How to ask, How to say, It's OK

I'm writing this from an apartment we're renting in Oregon.  It's a VRBO, detached from the host's house on 40 acres of hilly, heavily wooded property.  Very secluded and private, accessible only by a long winding driveway through the woods.  I can image the hosts not bothering wearing anything, anywhere on the property on warm days when they don't have guests.  If so, renting out the apartment on nice days like this would be a real drag.  They're usually gone during the day on weekdays, but they sometimes show up out of the blue.  So other than sunning myself on the upstairs deck where I wouldn't be seen and being able to hear them when they come up the drive, we've kept ourselves covered up.

Poking around the VRBO and AirBnB sites you'll find very few references to naturist friendly offerings.  I suspect that more owners would welcome such use, if only so they didn't have to remain clothed themselves.  But it's probably a turn-off to many potential guests if it was even hinted that the option was available.  And it would probably be a turn-off to the majority of owners if guests outright asked "can we be nude here"?".

I suppose I could kid around with the hosts and say something along the lines:  "Your property is so secluded that it must be hard to wear clothes on warm days around here".  That would probably be taken as a bit odd, yet not direct enough to trigger a give and take about whether they really use it that way, and whether we'd be welcome to do the same.

Thinking about that, how would I hint that the option was available without turning off other guests, assuming I couldn't afford to rent to just naturists?  Perhaps I'd just mention in the paperwork at the time of rental that the property is completely private and though we'd normally be casual about being undressed, that we'd remain clothed unless we were told it's OK for us not to be.  But that you, of course, are free to dress or undress to the level of your comfort here, anytime.  I suspect some guests would tell the owners that it's OK if they're nude, but would stay clothed themselves  While others might try being nude, but they'd prefer the owners not be.

At home, we have a whimsical sign posted on our patio about skinny-dipping.  It sometimes triggers guests to halfheartedly ask if we actually did that ourselves. When it does, we simply say yes.  That when we don't have guests over, we don't wear anything in the pool or hot tub, and leave it at that. A few guests have asked if they could join us that way, and they have.  Likewise, if a family comes over, the kids want to go swimming, but drat, they didn't bring their swimsuits, we say it's OK that don't wear anything and leave it at that.  Sometimes the kids get to skinny-dip, but most of the time their parents don't let them.  Probably because they don't want their kids to even think that's a legitimate option.

I'm usually more direct and usually have a "Clothing Optional Zone" sign posed.  But my wife usually puts it away when we know we're having guests.  My sister-in-law often comes by the house to look in on things when we're away.  She knows we only use the pool and tub that way, and that I love to lay out in the back yard naked.  So when we leave, I remind her that she's free to use the pool and be out in the yard anytime, but that it would be a shame if she didn't take advantage of being naked there when we're gone.  I don't know if she's ever taken advantage of that, but I know the kids have when we were away,.  At least individually, until they left the nest.

Dealing with Guests

Whenever we have house guests, I'm reminded how much work it is for those who hide themselves in their own homes all the time.  Doors have to be closed when one is changing, sleeping, or getting in or out of the shower, you have to be "properly" dressed all the times, and don't get me started on having to wear a bathing suit in the pool and hot tub with them :(  What a drag!

My wife is much more likely to "out" me when people unexpectedly drop in, than I am with her.  She'll just say I'm out back, naked, sunning himself, working in the yard, or swimming.  She'll then come get me (meaning she'll ask that I at least put a towel around myself before I come in).  I'm pretty sure that if they were to say it wouldn't bother them, she'd just let them come out and I'd be perfectly fine with it.

On the rare occasion that a neighbor or delivery person has gone through the fence and run into me naked, I've acted no differently than if I were clothed and let it be on them for coming in unannounced.

One of my wife's sisters lives nearby and stops by often.  I expect that one of these times she'll intentionally go out back, knowing I'm naked.  She'll try to make fun of me, and I'll stop getting dressed when she's around.  So there.

We have had a few guests who when told that we normally would be nude in the pool or tub, have asked if they could join us that way.  Likewise, once that's over with, them being nude and us being nude is OK thereafter.

Beach Review: Blind Creek Beach (Florida)

My weekends have been pretty busy and I haven't had much chance to visit any nude beaches or clubs for several months.  Last month for my birthday, my wife suggested that we spend the day at Haulover Beach (a very nice clothing optional beach near Miami).  But Haulover makes for a long day trip from here.  Other things came up, so we visited one of the wonderful spring state parks in the middle of the state instead (highly recommended, albeit a clothed venue).

The wife's out of town for a couple of weeks on a road trip with her sister, so today I thought I'd check out a new beach I recently read about that's a lot closer to home (not wanting to disappoint her if it turns out not to have much nude use, or is too sketchy).  Blind Creek Beach is a county run beach on the Atlantic Ocean, near Fort Pierce, Florida, about half way down the east coast of the state.  It's only been in use for a couple of years, but boy was I impressed!

I'll let the Treasure Coast Naturists tell the story of their role in making it possible.  Kudos to them!

Driving down from the north around 11 AM, I passed the north parking lot which they recommended only as an overflow lot.  The clothing optional section is between the north and south lots, and they said most of the nude use would be near the south end.  The north lot had quite a few cars, but I figured the textile locals where probably using that end and it would be a long walk south before running into people using the beach nude.  North of the beach is expensive condos and subdivisions with fancy public beaches nearby.  All the more reason to head for the south lot.

The south lot was pretty full, which dashed my hopes that there would be any nude use there.  It's a primitive beach, but the county had done a good job of making it acceptable.  I expected only to find a few people after your typical long walk up or down from the beach access trail.  But nooo...  At the end of the trail there were nude people everywhere as far as one could see in both directions, including right at the end of the access trail.  No one even bothered to post a "Beyond this point you may encounter nude bathers" sign (one was posted on the access trail later in the day).  For that matter, no one had bothered to take the option and was clothed except to walk to or from the parking lot.  So exactly who was there who needed to be warned?

It was sunny, warm (low 80's), and was forecast was for it to stay that way.  I found a nice spot not too far from the access trail.  From the deep tans everywhere and the relaxed atmosphere, it was obvious that the beach had matured nicely.  That said, a couple of things were a bit too cavalier.  I walked far to the south and people there were walking into the active nuclear power plant's property.  Yeah, the state owns up to the high water mark and the nude walkers seem to be respecting that.  But I suspect that security there would be touchy about it.

Likewise, instead of people staying south of the north entrance, they had spread well to the north as far as you could see, which was supposed to be "clothing required" territory.  Nobody seemed to care, including people walking in from either entrance with their families.  They joined in as if everyone in the area knew what the deal was.  Two big thumbs up!

I made some small talk with a few people near my spot.  But like most of the nude beaches I've been to here in the US, most people tended to keep to themselves.  Which is a shame.  Also, while the Treasure Coast Naturists sponsored a couple of potta-potties, which wouldn't have been there otherwise, they didn't have an obvious presence to disseminate information, tell others about upcoming events, or to collect donations for their expenses.  Hopefully more people will join and help.

Florida

Dave Barry wrote a fun article about Florida in the Wall Street Journal last Friday (Sept 2, 2016).  It's behind their paywall, but I'll share a snippet:

"Almost any day of the year, I could walk out my front door naked and be perfectly physically comfortable until the police Taser me.  Granted, sometimes in the summer (defined as June through the following June), it gets a little too warm down here, but too warm beats the hell out of too
cold. Too cold means if you stay outside too long you will die. Too warm means you might have to have another beer...."

I spent the day yesterday power washing and bleaching the patio, working on the pool, and doing all sorts of other messy sweaty things in the back yard in the heat, and sometimes in the rain.  Being and staying nude throughout the day was much more practical and comfortable.  I would have spent the day in dirty, gritty, wet, chafing, ruined clothing, sweating like a pig.   Instead, I simply jumped into the pool whenever I felt like it or whenever I got the bleach on me.  Jump out, continue.

But to Dave Barry's point, nine times out of ten, I do it just as easily and just as comfortably in mid January here.  The only difference is it would be 75F and sunny, instead of 95F and mixed.

People think of "natives" here as being the Seminole tribe, when in reality they were refugees from the north just as most Floridians here are.  I'm considered a "Florida native" only because I was born here and my father side has been in the state for several generations.  Maybe when the influx of northern invaders dies down, people will start working and enjoying the parks and beaches naked.  Until then, at least I have my own private oasis.

The New Fence and Maintaining a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

We've had our back yard fenced ever since we moved there.  More accurately, our land backs up to the deep woods of a sanctuary so we've left that side open so we can enjoy the view of the woods and the critters who come and go from there.  Either way, we enjoy complete privacy in our back yard and unless a neighbor was working on their roof, up in a tree, or peeking through the narrow slats, they couldn't see whether we're naked or not in our pool, our hot tub, or just laying out or working in the yard.  In legal terms, we had a reasonable expectation of privacy and are perfectly within our rights to be nude there.

But the privacy wasn't perfect.  We had back to back hurricanes several years ago and the fence was down for months.  We hated it, but out of respect for our neighbors, we didn't go nude back there during the day until the fence was back up.  I'd go in or put something on if a neighbor was working on his roof, on a ladder trimming their trees, or their kids were playing along the fence on their side, since it was easy for them to see us through narrow slats accidentally, if they were that close to the fence.

But the fence was beginning to look pretty tired.  The slats were shrinking and warping, and it was getting easy for the neighbors to see onto our property from certain angles if we were in certain areas of our back yard, so it was time for it to be replaced.

The new fence is vinyl with continuous panels with no cracks in between.  Heaven.  Once again we can be anywhere in our yard and they can be anywhere in their yard, including right up against the fence, and they'll never see us.   It's not that they don't know we're nude there.  We're on good enough terms that we've mentioned it.  Even so, good fences make good neighbors.  Having enough privacy is well worth the work and expense of maintaining it.

Drones

As an active pilot, I have my own opinion on those noisy privacy robbing little hazards to navigation.  Except while landing or taking off, manned aircraft have to stay at least 500 feet away from any person, vehicle, or structure.  And unless the area is sparsely populated, we have to stay at above 1000 feet.

I'm often vectored over Haulover Beach (clothing optional beach northeast of Miami) at 1000 to 1500 feet.  Trust me, unless you're a passenger who knows what you're looking for and has a very steady hand with binoculars, you're not going to be able to tell whether people are clothed or not from that altitude.  OK, you can tell that for some reason there's a lot of dots in one area (the CO section) and hardly any, anywhere else. And you can make out the "snow fence" that separates the areas, but that's it.  Being down at 500 feet isn't much better.  Besides, most pilots don't like being that low and we're way too busy watching out for cell phone and radio towers down there to be spending time looking down trying to make out what people are, or aren't, wearing.  I know where almost all the clubs are in Florida because I've been to them, and for various reasons, I've flown over most of them.  Never once, in decades of flying and knowing where to look, have I ever been able to tell whether someone on the ground was naked or not from the air.  The same is true while landing and taking off.  The ground is whizzing by too quickly and we're way too busy to be noticing if you're sunbathing naked in your back yard.

Drones are another story.  Johnny's new toy is typically fitted with an HD camera and can be flow beyond line of sight using a live video feed or a preassigned GPS driven flight path.  They're supposed to be below 400 feet (to stay out of our way) and most of them can stay in a stabilized hover for a long period of time, taking very detailed pictures and videos.  The law hasn't caught up, and for now you can't do much if your neighbor, or your neighbor's kids, decide to spy on you.

Here in the US, all but the smallest drones are now supposed to be registered.  Whatever good that will do.  Manned aircraft have registration (tail) numbers, usually at least a foot high, painted across them.  Is Johnny supposed to drag a banner behind his drone with big enough registration numbers on it that people call in with it when they complain?  Good luck.

And good luck expecting the law to do anything.  The airspace above your property really isn't yours, and other than trying to make a general "disturbing the peace" complaint stick, there's not much they'll do about it.  Even in rural areas where discharge from a firearm isn't a problem, expect it will be a problem if you try to shoot one of them down.  You've destroyed  their property and they can often argue that they had a right to be there.

Until all that gets sorted out, we have two choices:  Stay indoors, or ignore them.  While I might be perfectly OK ignoring my neighbor's new toy, not caring if they see me naked or not, other people do mind.  Do we clear our beaches and run for cover when one shows up overhead at our clubs?  I hope not.  But we do need to press for laws that at least discourage people from doing that.  I'm fine with allowing people to fire at them with birdshot when they're over our properties.  But until that's allowed, expect the middle finger salute from this naked guy below.  I'm not going anywhere.

This was one very hot Christmas

Here in Central Florida, there's usually only a dozen or so days a year one wouldn't be perfectly comfortable being outside nude in the middle of the day.  And maybe there's a couple of dozen nights a year when one dare not dash out to get the paper in the morning wearing less than long pants and a jacket.  But no.  Not this year.  We've had a few cool days last month when wearing long pants was more comfortable than wearing shorts in the evening.  But this year.  This... is something else.

It's been muggy and in the mid 80's during the day and mid 70's and humid at night for weeks now.  Day or night, being nude outside has been more comfortable than even wearing the traditional shorts and tee shirts we spend most of our winters here wearing in public.  Will it cool off by New Years Day?  Maybe into the low 80's, we're told.

Contrast that with a few Christmases of my youth (elsewhere in Florida at the same latitude) where it at least sometimes got below freezing for a few hours in the morning on or around Christmas Day.  Heck, once, we got up early in the morning not to see what Santa brought us, but because they said we might see a light flurry.  No such luck.

On another post, I mentioned a time when I was dating a member of Paradise Lakes near Tampa and she invited me to an outdoor New Years Eve party there.  Darned if that wasn't one of the freaky cold nights.  They had outdoor heaters set up and one could spend the hours huddled in one of their many heated pools and tubs.  But wow, it was cold that night (low 40's).  The club was clothing optional (I prefer nude only) and the party certainly was CO, so I grudgingly went wearing jeans, a sweat shirt and a jacket.

My date was more daring and was committed to going and staying nude.  It didn't stay that way and within an hour or so, she was wearing my clothes, and I was trying to make the best of it, buck naked.  It turns out that my clothes fit her perfectly.  We didn't stay long and well before the bell dropped, we were huddled in our room, warming each other up.

So here we are.  I'm off until after New Years and my wife, always thinking ahead, had the fence torn down Christmas Eve day to be replaced next week with a new (and much better) one.  The pool's now in the 80's (solar heated) and it would really be nice to be able to spend some time out in the sun back there.  But no...  We're exposed to the neighbors and they've suddenly found themselves without warning  being exposed to us for a good part of a week.  :(  At least my neighbors will soon be enjoying the improved privacy my new fence gives them.  And it fills in some gaps that made our privacy a little less than I liked.

Warm or cold.  Merry Christmas.  Whether you're celebrating the birth of Christ, or not.

More Working Naked

Another nasty weekend job with my wife away for the weekend.  Power-washing the patio and bleaching it afterwards.  Yeah, I know, it's getting chilly in most of the country, but here in Florida, it was sunny and 80 today.  That's actually a break from 87 degrees and humid as it's been most of the week.

Since I have good privacy in the back yard, it's yet another job that's easily done naked.  I was alternately wet and dry all day, and blasting the deck throws back a lot of dirt.  Working all day in wet shorts or a swim suit wasn't a desirable option, especially with all the grit that accumulates as I'm blasting away.  I took quick dips in the pool to clean up and air dry while I continued to work whenever I wanted to.  It's nice that the water's still a warm 85 degrees :)

Splash-back from spreading chlorine on the deck afterwards is a sure way to destroy anything you're wearing and contrary to what you might think, you feel and can quickly rinse off any chlorine that splashes back, verses having it get soaked into your clothes and rubbing against you for a while before you notice.  Then what?  Into the pool to wash it off your clothes and be miserably soaking wet afterwards while probably still retaining some chlorine?  Yuck!

I took a break mid day and got dressed to run some errands.  Just as I was heading out, my sister-in-law knocked on the door to drop some stuff off.  If she was earlier or later, she probably would have hear me blasting away in the back yard and would have come back and seen me working that way.  I probably wouldn't have heard her.  It's not that she doesn't know that I enjoy spending time free from my clothes.  Oh well.  Awkward for her maybe, but it wouldn't have phased me a bit.

I'll rinse the patio off tomorrow and put all the furniture back in order.  Not as messy, but there's no reason to get dressed to do it.  Plenty of other chores, tomorrow.  Half inside, half in the front yard.  Half done comfortably.  Half done dressed to keep the neighbors happy.  Oh well, half a day is better than having to stay clothed all day.

Naked At Lunch

I few months ago, I ran into a couple of short interviews with an author, Mark Haskell Smith, about his latest book "Naked at Lunch, A Reluctant Nudist's Adventures in the Clothing-Optional World".  After reading the reviews, it didn't seem like it was a stupid fluff piece, so I bought the electronic version and made my way through it.  The premise of the book is that he wanted to investigate what all this nudist/clothing-optional stuff was about, and with the air of detachment of a pseudo-journalist or armchair sociologist, he went about having a wide range of nudist experiences to find out what he could about "those" people.

It was a good read and he certainly had a lot of high end experiences that most of us will never be able to have or afford.  I've had some of his basic experiences and found his reporting of them to be insightful and genuine.  Black's Beach (near San Diego) was my first experience with social nudity and a clothing optional beach.  His description of the place, the people, and hiking down there and back was spot on.  And I like his description of Haulover Beach near Miami, Florida as being a drop dead gorgeous beach right off the main highway, right in the middle of everything.  It is a shining example of what a modern urban beach should be.

He likewise found it odd, as I did, that the staff of Desert Sun Resort in Palm Springs were all dressed up appropriate to their jobs, while everyone else went naked.  Stephane Deschenens, owner of Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park, has a wonderful podcast called the Naturist living Show.  His latest talk was on the subject of working in a nudist club and why, in his resort, the staff is nude.  I have to agree with him.

Mark did a nude cruise, which I've never done.  But then, I don't like themed cruises.  They're expensive and I like the diversity of everyone not trying fit the same mold.  Likewise, I enjoyed his description of Vera Playa in Spain and of course Cap d'Agde in France.  Two places I'll probably never get to.  He highlighted people dressing up erotically at night and some of the swinging at those places.  Sorry, but that stuff turns me off.  Which is why I'll probably never go either place.

The one experience he had that I would have really loved was "The Naked European Walking Tour".  A group that gets together annually and day hikes in the Alps, base camping for a week together.  Being a long time back-country hiker and lover of mountains, I would LOVE that!

He interviewed some interesting people, including Scott Wiener, the city supervisor in San Francisco who put into place the nudity ban there, nudist historian and academic Mark Storey, Felicity Jones (co-founder of Young Naturists America and my favorite young nudist blogger), and many others.  And he covered a lot of history about nudism that I didn't know.  And yes, not all of it was pretty.

It wasn't a light fun read (and free Kindle book) like "Going Bare" by John Harding, a brit who needled his wife into going to a nice low key French resort (La Jenny) with the family, and loved it.   La Jenny sounds a lot more appealing to me than the fancy resorts do.  Nor was it a throughout sociological study, like the book "Nudist Society", which I enjoyed and if Mark Smith had looked for it when he visited the "American Nudist Research Library" on the grounds of Cypress Cove Nudist Resort, he would have seen the copy of "Nudist Society" I donated there several years ago.

Either way, buy Mark's book.  Maybe you'll learn something.  He claims that he was simply acting as a "reluctant nudist" and that he still isn't one, even though he thinks society misunderstands it and that simple nudity shouldn't be criminalized the way it is.  Maybe he still doesn't get it.  All a nudist or naturist is, is someone who actually likes being human and doesn't mind actually looking like one.  Perhaps, he fits that description and still doesn't know that, in fact, he is one (simply human = natural nudist).

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.

Nudism and Concealed Carry

Huh?  What the heck do would the two of them have to do with each other?  Hear me out.  It makes for an interesting contrast.

A lot of people, including a lot of naturists, assume we're all tree hugging atheist liberals.  Instead what you find is that we're all over the map.  Some of us, like myself, are politically conservative Christians.  And others are in fact tree hugging atheist liberals.  Most people fall somewhere in between.

Politically and socially I have more of a libertarian point of view than that of a fire breathing Bible thumper.   I work in a very culturally, religiously, and racially diverse company, and I love it that way.  I have gay friends who are now legally married and I'm happy for them (just don't expect Church and God to be OK with it).  Even so, I part ways with many on the issue of guns, and of course, on the issue of naturism.

After several weeks of being without power and civil protection during the hurricane year from hell here in Florida (2004), my wife and I decided we should have a gun in the house after the kids are grown and out.  A few years later, we bought a 9 mm pistol from a neighbor who was selling it.  Understanding the responsibilities that go with it, we joined a club and got some training.  Along the way, we were convinced that we should get permits to carry.  We live close to a school and there's some strict federal laws regarding the movement of firearms anywhere nearby, which includes where we live.  That and many other laws are eased or eliminated here if you have a permit to carry.

I continued to take classes to the point that I've been taking advanced courses with state law enforcement instructors alongside officers who were trying to get training beyond that which available to them in their jobs.  They and our sheriff convinced me that trained people should routinely carry and not just have a permit.  As the sheriff put it, they'll be to the scene in around 7 minutes.  But by then, you might bleed out and be dead.  When stuff hits the fan, it's up to individuals to stop that from happening to themselves and to their loved ones, and not just to law enforcement, who often just document what happened, after the fact.

Because I wouldn't be able to carry concealed otherwise in this land of endless summer wearing shorts and tee shirts, I bought a small .380 pistol that I carry loaded in a pocket holster.   If you see me out and about town, I'm probably carrying.  You might not like that, but too bad.  I will protect myself and my family if I have to, and I will lawfully carry the tools to do it.  I personally believe that having a significant portion of the population silently armed is a deterrent.   Violent crime here in Florida has dropped for maybe a number of reasons.  But having more than 5 percent of the entire population of my state actively permitted to carry concealed firearms, is probably one of those reasons.

So what does that have to do with nudism?  In both cases when I'm out and about town, I'm hiding something.  I'm hiding both what I am (human), and what my capabilities to defend myself are.  One can assume what I look like without clothing and probably be pretty close.  But one also must assume here that I, or that person over there, or that one over there, might be armed.  So maybe its not a good idea to rob us, rape us, or shoot at us in our movie theaters or in our malls.  One thing you learn from hanging around LEOs is that criminals, even the crazy ones, are cowards when it comes to the possibility of getting themselves killed if they think they're at risk doing those sorts of crimes.

So, you might ask (and I have been asked), where does a nudist conceal a firearm?  The answer is in the small backpack that I carry my clothes, sunscreen, wallet, and hat when I'm at the beach.  Clubs, being private,  are free to welcome or ban firearms from their properties.  For what it's worth, I either leave the firearm locked in the car, or don't bring it at all when I'm visiting a club.  They are probably the safest place on Earth.

Swimming Naked

I've written about how wonderful it is to be at clothing optional beaches naked, but unfortunately, most people we never experience that for themselves.  Or they won't let themselves experience it.  Swimming naked is another matter.  Many, if not most people, have "skinny-dipped".  Either briefly in a lake, the ocean, or someone's pool.  Maybe in remote places.  Perhaps with their spouse.  Maybe even with friends.  The  problem is that most people never get to experience it worry and guilt free like I do every day.  It's not the same if you're worried about other people stumbling onto you, or that it's such a over the top dare that you'd never do it casually.

A few years after my wife and I married, I pushed for putting a pool in the back yard.   I had a few bonuses coming and we had already added a privacy fence to the back yard.  She didn't think the kids would use it much, but I knew that I would.

When I was young, my parents put in a small pool.  I learned to swim at a very early age and grew up just miles from the warm Gulf of Mexico here in Florida.  I took to the pool as if it were my second home.  I was a certified scuba diving and lifeguard at 16 and could hold my breath long enough to scare any adult.  Even now, I find myself darting back and forth underwater like a caged dolphin, loving it.  My mother used to refer to me as her "fish", an expression my wife also uses to describe me.

My parent's pool wasn't at all private.  They had a small lot, no fence, and neighbors on every side.  Even so, they made a point of going in together after dark, skinny-dipping.  We were invited, but we foolishly didn't join in.

In the meantime, our pool has always been completely private and neither my wife or I wear anything in either the hot tub or in the pool unless we have guests.  Even then, we don't make a secret of our preference, which anyone can guess reading the sign on the subject we have on the patio.  Some have taken up our invitation to try it, and sometimes we've joined them.

Our kids have always known that if my wife and I are in the water, that we're naked.  Our daughter (clothed) would join us (mother naked, me clothed), but they only swam naked themselves when we were out of sight.  Sometimes alone, sometimes with friends.  They're both adults now and  as with other guests that use the house while we're gone, they're encouraged to take advantage of the privacy and to continue the tradition.

There is not starker difference between clothed and nude than in the water.  I swim laps every day most of the year and I so hate wearing a swimsuit, that I avoid swimming when I have to wear a suit.  I hate the drag and the rubbing of the suit in the water, and I hate that heavy wet hanging on me afterwards that takes FOREVER to dry.  Swimming naked without a care in the world, any time I want to, is a luxury most people will never know.  I feel completely one with the water as it glides effortlessly over my skin and supports every part of me evenly.   When I get out, I air dry quickly and I'm ready to lay again in the sun, work on the patio, or go inside the house without having to wait to find some place to peel off that soppy nasty heavy thing around me, and to find some place to put the thing to dry, which it often doesn't before I need it again.  Oh, and the horror of putting on a still wet suit when you're dry and maybe even have to walk around with it on for a long time before being able to get in the water.

If you haven't skinny-dipped, find a way to do it.  It's much better if you can find a place to do it guilt and worry free, such as in a really remote location, at an accepted nude beach, or at a nudist club or resort.  If you have access to a pool, go in at night with the lights out.  Take off your suit once you're in and put it back on before you get out.  Unless you're at a hotel with people looking down from above, no one will see you.  That's what my parents always did.  Either way, give it a try and think about how wonderful it would be to not have to ever wear a swimsuit again.

Naked Ramblings

Yes, it's been a long time since I've posted anything, mostly because I don't have much new to say that I haven't said before.  I still answer questions related to nudity and nudism on yahoo answers, figuring it's a better outreach than just having a blog sitting around waiting for someone to visit.  I don't have a whole lot to say today.  So if you don't mind, I'll just ramble a bit.

I'm still bothered by the "-ist" thing.  Why is my accepting my own form and accepting others simply as they are, an "-ist" thing, when the culture instead has developed a perverted self-loathing of what we are and what we look like?  As if compulsively hiding ourselves in shame from each other is a good thing.  It isn't.  Sorry.  No thank you.  I'm tired of playing that game.

Moving on to "Dating Naked" and "Naked and Afraid", both of which I find too contrived and awkward.  I dated a nudist girl for a while.  Being naked with her either at home or at her club wasn't any different than when we were out clothed.  We shared a few common interests, of which that was one, but it didn't work out and we parted friends.  I understand that the taboo of nudity (annoyingly blurred out as it may be) draws people to watch those programs.  But I think for most people the novelty quickly wears off and there's not enough left to keep them (or me) watching.  Dating is painful enough to do, much less watch.  Especially when they're being so weird about it.

"Naked and Afraid" is supposed to prey on the audience's conditioned feelings of vulnerability with regard to being naked.  I'm sorry, but I spent many decades hiking and camping in the wilderness and I don't see how putting people who don't know how to survive in the wild out there without any training or equipment is all that entertaining.  It's painful to watch them being so miserable at night when it invariably gets too chilly for them to be able to sleep without sufficient shelter and warmth (clothed or not).

In real life, even in the most primitive tribes people band together, sharing chores and building on what people have done before them.  I've done a lot of long distance solo wilderness backpacking in my day, but it takes a lot of equipment (modern or otherwise) to pull that off comfortably.  On hot days, it was nice to get out of my clothes, sometimes while hiking, but mostly at camp.  Skinny dipping at a stream or lake was much appreciated, and it was nice to be able to rinse my clothes off (all of them) and let them dry on a rock while I stayed naked and aired out late into the day until it got too chilly to stay that way.  The few people that ran into me undressed, didn't mind.  Nor did I mind when I stumbled onto them.  Being naked in the wild is a luxury that's frankly too nice to pass up on when it's warm out.  BTW, one quickly learns that you sleep a lot more comfortably naked in a warmer bag, than clothed in a colder bag.  Clothing traps one's moisture against you, leaving you feeling cold and wet.  Modern sleeping bags are designed to let the moisture escape, keeping you warm and dry if you don't sabotage it wearing nasty smelly, and invariably damp, clothing inside.

Enough for now.  Happy New (Nude) year!

The Closet

The Closet

I find it very annoying to be in the closet about being a nudist. When I was single, it was easy to control access to that little bit of information about me. With women I dated, I was very open and up front about my preferring to be naked when I could be, that I enjoy going to nude beaches, that I've visited many nudist resorts, and that I was a member of local and national organizations (making me a “card carrying” nudist, I suppose). I had a cousin and his wife who were open with family about them being nudists and raising their son that way. And I had other cousins who had casually mentioned that they've visited various clubs. Even so, I've found that I'm very guarded about who I share that information with. Other than one sister, no one else in my family knows.

In my 30's, I did mention it to my older sister who I'm close to. She not only found it interesting, but asked if I could take her to a club sometime to see what it's like. Several months later, I did, and she enjoyed it. But for her, it was more of a bucket list kind of thing and I doubt she took up up on her own.

When I started dating my wife, she seemed to see it as just some sort of harmless quirk. As private as I am about it, she isn't. Not in a big way, since she's involved with conservative politics, and that's not the sort of thing we do, right? She casually told her mother early on that I like being naked, to which she responded that I might be a nudist (ya think?), like it was no big deal.  If only she knew that I was and am.

The wife is pretty casual (even careless from my point of view) about mentioning to people that we sleep and swim naked and that I like to lay out in the back yard in the sun that way. Because of that, even though our back yard is fenced in and private, our neighbors know. On one side, I don't think they like it but they're quiet about it. The neighbor on the other side has taken to doing the same with his wife (privately and not with us). But neither knows that I'm an actual "nudist".

My wife came complete with two young kids who've become successful adults. The kids knew their mother slept naked long before I came along, and they accepted as a quirk that we enjoy swimming and using the hot tub that way (shunning the invitations to join us). Over time they came to know of my past (and present) and they're fine with it.

Even so, it would be nice to be “out” the rest of the way. My mother and the rest of my family probably wouldn't mind, but some of our friends and my co-workers probably wouldn't accept it and it would impact negatively on my job and her friends.

Strange. I know several gay friends who are out of the closet, and it's wonderful for them to be “out”. But this isn't something I am, other than being human. It's just that I happen to like being human.

The Politics of Social Nudity

My personal politics is "conservative".  I'm for limited government and maximum liberty.  I trend toward being a libertarian, but I just can't get my head wrapped around legalizing all drugs.  But I can and do embrace the concept that people should be free to express themselves in any manner that they like, as long as they don't infringe on the rights of others.  Where I disagree with many is that I don't see how someone being naked, which is after all just expressing themselves, as themselves, violates other people's "right" not to see or hear things they don't personally want to see or hear.  Too bad.  The price of freedom is mutual respect and tolerance.

So maybe people won't be allowed to wander the streets without any clothes on in most cities, but there should be enough places locally where people can go to be outdoors without their clothing, that it could be said that their rights were at least being respected.  Let the size and accessibility of those areas be proportional to the number of people who use them, and people will vote with their feet.  If no one comes, shrink the space allocated and give other uses the more prime locations.  But if many people come, expand and mainstream the places where people can be naked together.

The problem on the right side of the spectrum is we have too many people who really want a theocracy.  To me, that's just fascism by another name.  And on the left, they're all to quick to grant "harmless" freedoms as a means of distracting people from realizing that they really have no real freedoms whatsoever.  East Germany is a good example.  The government not only allowed, but encouraged nudism to flourish, all the while controlling almost every other aspect of the people's lives.  The guiding principle on the left is "we know what's good for you".  Those governments always start off with the "good of the people" in mind, later winding up with "what's good for the government" as their only concern.

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.

Answering Questions

This blog is an offshoot of my answering questions about nudism and nudity on Yahoo Answers (answers.yahoo.com) under this same identity (rick407).  When I got interested in nudism in my early 20's, I dived right in trying to find out everything I could about it:  Surfing the web, buying books, visiting different nude beaches and resorts, joining local and national organizations, and visiting different forums on the Internet.

I soon realized that I could no longer see things from the average outsider's point of view.  Perhaps my perspective was already tainted before I even became involved.  Growing up, my family wasn't overly casual about nudity, but they weren't all that ashamed of it either.  And I had the example of my cousin raising his son in a nudist family.  My very first visit to a nude beach on a dare to myself (Black's Beach near San Diego) both satisfied my curiosities, and opened my eyes to how wrong our culture was about it.

Chatting at forums, clubs, and beaches became like preaching to the choir.  For the most part, we all have the same attitude about it, though on just about every other subject, we differ.  So I began to wonder, what does the "average" person think about it?

I keep my ears open and see plenty of curious interest in the media, and even some mention it from others who don't know I'm a nudist.  I listen carefully, trying not to bias the discussion with my own views so I can see where they'll go with it.  From that, my impression is that most people are curious and really aren't all that offended by nudity, though around others they'll at least pretend to be to offended reinforce what they believe to be the social norm.   All of which makes the social norm seem more rigid that it probably really is among individuals.

My continued curiosity of "what do people really think" lead me to start answering questions on these subjects on Yahoo Answers.  It's been pretty interesting.  The younger the questioner, the more honest and innocent the questions.  They tend to fall into the following categories:

Sleeping Naked:  Mostly asked by younger people who are sharing a room (siblings, dorm room mates, etc.), or from those who don't feel they have enough privacy to get away with it (parents or siblings coming into the room at the wrong times).

I used to share a bedroom with my younger brother and transient nudity (changing) was no big deal.  Honestly, the idea of sleeping nude hardly ever crossed my mind, but if it had, I would have had no problem with stripping as if to change and just jumping into bed that way.  I don't think my brother would have thought it to be that odd, nor would my parents if they noticed it.  But I understand that a lot of the people writing about it are anxious about it, though I doubt their siblings or parents would really care all that much if the slept that way.

Nudity being pornographic:  Some people can't get the association between not wearing clothing and sex out of their heads.  Especially thorny to many people is childhood nudity and pedophiles.  Nudity by itself isn't erotic, and even a die hard pedophile would probably get bored with it after a while.

Someone saw me naked:  Guess what. No matter how careful people are, someday they're going to be seen naked by accident, and there will be times when they'll see others that way.  Get over it.  That's what our species looks like.  You're not that special, and neither are they.

Erections:  Groan...  So many people assume that the environment will be arousing, when it's not.  OK, when too anxious and while asleep, it can happen.  I don't think most of us care, as long as the person isn't trying to sport it and make an issue of why they should be removed.

Kid's being naked:  Naked is our natural state.  The younger the kid is, the less likely they've been fully conditioned to the cultural norm and the more likely they'd rather just run around naked whenever they can get away with it.  There's something to be learned there.

Understanding other people's comfort with it (nudists and just people who are more casual about it than most people expect).  I try to turn it around and have the person try to see themselves as the one with the problem.

Questions of what the Bible or religion says about it.  I put my own understanding out there, but point to what others who've studied the subject say.

Lots of other random questions handled by myself and other nudists.  Some of the other people answering questions are recognized from other venues (club leaders, owners, or spokesmen).  But some are just nudists like myself putting in their two cents worth.  Often their answers are so much better than mine, or exactly what I would have said, that I either give them a thumb's up vote and move along.  Or I reinforce their view and show solidarity with their answers.  Either way, there's good people out there trying to educate the sometimes uneducatable. 

What should you do if someone sees you when you are naked?

Nothing.  Do absolutely nothing different than you would do if you were clothed.  Normally, it goes like this...  They see you and realize that you're not wearing anything.  Until they know that you see them, their initial reaction is just one of curiosity.  Why is that person naked?   Should I leave before that person sees me and is distressed.   Then you see them and behave in a distressed manner.  They see your distress and either are distressed themselves for being in that situation, are distressed for you, or in some cases, delight in your distress and attempt to further it.

It works out much better for both of you if they see that you see them, and you make it obvious that you don't care.  That leaves them with the curiosity and maybe some worry that you might be weird, but if you don't act weird, it puts them at ease.  Continue doing what you were doing, showing that it doesn't bother you in the least that you're naked or that they are seeing you naked.

This works great when you're caught skinny-dipping or camping in a remote area which turned out to not be remote enough.  If you're in an area where nudity is technically not illegal, you aren't doing anything wrong and you should behave as if you have a right to be there in the nude.  If you're not supposed to be nude there, appear harmless and oblivious to your nudity, hoping for ignorance on their part, or at least some forgiveness.  Besides, if you're out in a remote area, it's too much trouble for them to report you, and by then you could be long gone.

Smile, wave, and go about your business.  You'll be surprised at how many people just smile, wave back, and continue on.