on them when they aren't dressed.  But they're careful to not have that happen too often.  They've probably skinny-dipped and don't mind saying they have as a "youthful indiscretion", but it's not something they'd do now.  They ignore nudity on in the media and don't go out of their way to shield their kids from it, but they think it's unnecessary and they wish there wasn't so much of it.  They think they're more liberal about it than they think most good people are.  So out of respect for them, they don't object and might even vote for restrictive ordinances.

Casual about Nudity:  These people don't mind using communal showers and they're the ones sitting on their towel in the sauna.  If friends want to skinny-dip in a remote location or in a private pool or hot tub, they'll go along with it.  They probably swim naked in their own pool when the kids aren't around.  They don't give sleeping naked a second thought and they probably air dry after bathing or swimming and do light chores naked without feeling any need to hurry to get dressed.  They don't mind if their kids run around naked for a while after their bath.  They have an open door policy and behave no differently when their kids walk in on them naked than if they were clothed.  They can be talked into going to a nude beach or a nudist resort with a close friend, but they don't want others to know if they went.  They'll probably just check that off their bucket list and not come back on their own.  That describes how I was raised.

Home Nudist:  This person prefers being nude whenever they can be.  Like anyone else, when they're home for the night and not going anywhere, they like getting comfortable.  But they've discovered that removing ALL of their clothes is even more comfortable than just removing some of them, and they don't see any reason not to be nude at home.  They've skinny-dipped and been to nude beaches often enough that they hate wearing swim suits.  They do chores and projects around the house nude, and if their back yard is private enough, they'll garden, sunbathe, and swim nude if they own a pool.  They don't mind if their neighbors and family know, but they respect other people's discomfort with it and are careful not to expose them to it.  That describes me most days.

Recreational/Social Nudist:  This person enjoys going to nude beaches and nudist clubs and resorts not only to enjoy the expanded opportunities to be nude, but to make friends and to meet people.  They're friendly, engage in volleyball and other group sports there, and other people like being around them.  But unless they live nearby, you don't see them there that often.  They don't let it interfere with the rest of their life.  That describes me.

Philosophical Naturist:   Someone who thinks being nude and accepting others who are nude helps one to be a better person.  That society demonizing nudity has psychologically and sociologically damaged us, and that we'd all be better off if we'd take a healthier attitude. They may or may not be naked as often as others are.  They don't see themselves as just being a nudist (as in one who just likes being naked).  Which is why I prefer the term "naturist" for myself.

Card Carrying/Activist Nudist:  This person is a member of clubs and organizations not just for the discounts.  They come to meetings, participate in outreach, write blogs, do volunteer work at their club, and aren't afraid to tell others all about.   That used to describe me, but distance and the other distractions of life have limited me to this blog and answering questions on Yahoo and Quora.

Living It:  These people live and often work 24/7 nude as much as they can.  Either they live alone and don't have a lot of visitors, or they live in a nudist community and are rarely clothed unless they have to go into town.  Visiting friends and family have to put with their host being nude.  They dress at home for no one.

Time to launch this.  I'll check back later and clean it up.  Comment if you like.  Look for a poll on this subject on the page.

Tweaking the Blog

Bare with me as I tweak the look and feel of this blog a bit.  The avatar I've been using since my Geocities days (you can still find the old posts if you Google "rick407") was too low res in the way it's presented in G+ and here.  I was attached to it because it reminds me of myself when I got started with naturism.  Thin, fit, brown hair, stubble, just hanging out at the beach. Today, I have less hair and aren't as young, but I'm still sporting a closely cropped beard that I haven't shaved since before I visited my first nude beach in my early 20's.

The new profile photo is that of the warning sign at Haulover Beach, near Miami.  That may change.  If you haven't guessed, the last name isn't mine, but rather the name of a person who a nearby town is named after.  And for trivia's sake, 407 is the area code there.  Yeah, not very original.  The "b" at the end of my yahoo username came from somehow locking myself out from the original rick407 account about the time Geocities collapsed.  So much for history.

I intended this blog to be not about my thoughts in general, but just about my thoughts about nudism, naturism, nudity, or whatever you prefer calling what humans look like.  I'm likewise juggling around another blog that isn't linked with this username.  That one is purely technical and is likely completely lost in the noise.  I have personal Facebook and Google accounts, but those I just use between family and personal friends.  Really boring stuff which you'd have no interest in.

I keep them separate because they have different audiences, not because I'd be all that devastated if people put two and two together and they linked them to me.  There aren't that many people who don't know the opinions I express under any of those usernames.

De Blasio's Problem and Our Problem - Nudity in Times Square

It seems to be a pattern.  We make gains trying to get nudity accepted in more places, and other people come in and ruin it.  YNA does some body painting events in Times Square and the world doesn't come to an end.  People seem to be OK with it if it's not all the time, it isn't in their face, and they're not being hustled for money over it.  A World Naked Bike Ride through town, a Bay to Breakers run, or people getting their bodies painted in public once or twice a year, and people begin to accept it.  But do it every day in a high rent district where you're scaring away customers.  That won't last and someone's going get hurt.  Namely us.

But no, there's a buck to be made.  Women can go topless in NY, panhandling is protected, and YNA and others have shown that you can push the boundaries and get away with it.  People don't mind having to walk around street performers with a tip jar, but they don't like topless ladies approaching and offering a photo with people for a tip.  That doesn't make the wife happy and it confuses the kids.  Once again, think of the children!

Giuliani supposedly cleaned up Times Square by being heavy handed and people liked the result.  I suspect that the citizens of Gotham will be happy if de Blasio comes up with some way to put and end to the "naked women" problem, even if he skirts the law to do it.  Enough, I'm afraid, that if YNA or others do in the future what they've done in the past which was tolerated, they'll get hauled away.

Go back a couple of years and nudity was tolerated in the Castro district in San Fransisco.  But no, some guys had to be obnoxious about it to the point that the once tolerant city felt they had to have an ordinance against it.

Go back about 8 years and some teenagers started going naked around town in Brattleboro VT.  A few of them probably got the idea hanging out at The Ledges, finding that being naked is cool and that people can be cool about it.  Then it probably grew as an edgy thing to do until enough kids were hanging around naked that was beginning to freak out too many of the locals.  Wham...  another ordinance.

Nude beaches are often tolerated until they become popular enough that they draw in the crazies, the sexually desperate, and the religious gadflys.   Too many of our beaches have been closed down because of lewd behavior, real or imagined, regardless of how rare or easily discouraged it often is.

So what's the solution?  Don't back down.  Don't let the crazies, the hustlers, and the religious fanatics steal the platform.  Insist that what you're doing isn't wrong, don't tolerate others who are ruining it for us, and stand your ground.  That's easy to say when most of us can't afford to have our pictures in the paper supporting causes our families, coworkers, and bosses don't understand.  But we can at least do a better job of supporting those who do.

OK... I'm weird.

I admit that I'm weird.  I was born with "the knack".  Or as some would say, "the curse".  This video explains it:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xto41p_dilbert-the-knack_fun

The video hits a bit too close to home.  My parents weren't technical people.  None of my family was.  Yet even as a young boy I was insatiably curious about how things work.  When it came to anything having to do with science, math, or later engineering, I couldn't stop myself.  Yes, I took things apart. Yes, I asked millions of questions.  And yes (hanging my head in shame), like Dilbert, I tore apart TVs and radios and made ham radios out of them before I was 12.  Even as an adult working as an RF (radio frequency) engineer, I kept taking PhD level courses in advanced mathematics, quantum mechanics, and various different sciences and engineering disciplines.

My curiosity wasn't limited to just "things".  I needed to understand what makes people tick.  To that end, I minored in sociology and psychology.  I was the top student in those classes, and my professors were extremely disappointed when they found out that I was an engineering major.

I learned early on that rationalizing human behavior was, and is, a waste of time.  The question of why people can't just be naked around each other nagged me as a kid.  But I knew my mother would tell me "because that's the way it is", which would have driven me crazy.  I eventually realized that people are conditioned by their environment, their culture, their beliefs, and their families to be what they are and to feel what they feel about things.  Most people aren't interested in objectively understanding their behaviors.  And most people aren't interested in what their natural unconditioned behaviors are, or would be.

I believe that accepting what we are and what we look like is, in fact, natural social behavior that we've forsaken to our own peril.   That being ashamed or embarrassed to what we are, is stupid.  And that to be offended by what other people simply are, is mean.   We evolved (or were designed to be) not only compatible with our environment, but to thrive in that environment, without the need, or the desire, to be clothed.  Clothing was an adaptation to our foolishly leaving the climate range our bodies were intended for.  And we've since become a prisoner of that adaptation.

Outreach

Sure, some people are curious and run into our web sites, blogs, and forums.  But for the most part, the general public doesn't hardly know we exist.  To them, we're a fringe group.  Something they've heard about, mostly as a butt of jokes, without a reason to investigate further.

Those of us who have tried social nudity know how odd it is that people have allowed themselves to be so conditioned to be ashamed, unaccepting, offended, and just plain uncomfortable to be what they and other people simply are.  Being naked in a social non-sexual environment is not only easy, but liberating, relaxing, accepting, friendly, practical, and yes, very comfortable and sensual.

Groups like Florida Young Naturists and Young Naturists America do a good job at offering young people the opportunity to try it.  I've met several of them and they're wonderful people.  If I were them, I'd be visiting college campuses, leaving leaflets, and doing meet and greets.  Man a booth at an art show and various other events.  Hell, set up a stall at a flea market.  Many won't let you set up, but if you push the boundaries and hold your ground, some of them will let you be there.  Most likely, your booth will be popular and if you're well behaved, you'll be welcome to come back.   I've seen AANR set up at outdoors and travel events, and they do fine.  When I see them, I go out of my way to stop by and thank them for their efforts.

Yes, these groups are on Facebook and do meet-ups.  But people still have to look to find them.  I'm not in a position to be promoting naturism directly, but I have found one outlet that allows me to introduce the idea and to challenge other's opinions on the subject.  I answer questions on Yahoo Answers, pulled up from keywords of naked, nude, nudist, and naturist.  Most of the questions related to the first two categories are related to sex and relationships.  Most of those are from teenagers and people with other problems.  But sometimes I even answer some of their questions.  A serious answer even to a stupid question gets read by other people, even if the asker isn't interested in my response.

Others do the same.  Some are official spokesmen for organizations.   Some are club owners or officers in various organizations.  But a few of us are just individuals, doing it out of a sense of trying to educate others.  And sometimes, just to amuse ourselves.

Hats off to those others who are trying to help.  You know who you are.  Thank you!

Mazo Beach Revisited

Though I live in Florida, about 15 years ago I did a 5 year stint in the Midwest.  By then, I was already going to different nude beaches and resorts, so I looked up where to go there.  Mazo Beach in Wisconsin was about a 3 hour drive away from where I was working.  It was a long day trip or an easy overnighter, so I started going for several weekends over the summers I was there.

I loved the place and the people, but life once again intervened and I was back in Florida and rarely had a chance to be back up that way for any length of time.  Except this weekend.  I had to be up there on Monday, so I came up on Friday and spent the weekend touring Wisconsin and spending today (Sunday) at Mazo.

It used to be that you could park at the end or along the road if the lot was full (which it usually was unless you got there very early).  Now the only people who can use that lot are the disabled who have requested and received keys to the gate.d  For everyone else, it's a 20 minute walk from a thankfully large parking lot.

I got there around 9 AM, driving up from Madison, wanting to spend a full day there.  It was sunny and in the 70's (it was pushing 100 a lot the weeks before).  People started to arrive slowly, spreading out and not talking to each other much.  But as the day wore on, there were easily over 200 people there and things got pretty lively.  The volleyball net was strung up and a long string of spirited games began.  The mix started off mostly male, but by afternoon, there was a good mix of couples, including a few families with young kids.  A very nice happy crowd.

I used to be painfully shy, but these days I make it a point to start up casual conversations, which I did with several people.  There was a young couple on the fringe who came in on kayaks scoping the place out.  They were there the whole afternoon.  Him clothed, her only topless.  I stopped by welcoming them and encourage them to walk around, clothed being fine, and just listen.  Others came by and were also very friendly to them.  Maybe next time they'll take the plunge.

By 3 PM, it was getting cloudy with some sprinkles, and I had a long drive back to where I had to be on Monday.  Even though some had already left, the disabled lot was crammed full of bicycles, the large parking lot at the end of the long walk was full, and outside the reserve, there were calls parked up and down the street on both sides for some distance.

I'm glad to see Mazo is still much the same.  Wonderful!

Sunsport Gardens and the Florida Young Naturists "End of Summer" bash.

I don't get out on weekends to nude beaches and nudist resorts nearly as often as I used to, but I found myself "home alone" this weekend with my wife away visiting our daughter (out of state grad school).  I haven't been to Sunsport Gardens near West Palm Beach for ages, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Bad news number one was a 50 percent chance of rain (it was sunny until after dinner), and bad news (maybe) number two was that while checking their web site to see if there was anything going on this weekend, I noticed that a group called the Florida Young Naturists was having an "End of Summer" bash there.

Sunsport has a soft spot in my heart.  Two other resorts (Cypress Cove and Sunnier Palms) are closer and I  usually go to one of them if I don't have a lot of time.  But 30 years ago in my early 20's (do the math), I had visited several nude beaches, loved it, and I decided to try a nudist resort or club environment.  The problem was I was at the time young, single, and male.  This was "pre-Internet" so I called several places and I was told by most that I wasn't welcome.

Except at Sunsport.  The owner and founder, Hugo, answered my call and told me to come and that I'd be welcome.  And I was.  The place had, and has, a lot of character with friendly people in a natural south Florida setting.  I went on to become affiliated with several groups and eventually visited many other clubs.  But from time to time, I continued to visit Sunsport.

Fast forward...  I knew that Sunsport hosted the mid-winter festival, various conventions, youth camps, and the like.  And I had seen a reference to the Florida Young Naturists before, but I really didn't know anything about them.  I figured I'd go to Sunsport anyway, figuring that there was room enough for everyone.   There often was often a good mix of ages, races, and professions at Sunsport, which always made it special.

Oh my God, did those kids know how to have a good time!  Friday was free for everyone.  They set up camp and sat around the drum circle.  Some apparently drank a bit much, and they probably got a bit loud well into the wee hours.  But isn't that what you called a good time when you where their age?  I arrived early on Saturday.  Even so, many of them were already out and about by then.

FYN members ages 18-30 had free camping over the entire weekend and the weekend ground fees (wristband) was only $11!  Plus there was reasonable cost food available breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  And on Sunday, they were going to visit Haulover (the excellent nude beach run by Dade County north of Miami Beach).

They had live music from different bands.  Which was interesting talking to the band members in the pool with them naked for the first time about what they expected.  And they had this huge blow up water slide.  And I mean HUGE.  So fast that when you hit the end, you end up flying up and flipping around.  Yes, I did it several times, with a smile on my face each time afterwards.  Fortunately, I didn't break anything.

They played volleyball and body painted each other all afternoon.  They did Yoga.  They even talked with the old people (including me).  They were from several states, not just Florida, just for this event.  They had a Spring event at Sunsport which most of them had attended, so this was a natural follow-up.

When I asked how they knew of the organization(FYN) and the event, the answer was friends and Facebook.  Many came on their own, not knowing anyone.  We've come a long way from ordering books and making embarrassing phone calls.

I had a wonderful time just being around them.  There must have been 50+ attending.  If you're in the 18 to 30 range or close to it...  Join this group!  They had so much fun and were so much fun to be around.  I didn't see anyone who was drunk and disorderly.  Many were first timers and might not have know better.  Even so, there was nothing sexual about it and there was no such tension in the air.  There were many families attending.  Lots of kids enjoying themselves with happy parents.

Would I want my kids, a son and daughter both in that age group, to associate with that group?  Hell yes!  Yeah, my kids aren't into it even though they know that I am.  I can only hope that someday, they'll at least consider it.

Nude Beaches

Nude Beaches are strange and wonderful places.  Mythical to people who have never been to one, but mentioned often enough in the media and in hush tones by people who have heard something about them (but would never go there themselves, mind you!).

I'm here to tell you that yes Virginia, they do exist.  In many countries, a large percentage of public beaches have clothing optional sections, or are simply just mixed.  In some places, nude use is allowed except where it's posted that it isn't.  Otherwise, relax, get comfortable, and enjoy.

Here in the US, it's a mixed bag.  "Officially" the culture is wary to even hostile to them.  But in many places, the locals take a live and let live attitude, sometimes even defending the beaches.  In some states, counties, and communities, it's technically illegal to be naked in public.  But even in many of those places, the authorities often just look the other way as it's just too much trouble to police them.  In other areas, they're technically legal and they're often accepted by the majority of people in the area.

Most are in out of the way primitive areas.  Lousy parking, long walks, no facilities, no water.  If you don't know where to go, you're not going to find them.  Out of sight, out of mind as far as the locals and the authorities are concerned.  Others are well known and not at all difficult to get to.  For others, just follow the signs (by name, not by reference to them being nude beaches).  One, Haulover Beach north of Miami Beach, is right off the main drag, has food vendors, police patrol, lifeguards, and hotels within walking distance.  All the amenities you'd expect for a county run park, without a large and official clothing optional section (where most the people go, of course).

Some of the smaller ones aren't that friendly (I'll leave you alone and you leave me alone).  But most of the larger ones have a core of regulars who are usually friendly and are easy to approach.  As with any beach, the vibe varies depending on the mix of people there and how accepted the beach is.  Wreck Beach on the outskirts of the University of British Columbia (Canada) has a festive college crowd, wild scenery, and in short, is wonderful.  Mazo Beach (Wisconsin) is my favorite.  Many college kids, but also long tradition of use by people and families from all over the state.  Along a nice river and the people I've met there are very friendly and fun loving.

I live near the Canaveral National Seashore in central Florida.  The southern half is in a county with an anti-nudity ordinance (not enforced much), and the northern half is in a county that doesn't have an ordinance.  In either county, if you stay in the unofficial clothing optional section, they'll leave you alone.  Some years ago in the southern county (Brevard) the supervisor of the park had it out for the nudies and tried to make us feel very unwelcome.  I tried to strike up a conversation with a ranger there one time and he wouldn't even face me, saying only that he'd answer my question after I got dressed.

But on the north side I was there one time when a young ranger intern approached me.  She must have drawn the short straw and was not at all comfortable being there.  She had the unpopular task to clear the beach due to an approaching hurricane (several days out) of hundreds of naked people who weren't going to be happy to be told that they had to leave.

I had a nice chat with her trying to put her mind at ease, then I told her that I would help.  I went up and down the beach explaining to everyone the unpopular order, pointing to her at a distance without dragging her into it.  Everyone left, and I got the feeling that the ranger left leave her internship there with fond memories and a better understanding that yes, we are people too.

If you spend much time some of the better beaches, you'll see a lot of magic.  Church groups canoeing by, then turning around to play several games of volleyball with the naked people (Mazo).  Long naked hikes on endless miles of undeveloped beach, smiling and waving at clothed people passing by on horseback (Canaveral).  Listening to an elderly couple trying it for the first time, overhearing them say that they hadn't felt that young in years and how wonderful it was there (Haulover).  Kids playing.  People surfing.  People fishing.  Gays, straights, young, old, regulars, and first timers.  Everyone having a great time.

It is what you make of it.  Smile, be friendly, help others.  Make some magic.

Freeing the Youth

Why is it that most nudists are middle aged or older?  Several reasons...  Their kids are more often out of the house and they have more time and money.  But I think the bigger reason is that as you get older, you're less likely to accept stupidities in the culture which don't make sense and are often destructive (discrimination, barriers of class or position, etc.).  And you're looking for a little diversity in your life.  Maybe you travel more or make friends with someone from outside your cultural or religious background.

That's not to say that many young adults aren't open-minded.  But they are less self-confident about doing things which might not be accepted by their peers or "superiors".  That said, when nude beaches are available near colleges, you'll often find them dominated by students and faculty.  Often a travel club will form in the area where a good percentage of the members are young adults.  Such is the case near Wreck Beach near Vancouver and Mazo Beach in Wisconsin.  And at some clubs, you'll find more young adults and young families, then at other clubs.  Encourage them to travel to Europe and Australia, and they'll see how much more closed minded Americans are about nudity.

What can be done to prevent the youth from being so close minded (clothing compulsive)?  As a culture, let's bring back the open showers in school and have the kids use them as they should....naked.  It builds self-confidence and acceptance that the kids lack these days.   Have more beaches and public lands where people know they have the option to not have to wear clothing if they don't want to.  Encourage more festivals like Burning Man, where you can be naked the whole time if you want to be.  Do so while attending them, and encourage others to do likewise.

Start travel clubs near college towns and actively recruit at the colleges.  Hold info sessions, both on and off campus.  Fight to have nudism and body-freedom be acceptable topics for student social life.  Campgrounds and resorts near such places should advertise heavily and offer student discounts.  Offer a free weekend for selected student organizations to come and see what it's all about.  The majority of students should know at least that your organization exists and that it's worthy of consideration.

The internet does a good job of communicating and raising awareness, but nothing beats someone talking to a real person at a short info session, answering real questions, as they come up.

I came to it by self-discovery and curiosity in my teen years, and I started to explore what it was about soon after getting out of college.  We can continue to dream about changing the culture, but we really do need to offer alternatives to the kids when they are most receptive.  In college and in the early adult years before they get set in their ways and being to pass on and intensify the self shaming behavior to the next generation.