It Could Case a Revival in the Arts...

From the Drudge Report, Sunday, July 31, 2005:

washingtonpost.com

Austria Museum Lets Naked People in Free
By WILLIAM J. KOLE

The Associated PressFriday, July 29, 2005; 6:19 PM

VIENNA, Austria -- Vienna's prestigious Leopold Museum is usually a pretty buttoned-down place, but on Friday, some of the nudes in its marble galleries were for real.

Scores of naked or scantily clad people wandered the museum, lured by an offer of free entry to "The Naked Truth," a new exhibition of early 1900s erotic art, if they showed up wearing just a swimsuit _ or nothing at all.

With a midsummer heat wave sweeping much of Europe, pushing temperatures into the mid-90s Fahrenheit in Vienna, the normally staid museum decided that making the most of its cool, climate-controlled space would be just the ticket to spur interest in the show.

"We find a naked body every bit as beautiful as a clothed one," said Elisabeth Leopold, who founded the museum with her husband, Rudolf. "If they came only out of lust, we have to accept that. We stand for the truth."

Peter Weinhaeupl, the Leopold's commercial director, said the goal was twofold _ help people beat the heat while creating a mini-scandal reminiscent of the way the artworks by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka and others shocked the public when they first were unveiled a century ago.

"We wanted to give people a chance to cool off, and bring nakedness into the open," he said. "It's a bit of an experiment. Egon Schiele was a young and wild person in his day. He'd want to be here."

Most of those who showed up in little or no attire Friday opted for swimsuits, but a few hardy souls dared to bare more. Among them was Bettina Huth of Stuttgart, Germany, who roamed the exhibition wearing only sandals and a black bikini bottom.

Although she used a program at one point to shield herself from a phalanx of TV cameras, Huth, 52, said she didn't understand what all the fuss was about.

"I go into the steam bath every week, so I'm used to being naked," she said. "I think there's a double morality, especially in America. We lived in California for two years, and I found it strange that my children had to cover themselves up at the beach when they were only 3 or 4 years old. That's ridiculous."

For years, the Austrian capital has been known for a small but lively nudist colony on the Donauinsel, an island in the middle of the Danube River where people disrobe, often startling the unsuspecting joggers, cyclists and rollerbladers who happen upon them.

Overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Austria has always been somewhat more conservative than many other European countries. The Viennese were scandalized when native art nouveau masters like Klimt _ best known for his sensuous "The Kiss" and the subject of an upcoming film starring John Malkovich _ began producing works that some critics panned as "indecency," "artistic self-pollution" and borderline pornography.

The 180 works on display at the Leopold through Aug. 22 include Klimt's "Nude Veritas," an 1899 painting of a naked young woman with wildflowers in her hair, and Schiele's "Two Female Friends," a 1915 rendition of two nude women entangled in each other's arms.
Max Hollein, director of Frankfurt's Schirn Kunsthalle art museum, likened the public uproar at the time to "the visible outcry at the live transmission from last year's Super Bowl when, for a few seconds, CBS broadcast shots of the singer Janet Jackson's exposed nipple."

Mario Vorhemes, a 20-year-old Vienna resident who strode into the Leopold on Friday wearing nothing but a green and black Speedo, was nonchalant.

"What's the big deal?" he asked. "We're born naked into this world. Why can't we walk around in it without clothes from time to time?"

Elina Ranta, a fully clothed tourist from Finland who checked out the art _ and the audience _ left amused.

"I thought, 'This is strange. How is this possible in a museum?'" Ranta said. "We've been in many galleries and I've never seen people walking around like this."

"In English, my name means 'beach,'" she added. "That's pretty funny under these circumstances, isn't it?"
___
On the Net:
Leopold Museum, http://www.leopoldmuseum.org

Only in Australia

Only in Australia would someone think that naked zipline would be a sport. Personally, I'm no good on a zipline clothed, so I don't think the naked part would help...

Adam

The most famous naturists of all time are found in the Bible! Here's Adam, as imagined by Michaelangelo.

The Ocean is a Better Experience This Way

The first time I went swimming in the ocean naked I found it was an entirely different experience--as these two no doubt also discovered.

Watch Out: Farmers Strike Again!

Farmer John lived on a quiet rural highway. But, as time went by, the traffic built up at an alarming rate. The traffic was so heavy and so fast that his chickens were being run over at a rate of three to six a day. So one day Farmer John called the sheriff's office and said, "You've got to do something about all of these people driving so fast and killing all of my chickens."

"What do you want me to do?" asked the sheriff.

"I don't care, just do something about those crazy drivers!"

So the next day he had the county workers go out and erected a sign that said: SLOW: SCHOOL CROSSING.

Three days later Farmer John called the sheriff and said, "You've got to do something about these drivers. The 'school crossing' sign seems to make them go even faster."

So, again, the sheriff sends out the county workers and they put up a new sign: SLOW: CHILDREN AT PLAY.

That really sped them up.So Farmer John called and called and called every day for three weeks. Finally, he asked the sheriff, "Your signs are doing no good. Can I put up my own sign?"

The sheriff told him, "Sure thing, put up your own sign." He was going to let Farmer John do just about anything in order to get him to stop calling every day to complain. The sheriff got no more calls from Farmer John.Three weeks later, curiosity got the best of the sheriff and he decided to give Farmer John a call. "How's the problem with those drivers. Did you put up your sign?" "Oh, I sure did. And not one chicken has been killed since then. I've got to go. I'm very busy." He hung up the phone.sheriff was really curious now and he thought to himself, "I'd better go out there and take a look at that sign... it might be something that WE could use to slow down drivers..."

So the sheriff drove out to Farmer John's house, and his jaw dropped the moment he saw the sign.It was spray-painted on a sheet of wood:

NUDIST COLONY
Go slow and watch out for the Chicks

Old McDonald Had a Naked Farm?

Naked truth about farming
Dawn Cuthbertson - The Kingston Whig-Standard
July 29, 2005

ONTARIO, CANADA - Farmer Don Williams openly admits he’s not exactly a prime candidate for a hot body contest or modelling contract. Williams, 42, had never been self-conscious about his “few” extra pounds. That is, until he was asked to pose nude in a new calendar featuring farmers of Prince Edward County. “It’s not like I’m Mr. Muscle Man,” Williams said. “Those of us in the farming community tend to be a little shy in that department.” Williams said he was hesitant to show off his birthday suit – and farmer’s tan – at first.

He relented when organizers assured him proceeds from the calendar would go towards promoting the region’s agriculture industry. “One of our biggest jobs as farmers anymore is educating the public,” he said. “It’s really amazing how many don’t have a flying clue about the production of their food.”

The Faces of our Farmers calendar was spearheaded by Janice Hickey, a Toronto native who bought a hobby farm in the county in 1981 after falling in love with its charm. All profits will be sent to the Prince Edward County Ontario Federation of Agriculture to create bursaries for students working towards a career in the industry. Farmers have faced hardships for more than two years since the first case of mad cow disease was linked to an Alberta farm, and it’s about time the public understood their challenges, Hickey said.

Hickey hoped that showing a little skin might turn some heads, not just to the farmers, but to important issues facing the agricultural industry. “I think there’s a lot of city folks who take our food source for granted,” she said. Fourteen farms, from dairy cow to organic vegetable to maple syrup, are represented in the 2006 calendar. September features the county’s first winery, Waupoos Estates, with its employees posing behind a row of grape vines. “We have a baby that’s seven weeks old and we have men in their 80s,” Hickey said. Sales of the first 1,000 calendars brought in $10,000, surpassing Hickey’s expectations. She’s hoping to double that number and has called the printer to place a second order.

The calendar’s original concept, now oft copied, came from the British movie Calendar Girls, based on a true story about a group of otherwise proper women who take it all off for cancer awareness. Hickey said she decided to introduce the fundraising idea to the farmers of Prince Edward County while on a trip to Cornwall, England, after spotting a calendar showcasing naked fishermen in a shop. “I picked it up and just started laughing,” she said. “I loved the concept of these fishermen in their own environment. I bought it.” “We made it comical, a little tongue in cheek and there has been a warm response,” she said. “We’ve sold copies to people who don’t know a soul in it.”

The tasteful cover photo features Don Williams’s 68-year-old father, Bob, his 16-year-old son, Justin, and family friend Tom Foster strategically placed behind a red antique tractor at their 400-acre farm near Bloomfield. “I was shocked that dad did it because he’s conservative,” Williams said. “Basically we have our shirts off and the rest of it, well, you can use your imagination.”

Some farmers took more convincing than others to participate, Hickey said. Lyle Hagerman of Hagerman Farms in Picton wasn’t one of them. The spry 77-year-old is the August pinup boy, hiding behind onions, a bucket of gourds and five corn ears alongside five generations of family members and friends. “There was no hesitation,” he said. “It was lots of fun but I didn’t think it would ever take off the way it has.” Mr. March, Clifford Foster, 74, said the $15 calendars have been fierce competition to his sweet maple syrup since he started bringing them to the Belle-ville Farmers’ Market. “It was a fun thing to do and if it’s helping a young lad that would like to have a career in agriculture, I think it’s beneficial,” Foster said. “With the high cost of education, they need all the help they can get.” Williams said his brief career as an exhibitionist has earned him celebrity status around town. “We went to the movies the other night and I don’t know how many people stopped me to comment on it,” he said, laughing. “It’s not a pretty picture but the tractor in front of me looks nice.”

The photo shoot was a nice distraction during an otherwise difficult year on the dairy, pork, cash crop and Christmas tree farm, Williams said. With money already tight, Williams was dealt another significant blow when his youngest daughter, Brittany, was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma. “The community rallied around us,” he said. “If [you’re] hitting rock bottom, they pick you up.”

That’s why Williams says he’s thrilled bursaries will be created for students who want to join the farming lifestyle. “Our future is with our kids and getting them involved is extremely important,” he said. Many farmers, especially in the beef industry, are starting to discourage their children from following in their footsteps, Williams said. Hagerman said he’s worried about that trend. “Without people who grow food, you’re going to be awful hungry,” the Picton farmer said. Williams said his son is showing interest in taking over the family farm one day and his two daughters are involved with 4-H. He lauded Hickey for her determination in making the calendar a success. “She’s like a pistol,” Williams said. “When she gets something in her teeth, she runs with it.”

Source: http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=119604&catname=Local+News&classif=News+Alert

Something Impish on Little Beach, Maui

There's just something impish about this photo, taken at Hawaii's premier nude beach, Little (Makena) Beach, Maui.

Simple Nudity

Simple nudity is a naturist concept: namely, that sometimes a naked guy is just a naked guy. See also NSSN: Non-Sexual Social Nudity.

Happiness is No Tan Line

Is it Hot Where You Are?

With temperatures all across the US at record highs--just tell the truth: doesn't this look like a good idea?

Life is Like a Box of Naked Chocolates

Homeless man charged after being found nude in Alabama cornfield
Associated Press
July 26, 2005

LITTLEVILLE, Ala. - A 26-year-old vagrant was charged with indecent exposure after police found him standing naked in a cornfield chewing on a cob near a country club. "He said he wanted to see the house where Forrest Gump lived," said Police Chief William Nale. Gump is the fictional character in a novel by Alabama author Winston Groom that became a hit movie. The Littleville police chief declined to release the man's name Tuesday but said his family lives in Michigan and he had been in a California institution earlier this year. After his arrest, the man was taken for a mental evaluation. He was spotted Monday morning near twin Pines Country Club. "He was standing in a cornfield, picking the corn and eating it raw," Nale said. "He didn't have anything on, not even his shoes. He was as naked as the day he was born." Authorities said the man was taken into custody without any trouble. "I asked him where his clothes were and he said he got hot (Sunday night), took them off and laid them on the railroad tracks and then couldn't remember where they were," Nale said. The suspect told authorities that he was a homeless drifter following the railroad tracks to south Alabama, where he thought he would find the Gump home.

Source:http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/12227550.htm

For Volleyball, Muscovites Head to the Beach
By Dan Shea Staff Writer

Summer in the city can be a sweaty, stifling, unpleasant time. Over the years, though, most Muscovites have found an effective way of combating the dog-day heat: they leave.

Meanwhile, for those who do not have recourse to a dacha in the relatively cooler sylvan pockets of the Moscow region, options for cooling off may seem few and far between. Fortunately for those stuck in the city, a refreshing summer standby that many Americans have enjoyed for years has reached the shores of the Moscow River and is rapidly gaining followers.

That particular activity, which involves neither hibachi grills nor horseshoes, is broadcast on an almost daily basis on state-run Sport television, although unlike most of that channel's content, the competitors shown are usually not Russian but tend more frequently to be Brazilian or Americans by the name of, for example, Misty May or Kerry Walsh.

The sport in question is beach volleyball, and, despite indoor volleyball's longstanding popularity in Russia and the country's traditional dominance in that sport, beach volleyball is a relatively new phenomenon in Moscow, familiar to many only through television.

This summer, though, the city is playing host not only to a small but worthy number of beach volleyball courts open to the public, but also to a range of tournaments, including the European Championship Final, that promises to spread the reach of beach volleyball.

For those ready to head out and play, one of the most popular spots is Beach No. 3 at the Serebryany Bor nature preserve on the Moscow River.
The beach fields some six to eight beach volleyball courts, all of which boast soft, rich sand and are surrounded by sponsors' banners, lending a professional air to the beach volleyball hack who sneaks in for a quick game.

Lena Kharitonova, an engineer who began playing beach volleyball about a year ago, said that more and more Russians were being drawn to the game's obvious selling points: "Sun, sand and a cool breeze," all of which can be found at the scenic preserve.

Other beach volleyball options at Serebryany Bor include Beach No. 2 and the unnamed beach area adjacent to Beach No. 3. The latter of the two features a lively beach volleyball scene, which, although the conditions are a bit primitive in comparison to those at Beach No. 3, draws a large crowd of regulars who field makeshift tournaments on a regular basis.

But these pick-up games are hardly for the fainthearted, as the beach with no name is known unofficially -- but with good reason -- as the nudist beach.

On Saturday, there was a steady stream of games taking place on the three courts at the nudist beach. This is more or less the norm, said Alexander, one of the beach's most ardent competitors, who modestly gave only his first name. Alexander praised the "beauty of the game" and said he played at the nudist beach "practically every day."

When asked why he preferred to play without clothes, he matter-of-factly answered, "Because this is a nudist beach," later stating that a lack of clothes "lets you play more freely."

For those who would rather keep their shorts on, the Beach Club at Vodny Stadion, which is located on the Khimki Reservoir, offers its guests beach volleyball for a 200-ruble entrance fee. The volleyball action at Vodny Stadion is subject to temporary disruptions, such as last weekend's Russian Jet Skiing Championship.

Beach volleyball can also be found throughout the Moscow region, including in the city of Mytishchi, where the Third Annual Russia Cup Beach Volleyball Championship was held on July 15-17. By the tournament's final day, near-capacity crowds of about 300 gathered to see Natalya Uryadeva and Alexandra Shiryayeva take the women's trophy, and Sergei Tetyukhin and Dmitry Karasyov the men's.

Yelena Popova, a spectator at the tournament and native of Mytishchi, had first
seen beach volleyball on television three or four years ago and only knew that it was "something from America." But after watching the tournament, she was ready to try it herself.

Meanwhile, Alisa Khabiburina, a student who was also catching her first live glimpse of the game, said she was "very impressed. ... I was surprised by the quality of play." Khabiburina added that she was "not sated" with her taste of beach volleyball and would "definitely come again next year."

That the game is quickly gaining popularity in Russia was a sentiment shared by spectators and players alike -- and for the players it also represents a sort of vindication.

"Right now, the game is played on a very mediocre level in Russia," Tetyukhin said after his victory. "My hope is that in three to four years, if we're serious about this, we can become world-class competitors."

For the time being, beach volleyball enthusiasts in Moscow will have to content themselves with a small but growing number of beach volleyball courts and with not-yet-champion professional teams.

When asked which teams he feared most as he prepared to attend an international competition in Poland, Tetyukhin answered, "Right now, all of them. We're the weakest."

Source: http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2005/07/26/015.html

SHAKIRA THE NUDIST

SHAKIRA THE NUDIST

Colombian singer SHAKIRA hates wearing clothes and loves to be nude as often as possible.

The UNDERNEATH YOUR CLOTHES hitmaker, 28, is left unmoved by fashion and has no time for style critics, who mock her dress sense.

She says, "(Picking outfits) bored me. I only got a stylist when my family were astonished to see me in the same evening dress three Christmases in a row.
"If I could, I'd live in nude, like Eve in paradise." Source: http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/shakira%20the%20nudist

For National Security

Let's get naked!
Vox Day - WorldNet Daily
July 25, 2005

Whereas the wearing of unseasonal or inappropriate clothing can be reasonably expected to have lethal consequences in light of the London subway bombings;

And whereas the federal government authorities have deemed it necessary to the security of the national air transport system to thoroughly scan, search and even strip-search passengers prior to airplane embarkation;

And whereas metropolitan officials have decided that the safety of major municipalities is dependent upon the ability of the police to randomly search persons who offer their consent;

And whereas failing to offer consent to be searched is tantamount to providing reasonable suspicion requiring an invasive personal search;

And whereas the pending renewal of the Patriot Act provisions originally intended to expire indicates that individual privacy is not only no longer a natural right, but a serious threat to the continued existence of the nation;

And whereas many state governments have already been deprived of taxes on certain items that are commonly designated tax-free;

And whereas it is unusually hot this summer;

And whereas the general consensus of scientists quoted in the mainstream media is that the global warming phenomenon is unlikely to stop anytime soon;

And whereas modern plastic surgery allows for the ready modification of the insufficiently attractive;

And whereas the entire pool of international fashion designers have clearly and collectively gone off the deep end;

And whereas the massive financial success of the porn industry indicates that we the people enjoy few things as much as looking at massive quantities of uncovered flesh;

Let it be proposed, therefore, that the citizens of this great nation return to their natural state. That is to say, eliminate the business suit in favor of the birthday suit. Nude in the air is tough on terror. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can take off for your country. We have nothing to fear, but modesty itself.

For it seems eminently clear that what is required to end this lengthy War on Terror is a constitutional amendment banning all clothing in public places. Think of the immeasurable benefits! No terrorist will ever conceal a box-cutter, much less a suicide bomb vest, ever again. Families will reduce their household spending by the average of 5 percent that is currently wasted on clothing. Massive amounts of energy now wasted on air conditioning will be saved. Best of all, no man will ever be forced to undress another woman with his eyes again.

True, this natural step toward national nudism will not come without a serious cost. Seeing Ted Kennedy or Hillary Clinton standing naked on the floor of the Senate will be hard on everyone. But at least the 61 percent of the adult populace who is overweight will be given additional motivation to lose weight, and I am certain that the American people, in their infinite wisdom, will soon see fit to elect better-looking representatives with more attractive bodies.

As the Patriot Act pushers repeatedly tell us, if you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to hide. So, get naked for your country, now!

Vox Day is a novelist and Christian libertarian. He is a member of the SFWA, Mensa and the Southern Baptist church, and has been down with Madden since 1992. Visit his Web log, Vox Popoli, for daily commentary and responses to reader email.

Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45428

The nude beach scene, revealed
Two days of flabby flesh, massage offers and pickup lines lead to surprising thoughts.
JAMES THORNER, St. Petersburg TimesJuly 24, 2005

MIAMI BEACH

Splurppp.

Splurppp.

Splurppp.

A man squirts a puddle of suntan lotion, rubs his palms together and goes to work on the Rubenesque calves of the 50-something blond.

Her face goes all dreamy as the suntanned hands of this 30-something Javier, Marco or Philippe knead that soft spot behind the knee.

Magic fingers inch up the fleshy thigh that jiggles, wiggles and squiggles. He reaches the border where the bathing suit should be, but there's no bathing suit.

The woman had dropped her suit when she dropped onto the towel at Miami Beach's Haulover Beach. The masseuse's hands proceed to unknot her naked gluteus.

Her bare derriere is just one of hundreds similarly disrobed on the quarter-mile of clothing-optional Florida sand.

A breeze catches the fragrance of coconut oil and conveys it to my nose. Time to drop the paperback and study the scenery. How often do you visit one of the few beaches that lets you shed all your threads?

You've got the sunny blue sky, the gentle waves, the soft sand. But everyone seems to be slathering lotion, grazing on chips under umbrellas, cut off from the world with headphones.


No kids build sand castles or fly kites. Almost no one's soaking in the surf. There's not even a pitiful Frisbee to break up the monotony.

There are enough naughty bits on display to fill a newsstand of dirty magazines. But from the vantage point of my umbrella, I've reached an unexpected conclusion: Haulover Beach is boring.

* * *

That suits Shirley Mason just fine. As a "beach ambassador," she and husband Richard have spent 14 years battling the notion that Haulover is a Sodom and Gomorrah of the sands.

Mason's a full-figured mother of 55 who stations herself under a canopy on the strand. Richard, 71, usually stands at her side dispensing cards describing Haulover "etiquette." (Among the tips: It's rude to gawk.)

The Masons are the chief cheerleaders of beach nudism and, like other ambassadors, wear turquoise safari helmets with orange bands to set themselves apart amid the crush of flesh.

Back in 1991 the Masons stuck a sign in the sand on north Miami Beach - "Beyond this point you may encounter nude sunbathers" - and almost dared Dade County to object.

They reasoned there were 8,600 miles of coastline in Florida. Why deny nudists a measly quarter-mile of sand?

"People are surprised because they think nudity must be sex, that people are fornicating on the beach. And that's not even close," Shirley Mason says.

Richard Mason credits the ambassadors for helping make Haulover a respite from the body beautiful obsessions of South Beach. You can have flab and it's just fab.

"When you come to Haulover you can almost hear Peggy Lee singing, Is That All There Is? he says.

* * *

You've got to pity the studs looking for love on Haulover. As any veteran beachgoer could tell you, it's just about the worst place to score.

Haulover is a friends beach. It's a couples beach. But it's a surprisingly tough pickup beach. Women, some stripping publicly for the first time, tend to activate their sleaze ball early warning systems.

A percentage flock to the hassle-free zone, another name for the gay end of the beach. It takes up the northern tip of Haulover, demarcated by a pink lifeguard tower.

Yet the studs try mightily. Moussed, depiled, toned up, they come, usually singly, scoping out women's towels.

They try flattery: "You're in nice shape. Do you work out?"

Or camaraderie: "Are you a nudist, too?"

And this oldie and not-so-goodie: "Haven't I seen you here before?'

A single guy plops his can in the sand and pulls out a pair of binoculars. He initially trains them on pelicans offshore. After a minute the only wildlife he's scoping is human.

If there's a one-man social committee on Haulover, it's Larry "The Beach Mayor" Fleischman. You spot him hundreds of feet down the beach, reading the Miami Herald on a chair beneath a wind-whipped Buddhist yin-yang pennant.

A deeply tanned 70-something, The Mayor wears a straw hat rakishly spiked with feathers. It covers a bald head with gray tufts on the side.

Larry specializes in offering massages to naked young women. Many of the naked young women specialize in turning Larry down.

He was a beach ambassador, but they booted him to protest his unstoppable need to knead. For 14 years he has come to the beach almost every day.

It's Friday afternoon, a relatively slow beach day. Two young blond women arrive, unfurl their towels and peel off their bikinis.

Larry's a tenth of a mile away, but before one of the women can reach behind to lotion her tattooed back, he's making a beeline across the beach. Stuck under his arm is the coiled blue masseuse's towel.

They're on their back sunning themselves and barely look up as Larry makes his pitch. The brush-off is blunt: No thanks. Not interested. Within a minute he's retracing his footsteps.

Soon he's chatting with a young Latina, sitting at the base of her beach lounger. Naked, she keeps her thighs crossed. Until Larry leaves.

"People think he's a dirty old man," Richard Mason says of The Mayor, like himself a Korean War-era veteran. "I couldn't handle the turndowns."

* * *

"Please don't let hazardous horse play sadden your day" - Among the helpful hints published online by Haulover nudists.

* * *

It's Saturday morning and the parking lot is filling on the west side of the 15,000 block of Collins Avenue. A tunnel under the road takes you to Haulover, past the dunes and sea grapes that screen the beach from street-side gawkers.

The couples start arriving. Trudging across the sand, hunkered down with gear, they leave little to chance. Dollies with pneumatic tires are stacked 4 feet high with coolers, umbrellas, chairs and rolled-up magazines.

Maybe it's the lack of kids and teens. Maybe it's reluctance to strut one's stuff. Maybe it's umbrellas with built-in drink holders and the attention paid to "rehydrating." But lethargy hangs over the beach.

The ocean might as well be contaminated, for all the swimming that goes on.

To hear beach buffs tell it, the beach was a hangout for drug dealers, gangs and sexual deviants before nudists adopted it in 1991. About 7 miles north of South Beach and a couple miles shy of the Broward County line, Haulover was such a mess the Masons figured nudity would be an improvement.

Haulover is a hit. Before noon you can barely walk without stepping on someone's towel or blanket. Several thousand people blanket the beach, part of the estimated 1.3-million visitors a year. Outside the clothing-optional section, the sand is almost empty.

If you want to hear ocean murmurs, don't come to Haulover. Condo construction guarantees the rat-a-tat-tat of jackhammers and hydraulic engines. Projects such as Trump by the Sea - yes, that Trump - replace what used to be a strip of tacky 1950s-style motels.

But as long as middle-aged couples desire somnolence in the sands and nudity without the naughtiness, Haulover appears secure.

After about eight hours of this over two days I felt like printing a T-shirt reading: "I went to the country's hottest nude beach and all I took was a lousy nap."

- James Thorner can be reached at toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4613, 813 909-4613 or http://us.f602.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=thorner@sptimes.com

Source: http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/24/Floridian/The_nude_beach_scene_.shtml

Torsonudismo?

Venice bans topless tourists and dangling feet in canalsBruce Johnston - telegraph.co.uk
July 23, 2005

ITALY - Venice has begun a "zero tolerance" campaign to restore public decorum, with dozens of tourists being fined 50 Euros [$60 US] for removing their shirts and other "unseemly behaviour".

Unacceptable behaviour also includes eating picnic-style lunches outdoors, dangling feet in the canals, and wearing minuscule shorts.

The man behind the clampdown is Augusto Salvadori, the tourism councillor, a veteran of the struggle to protect the dignity of the city.

The focus of his crusade is what Venetians now call torsonudismo - literally, "torso-nudism" practised by tourists removing their shirts in the heat.

Of the first tourists to be fined for torsonudismo several days ago, all were in St Mark's Square, while a British couple were fined for dangling their feet in a canal.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/23/wvenice23.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/23/ixworld.html

This Would Sure Save Money

But I don't expect it to happen anytime soon...

Don't You just feel better about yourself?

It would be worth a good psychology thesis to discover if naturists, whatever their supposed "beauty" have a better self-image that textiles. I suspect they do...

Working Naked is Very Practical

I have found that yard work, painting and other messy tasks are just better done naked--weather permitting of course.

Avon Calling?

Every naturist has had this experience!

Nude is Not Lewd

"Nude is not lewd" is a naturist saying. It's shorthand for "Just because I'm naked, it doesn't mean that I'm engaged in a sexual behavior."

Those Rags Called Swimsuits

It's hard, very hard, when a seasoned skinny-dipper has wear a swimsuit. It just never seems natural...

Alex Berger Doesn't Get It

Columnist ponders Nude Recreation Week
Alex Berger – TimesLedger.com
July 22, 2005

"What spirit is so empty and blind that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?" – Michelangelo

In the event you didn't mark your calendar, "Nude Recreation Week" begins July 9. The shedder-of-clothing set is eagerly waiting to see how many of us "prudes" are willing to sit around a campfire in our birthday suits, roasting marshmallows (and hopefully, nothing else) during this "naked as a jaybird" period.

A few weeks ago, I met a very unusual gentleman, I.M. Nekkid, in the Bayside Marina, who coincidentally, was a nudist. He said his nickname was Buck. "You are a real nudist?" I gasped. "Yes, a real, proud nudist," Buck replied. "I can disrobe in five seconds flat.""We are not wackos," he said, "but common, ordinary, carefree bundles of 100 percent exposed skin, who yearn to undrape our shape. Is it wrong to spend a little of our leisure time in total freedom without the burden of clothes? Are you interested?""Buck, only if you can convince Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry to peel along with me," I laughingly remarked. He looked at me sternly. "If you or anyone else is looking for erotica, you will be greatly disappointed.""Oh"?"Just imagine yourself luxuriating clothes-free under the warm sun," Buck continued, "enjoying the caress of a gentle breeze on your bare body. Floating through the cool, silky waters of a lake. Feeling completely casual and relaxed without your clothes in the company of other nude dudes. We are trendsetters who want to let the sun shine in where the sun ordinarily does not shine in. Why don't you and your wife try it?" I paused and then reluctantly agreed.

Selling Gloria on the idea was not easy. She said that she hates any place where all the women wear the same outfit, but I finally succeeded.The following day, my barefaced friend brought us to his nudist camp. He quickly stripped into a "Full Monty" mode, which made Gloria's face turn crimson red. My embarrassed wife and I quickly decided to keep our clothes on. It wasn't long before we realized we were at a place where we could walk around all day without looking at a human face.Suddenly, a man with a long beard appeared. Gloria asked why does he have that long beard? "Somebody has to go out for coffee," Buck said. I then saw my first nude women. Gloria was right. All the women did wear the same ensemble. Another nude gentleman asked me what I thought of his birthday suit?" "It needs pressing," I told him.

I soon discovered nudist weddings present many problems, such as planning a dress rehearsal and, where exactly does the groom keep the ring? At the ceremonies, there is a plus side. It is easy to pick out the best man. At one wedding, the minister asked the bride, "Do you take this man?" She said, "Well, if I had a choice, there's a guy in the second row..."Buck went on to describe a list of "Things To Do Nude," such as playing basketball, biking (ouch, my seat hurts already), bowling (be careful not to drop the ball), camping (never fly-fishing), jogging (and jingling) and windsurfing.And a list describing "Things NOT To Do Nude," including barbecuing, beekeeping, firefighting, picking blackberries, sitting on hot vinyl car seats, tearing out poison ivy, and climbing a barbed-wire fence. Ohhhkay!

Despite Buck's enticing words, I was not ready to tear my clothes off at this point. I simply can't see myself luxuriating by a campfire, naked as a skinless frankfurter and being requested to remove my wrinkled jumpsuit.I have very strong doubts about parading around in the flesh exhibiting my baby blues and other vitals too delicate to describe in this family newspaper. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not a prude. At the age of nine, I allowed a young female nurse to remove my hospital gown and completely bathe and prep me for an upcoming appendectomy operation.At the age of 11, my father took me to a "Schvitz" (a Turkish Steam Bath), where naked, adult men sat, sweated and gabbed. After three seconds of almost being scalded alive by the hot steam, I ran out and vowed never to eat a steamed lobster again.And that's not all. At the age of 17, I took daily showers with other naked guys, while serving in the Air Force. That experience definitely destroyed my belief that all men were created equal.But, going pubic, I mean public, is flesh of another color. After showering, I always get a sinking feeling as I pass my full-length mirror and see what terrible things happened to my body which no health food, exercise program, skilled surgery, or "schvitz," can cure. So would I want to parade before my contemporaries in the altogether?Moreover, I don't feel a compelling need to sit around a campfire in the buff with others in a similar stage of undress, with worse anatomies than mine. That mirror image of my physique is more than I, nor anyone else, can stomach. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but my beholders would definitely not like what they will behold of little, ol', naked, me.Buck said for the bashful, who would like to explore their nudist fantasies and appear in the au natural but were too embarrassed to let it all hang out, there was a halfway solution. Flesh-colored swimwear is now available that make these "prudes" look positively golden, glowing and naked.Clotheslessness an ideal environment to get in touch with yourself physically, Buck suggests....

This guy just d0esn't get it at all...

News of Nakedness

What is it? The moon? There seems to be a plethora of news regarding nakedness today:


Police strip to halt nudist crime

Studland Beach has been a naturist resort for decadesPolice are set to strip off - to help catch prowlers who are demanding sex from bathers on a nudist beach.
Officers hope by shedding their uniforms they can mingle with others using Studland Beach in Dorset.

They want to deter strangers who have approached bathers after the resort was wrongly branded as a venue for exhibitionist sex, known as "dogging".

However, police chiefs say undercover constables may wear swimming costumes or trunks and will not be naked.

The operation is backed by British Naturism and Studland United Naturists.
There has been concern about the activities of several predatory males

Chief Inspector Nick Maton told the BBC News website: "There has been concern about the activities of several predatory males and concern from nudists that they were being approached.

"This was worrying the naturist community. To give an example, one naturist couple using the beach had actually written in the sand in front of them 'no pervs', so they would not be approached."

Last summer, 16 people were arrested for outraging public decency at Studland Beach, which is managed by the National Trust and has been a naturist resort for decades.

Studland Beach Users Action Group, a partnership of police, naturists and the National Trust, has produced a leaflet deploring those who "through sexual misconduct threaten to bring naturism into disrepute".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/4700457.stm

OK, that was good. This is not:

Owner of Finger Lakes nudist camp faces child porn charges

LOCKE, N.Y. The owner of an upstate nudist camp has been charged with trafficking in child pornography.Authorities in Cayuga County say 51-year-old Joseph Musco Junior of the town of Locke in southern Cayuga County has been charged with several offenses, including promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child and possession child pornography.

Musco is owner of the Bare Bones Camp, a nudist camp in the Finger Lakes region.

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports the investigation began when a police department in New Hampshire informed the Cayuga County Sheriff's Department that it had information on Musco's activities.

He's being held in the Cayuga County Jail in lieu of ten-thousand dollars bail.

Source: http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=3616480

The good news is that this camp is not affiliated with either AANR or TNS.

More bad news:

New twist in sex club saga
20 July 2005

THE owner of a spa exposed as a haunt for swingers assured families living nearby nearly two years ago that it was not a sex club, it has emerged.Two weeks ago the POST revealed how Blue Lagoon Naturist Spa in Becontree Avenue, Dagenham, hosted couple-swapping parties on Saturday nights.But before the spa opened in June 2004, owner Doug Fisher wrote to reassure the community the spa was not a sex club.In a letter to Valence Residents' Association in November 2003, Mr Fisher said: "I fear that like many people who have never been to a naturist facility, you have jumped to conclusions about the nature of the club and how it will be operated."Unfortunately, most people who have no experience of naturism think that it is some sort of sex club. I can assure you that this could not be further from the truth."

But behind the spa's doors at weekends, couples can swap partners and engage in group sex.On the club's website, it also states that Saturday nights are reserved for members of the "Blue Lagoon Swingers Club" and both singles and couples are welcome to join.Planning chiefs initially granted planning permission on the basis that the venue "could be used by the whole community."

At the time, the only objection to the application was that the property did not have enough parking places.But in his letter to the residents' association, Mr Fisher added: "You have raised the point about unsocial elements and vandals. I assume that the term 'unsocial elements' refers to perverts."As I have explained, the club will not be a haven for these people because of our strict code of conduct and any person using our facilities and breaching the rules will not be tolerated and asked to leave."

Speaking to the POST, Mr Fisher insisted the spa was not a sex club and said that they merely "relaxed the rules" on a Saturday night.He added: "Because of human nature, it's difficult to control people's behaviour but we are very strict in here and we have a code of conduct"We have been here a year and we've been no trouble and the local businesses are profiting big time because of us being here. We are nice people in here and there's nothing illegal."

Councillor Don Hemmett has demanded a probe into the circumstances surrounding the business being granted planning permission.Our story was picked up by a number of national newspapers, including the News of the World, the People and the Daily Sport.And a user of the spa was delighted by our scoop - and even e-mailed us to say he hoped the number of visitors would rise as a result.The user, known only as Dan, said: "Thank you so much for doing that, I was trying to get the place noticed and put on the map but never thought my efforts would make front page news. Wow. It also hasn't cost a penny for the advertisement you have created.

http://www.bdpost.co.uk/content/barkinganddagenham/post/news/story.aspx?brand=BDPOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsbdp&itemid=WeED20%20Jul%202005%2010%3A16%3A22%3A330

It should be noted that this is another unaffliated club! See:

http://www.british-naturism.org.uk/clubs.asp

Another from the UK:

Nude sunbathers fined by police
BBC News
July 20, 2005

ENGLAND - Six nude sunbathers have each been fined £80 [approx. $140.00 US] by police in Merseyside after stripping off on a beach.

The bathers were caught without their clothes on in the sand dunes at North Sefton and were issued with fixed penalty notices.

Police launched Operation Crow with English Nature Sefton Rangers after complaints by residents and visitors.

The operation will target nude sunbathers throughout the summer, particularly on hot days, police said.

Pc John Schofield, of Merseyside Police, said: "This type of activity is not acceptable to the many families with young children who like to go out and enjoy the sand dunes on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

"We will continue to address this problem and will give penalty notices to anyone responsible for public order offences."

Whew, I guess it really is hot in Britain.

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/4699589.stm

And finally, from Germany:

Police send nude shopper home
The Townsville Bulletin
July 20, 2005

COLOGNE, GERMANY - German police let a nearly naked shopper go home after she told them she was getting groceries in the nude because she had lost a 'spin the bottle' contest, a police spokesman in Cologne said today."We're a tolerant city that is open to the world," spokesman Burkard Jahn said.

"She could have been arrested for disturbing the peace but we decided to let her go home with a verbal warning to dress appropriately next time."

The Cologne woman, 35, entered the 24-hour shop at 4am wearing nothing but an unbuttoned denim jacket, Mr Jahn said.

Police let her go because few people and presumably no small children had seen her at that time of day, he said.

Source: http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,15996187%255E1702,00.html

The Hard-Working Buns

Here's to the hard-working buns
(the term naturists tend to prefer for the rump), the most hard-working and at the same time, the most attractive part of the human body of either gender.

A nude attitude

By Jimmy Greenfield
RedEyePublished
July 18, 2005

To the naked eye, nudist clubs would seem to have an aura of sexuality.After all, men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes are walking around in the buff, often wearing nothing more than a pair of sunglasses.Those assumptions could not be further from the truth, said Scarlett Schmitt, co-owner of the family-owned Ponderosa Sun Club in Roselawn, Ind."It's because [non-nudists] equate being nude with having sex," said Schmitt, 39, who grew up at Ponderosa--about 75 miles southeast of Chicago--and has been a nudist her entire life. "For a lot of people, that's the only time they're nude. Either having sex or if they're taking a shower."So if it's not for sex, then what's the attraction?

"If you take your clothes off, lay in the sun for a while, swim for a while and everybody else is doing it, you'll realize it's one of the most liberating and natural things you'll ever feel," said Michael, 32, a Ponderosa member from Wicker Park.Michael has brought dates to Ponderosa, though he has never seen a girlfriend naked for the first time while at the camp. Male and female friends are curious about coming, but they have different concerns."Guys are always like, what if I [get an erection]? Girls are like, what if everybody's gawking at me?" said Michael, who asked that his last name not be used. "Once they get here they find out it just doesn't happen."The camp does have ways to deal with those situations. If a man becomes aroused or is staring at others, most of the time he's given a chance to control himself or stop gawking. On the second offense, he's asked to leave. This happens a handful of times a summer, Schmitt said.

At Ponderosa, which Schmitt's grandparents founded in 1965, around 500 individuals and families pay $400 a year for membership at the club, which has a swimming pool, tennis courts, volleyball court and a fishing pond on its 76 acres."It's like a Jellystone," Schmitt said. "But it's nude."The American Association for Nude Recreation--the largest nudist organization in the U.S.--boasts a roster of 270 clubs with roughly 50,000 members. The European-based International Naturists Federation has 350,000 worldwide members. But in Chicago, nudist clubs are hard to find, and the handful that exist are all non-landed, meaning they don't own property and instead rent facilities like bowling alleys for their functions.

The family atmosphere at Ponderosa is evident as soon as you approach the large circular pool not far from the front entrance. Nude adults are keeping an eye on their naked children, who are jumping in and out of the pool with no inhibitions.While the club requires that adults be nude, kids do have the option of wearing clothes, Schmitt said. The only state that doesn't permit nudist clubs is Arkansas, according to AANR spokeswoman Carolyn Hawkins, who says children are permitted at all their member clubs in the other 49 states."There are absolutely no laws against [children being at nudist clubs]," Hawkins said.

Lakeview residents Lucy and Bill Madera discovered nudism nine years ago, and since then they've bought a trailer on the Ponderosa campgrounds and make the 90-minute drive from Chicago nearly every weekend.Inside the trailer, Lucy is cold so she covers up with a sarong, but Bill is completely nude, which is why he is sitting on what he calls his "butt towel." For "sanitary reasons," he says.Lucy is planning a ladies' weekend to Ponderosa for friends, but not all of them will accept such an invitation."I get comments like, 'Oh, I'm too fat' or 'Trust me, you wouldn't want to see me nude' and our response is pretty much always the same," she said."Once you're there and you see other people like you, thin or heavy, older or younger," Lucy said, they won't care.

Christian Lemmler, 30, who was first brought to nudist camps by her parents as a teen, has been bringing her own children to Ponderosa since they were born. She and her husband, Jim, who live in suburban Lockport, tell their kids, 12 and 9, to let friends know they go camping each weekend."We hold out the major detail of being nude," Christian Lemmler said. "A lot of people don't handle that well, especially with the kids being here."While Christian is a longtime nudist, Jim has been coming to Ponderosa for just three years. One reason was because he often chose instead to spend weekends playing softball, but he also had another concern."The only thing that bothered me was seeing my mother-in-law naked," he said. "As far as being nude, I had no problems with that."

Eventually, Jim faced his fears as well as his naked mother-in-law. And how did it go that first time? "No big deal," he said. "As soon as it happened it was like, 'What was I worried about?' "

First-timers to Ponderosa are given a list of rules and told to park near the entrance, leave their clothes in the car and head over to the pool.

Acknowledging anxiety about taking ones clothes off for the first time, Schmitt allows women a grace period of a few hours.The motivations of men, however, are a little more suspicious, and they must disrobe immediately."We want to make sure they're here for the right reasons," Schmitt said.

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/redeye/chi-050718nudemain,1,4392296.story?page=1&coll=chi-news-hed

Sunny Rest

This photo is from Sunny Rest, mentioned in the previous post.

Boomers find it's hip to be bare

Nudist group growing, and mostly with members 50 or older.

By Matt Birkbeck
Of The Morning Call

More and more, when Carolyn Hawkins looks at fellow nudists at camps and gatherings across the country, she sees faces framed by graying hair.That was never more evident than among the 3,000 or so people attending a convention and festival of the American Association for Nude Recreation, Eastern Region, at Sunny Rest Lodge in Carbon County this week.Many who checked into Sunny Rest — the convention ends today — were well into their 50s and 60s, bringing to light a dilemma the AANR has struggled with: drawing younger members.''It's something we are really focusing on,'' said Hawkins, a spokeswoman for AANR of Kissimmee, Fla. ''Many of us have been in this a long time and you do see our members getting older.''

While 92 percent of AANR's membership has traditionally been over 35, Hawkins said the majority of its members are now entering their 50s and 60s.The AANR, which claims 50,000 members, has seen its ranks grow over the past decade, from 42,500 in 1992, and has boasted a 30 percent increase in the number of nudist clubs in the United States and Canada, from 170 to 260.Aging baby boomers, having experienced the free-spirited decade of the '60s, seem to have gravitated toward nudist clubs, said Hawkins.

According to Forbes.com, the added interest has raised gross income from related nude recreation business from $120 million in 1993 to $400 million in 2002.Sunny Rest, a 190-acre resort in Franklin Township that was founded in 1945 and is among the country's oldest nudist facilities, bid for the AANR convention last year and eventually beat out two other East Coast resorts, said co-owner Myra Mesher.

While some AANR members such as Sunny Rest co-owner Halsie Mesher, a third-generation nudist whose family has owned the resort since 1978, are born into the nudist culture, most others take a far different route.For many, becoming a nudist takes a certain amount of personal strength, and that only comes with age%2

Too Hot for Nudists?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Barely surviving the heat wave
For nudists, the key is lots of sunscreen and wide-brimmed hats.
APRIL KEMICK, London Free Press
July 16, 2005

It's so hot, even the nudists are running for cover.

While baring all is cooler, nudists say the London area's record-breaking heat wave has also left them sweating -- even without their clothing.

"You definitely still sweat," nudist Clara Wortner said yesterday. "With this type of weather, you can't help it."

The scorching heat continued yesterday, with a daytime high around 30 C, which, with humidity, felt like 38 C.

Wortner, who operates the Sunny Glades Park nudist camp near Bothwell, said lots of sunscreen and wide-brimmed hats are key accessories for the naked during heat waves.

"Sun safety is very important for nudists, for obvious reasons," she said.

Big-time sunburns aside, there are clear advantages to being a nudist in the sweltering heat, said Wortner, who does everything from gardening to media interviews in the buff.

For one, you don't have to face sticky, sweat-stained clothing.

"Textiles (that's nudist-speak for people who wear clothes) have to deal with shorts riding up and shirts and bras sticking to them," she said.

"When you don't have clothes on, you don't have those kinds of problems," Wortner said. "You're much more comfortable."

It's also easier to cool off.

"You can just grab the garden hose and spray yourself down," she said. "You can't do that with clothes on."

Everyday activities, such as house and yard work and even volleyball, are more comfortable in skin alone, she said.

"It's nicer being a nudist in hot, sticky weather."

The 20-year employee at Sunny Glades said she suspects many people peel off layers to cope with the heat, even if they don't talk about it.

"I'm sure lots of people strip down as soon as they get home from work," she said.

Membership and inquiries to nudist and naturist clubs rise with the temperature, she said.

"There's definitely more people exploring it at this time of the year," she said. "Summer is a great time to be a nudist."
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2005/07/16/1133943-sun.html

Canadians Bare All

Photo taken in 2004 at Crocus Grove...on left is Bob Migliore, cited in the story.

Sun, July 10, 2005
All kinds dare to bare
By CHRIS KITCHING, SUN MEDIA

WINNIPEG -- Nudism is an activity that makes many people uncomfortable but you can't knock it until you bare it, a longtime nudist says.

"We have people from all walks of life, all occupations and all ages," said Bob Migliore, who co-organized an open house yesterday at Crocus Grove, a nudist camp about 40 km northeast of Winnipeg in the Mars Sandhills.

"If people want to try a lifestyle that's going to give them a new outlook on life, this is it. It's a big stress-reliever."

Nearly a dozen people attended the seven-hour open house, which members used to promote the naked truth about nudism and dispel several common myths.

"We're not what the city calls adult entertainment," said Migliore, 64. "We're a family oriented campground. We don't use the 'colony' term because it gives the connotation that everybody is doing the same thing at the same time."

Crocus Grove has the amenities and activities of a typical campground, including a heated pool, walking trails and bird watching. The only difference is everyone participates in the buff. Strict rules forbid inappropriate conduct and photography.

The camp is clothing-optional but people must be nude in the pool, sauna and hot tub, Migliore said. Crocus Grove, one of at least four nudist camps or beaches in Manitoba, opened in 1969 and has about 130 regular members that range from families with toddlers to naturists in their 80s.

"Children are natural nudists and as soon as they find out they can go nude ... they just love it," said Migliore, who, along with his wife Pat joined Crocus Grove in 1985.

Like many new members, Pat Migliore was shy at first but quickly warmed to the idea of summer activities in her birthday suit.

"I was very nervous and uptight in the beginning but I've never looked back," she said.

The Migliores spend about 100 days a year at the camp taking part in a lifestyle their two children and grandchildren now enjoy.

Now, a Pet Peeve

This kind of photo is not uncommon on the net: a "nudist beauty contest." In this case, "Ms. Maslin Beach, 1996." (Maslin Beach is a very well-known nude beach in Australia; there is a movie by that name, and yes, the characters are naked throughout the film). In my humnle opinion, the idea of a "nudist beauty pagent" is not compatible with the spirit of naturism. As far as that goes, I tend to regard all beauty pagents as a kind of tasteless exercise in superficiality.

Naked in Palm Springs

http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050715/BUSINESS01/507140353/1003
Valley's naturist and clothing-optional resorts gaining broader appeal

Wade Byars, The Desert Sun

Krista Wright left age 18 and her sister, Coryn Wright, 20, both of Chico, walk over the only nudist bridge in the world which crosses Indian Canyon Dr. in Palm Springs at Desert Shadows Inn & Villas in Palm Springs.
Destination: NakedPalm Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs are home to more than 30 different clothing-optional and nudist resorts. Here is a partial list:

Palm Springs:
The Triangle Inn (gay): 555 E. San Lorenzo Road. 800-732-7555. http://www.pridenation.com

Desert Shadows Inn Resort & Villas: 1533 Chaparral Road. 760-325-6410. http://www.desertshadows.com/. Day use: $25/single, $40/couple

Inn Exile (gay): 545 S. Warm Sands Drive. 760-327-6413. www.innexile.com

Morningside Inn (couples only): 888 N. Indian Canyon Drive. 800-916-2668. www.morningsideinn.com

The Terra Cotta Inn: 2388 E. Racquet Club Road. 800-786-6938. http://www.sunnyfun.com/. Day use: $25/couple (Mon.-Thu.)

Terrazo (gay): 1600 E. Palm Canyon. 760-778-5883. http://www.terrazzo-ps.com/
Vista Grande Villa (gay): 574 Warm Sands. 760-322-2404. www.mirage4men.com

Warm Sands Villas (gay): 555 Warm Sands Drive. 760-323-3005. www.warmsandsvillas.com

Desert Hot Springs:
David’s Spa Motel: 21-220 Palm Drive. 760-329-1333.

Desert Tortoise Inn: 67-751 Hacienda Ave. 760-329-9090

The Living Waters Spa: 13-340 Mountain View Road. 866-329-9988. http://www.livingwatersspa.com/. Day use: $35/couple

San Marcus Inn: 66-540 San Marcus Road. 760-329-8806. www.sanmarcusinn.com

Cathedral City:
Cathedral City Boys Club (gay): 68-369 Sunair Road. 760-324-1350. www.ccbcps.com.

Palm Springs has always thrived on drawing visitors with an odd assortment of attractions: lush golf courses, glamorous film festivals, raucous gay parties, rumbling motorcycle weekend, sappy Frank Sinatra nostalgia. But one of the area's growing tourist draws has been covered up--until now.
Today, more than 30 clothing optional and naturist resorts operate in Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City, offering venues where guests can lounge, flirt or play tennis in the buff. Along with cities like Fort Lauderdale and Key West, the Palm Springs area is at the forefront of nude recreation.
Behind high walls or out of sight in remote desert locations, one of the nation's fastest-growing travel industries is quietly thriving here and attracting a new generation of enthusiasts.

"So many people think of nudists as fat, 50-year-old volleyball players, but that's changing," says Stephen Payne, a strong advocate of nude recreation in the valley and owner of Desert Shadows Inn Resort & Villas, a naturist resort in Palm Springs.

Nude recreation began in the valley as a primarily gay phenomenon, says Richard Altman, owner of the Cathedral City Boys Club. Seeking safe places to socialize, gay men in the early 1980s flocked to a variety of small motels in Cathedral City and the Warm Sands neighborhood of Palm Springs, many of which later became "clothing-optional."

But in recent years, nude recreation in the desert slowly has gained broader appeal. At least two new clothing-optional resorts have opened in Desert Hot Springs since 2003, and the Desert Fountain Inn in Palm Springs recently became clothing optional, according to Jeff Hocker, director of communications for the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism.
Nude recreation is now attracting more families and committed couples, as well as growing numbers of young people who praise nudism as healthy, liberating and just plain fun.

"I obtain a totally different feeling of relaxation being nude," says Coryn Wright, a 20-year-old from Chico who recently came to be natural at Desert Shadows for the second time this year.

"(Naturism) totally changed my self-confidence," she says, sitting comfortably in a metal chair overlooking the pool area. "Every woman that you see in the media is skinny with big boobs. Here you can see people that are actually normal."

Since having her first naturist experience last year, Wright has become a active in spreading the word about her new hobby to friends and strangers, and she says she sees it catching on.

She recently traveled to the Goodland Country Club, a famous naturist park in Hackettstown, N.J., and met many other young people who, like her, are embracing naturist lifestyles.

"One side of my family is outraged" about her naturism trips, Wright says. They have negative misconceptions about naturism and believe that the resorts are filled with older men looking to prey on young women.

There's hardly a predatory vibe in the Desert Shadows courtyard on a recent afternoon. At one table, two blondes, no older than 25, are sitting and conversing enthusiastically with an overweight man in his 40s.
Nearby, a fit, young, Hispanic man paces by the pool while a leathery-skinned biker dude wearing a black bandana, sunglasses, and a graying ZZ Top beard swaggers to a pool chair to catch a tan.

"Some of these people are college students, another is a doctor, one is an actor in New York," says Payne, looking out to the courtyard. "You'd have a hard time guessing which is which."

With more than 100 rooms and villas, spa facilities, tennis courts and sprawling lawns, Desert Shadows is the largest of the local nude resorts. It's also different from most others in one major respect: You have to be naked.
"People come here to be nude," says Payne. It's a rule he enforces so that visitors coming for their first clothing-optional experience won't be intimidated by walking out into a courtyard full of clothed gawkers.

Besides the nudity rule, potentially disruptive guests are also weeded out through a discreet but effective screening process, Payne says.
Other venues, especially the smaller, more intimate hotels, take the opposite tactic, leaving it up to the guests.

"You don't have to jump right into this lifestyle," says Jeff Bowman, who runs the clothing-optional Living Waters Spa with his wife, Judy. Living Waters was recently ranked the No. 1 hotel in Desert Hot Springs by Trip Advisor.com.
Located high up above the valley floor, sheltered by white walls and surrounded by mountain vistas, Living Waters is a popular place for those having their first clothing-optional experience, Bowman says. The seclusion puts them at ease immediately.

With just nine rooms, a small lounge and a single, cozy courtyard, the spa has an intimate, familial atmosphere.

One female guest at the Living Waters who preferred not to give her name says she would recommend a smaller place for someone's first clothing-optional experience.

Every resort has slightly different rules of conduct, but for a first-timer, the questions revolve more around simple procedures and etiquette, says Bowman.
When guests first arrive at Living Waters, they press a buzzer on a white wall, and either Jeff or Judy greets them at the door, most likely in a towel.
Beyond a small partition, guests walk into a sunny, open patio offering just what the spa advertises: pools of mineral water, stunning mountain views and, of course, naked people relaxing in the breeze.

Guests can settle in to their rooms and come out at their leisure - clothed or not - to soak in the smaller, shaded, 100-degree pool, swim in the larger, 88-degree pool or just tan on the patio.

Veteran naturists say the key to stepping out nude and taking the initial plunge for a first-timer is to realize that everyone has physical flaws.

"If people can just get past the idea that they don't have perfect bodies, they can do it," says Richard, a recent guest at Living Waters.

Naturism is spreading to new demographics partly because it has started to outgrow some of its old stigmas, particularly as places to find easy hook-ups.
The Web site for the Cathedral City Boys Club, the largest of the gay, clothing-optional resorts, still advertises such attractions as "The Compound, a secluded area for friends to gather and enjoy more private encounters."

Similarly, the San Marcus Inn in Desert Hot Springs refers to itself on a Web site as a "clothing- optional swingers lifestyle club where almost anything can go. 'No' means 'no' and 'yes' means excitement!"

But more and more, Payne says, people are starting to realize that true naturism has nothing to do with sex.

"We have worked very hard to move nude recreation into the same area of the recreation market as skiing," he says, "something you might try for a few days to see what it's like."

For the moment, Desert Shadows and local clothing-optional resorts only rarely advertise in mainstream publications. But Payne hopes some day that could be a commonplace.

In the meantime, he says it's important to offer potential guests the possibility of experiencing nudity in a "totally non-sexual atmosphere" so that naturism looks welcoming to families and committed couples.

Couples, and especially single men, are politely but carefully interviewed when they call to make a reservation, Payne says, to avoid allowing swingers into the resort.

"How did you hear about us?" he asks them, casually, and "have you been to a naturist resort before?"

Offering evasive answers or "I don't know" are tell-tale signs that the person isn't interested in a genuine naturist experience, and it's important to send them "somewhere more appropriate," he says.

Payne says that sex-oriented guests would quickly ruin the unselfconscious, accepting environment that draws so many in the first place.

For women especially, staying at a naturist resort can be a rare time to bare their bodies without fear of harassment or mocking by men.

"I have a hard time being able to go to a beach in a bathing suit without guys ogling me," says Wright, the Desert Shadows guest. "(Here) I'm way less aware of my body."

Wright, who visited Desert Shadows on a friend's recommendation last August, brought her younger sister Krista this time for her first naturist experience.
"It's a little startling when you first walk in," laughs Krista. "The hardest part is the getting naked part. The being naked part is easy."

But four hours after experiencing the mild shock of walking out nude into the sunny courtyard of Desert Shadows, she believes that anyone can do it.
"A lot of people think being nude is being vulnerable," she says, "but I think a lot of people would be better off doing it."

A Funny One

Innocent Fun

Do these folks have anything in common (other than being naked)? Of course: they are having innocent fun/

Family Naturism

Another very cute and innocent family picture. Honestly, do you doubt that child will grow up well-adjusted?

The Right Way to Snorkel

All I can say is: that's the way to snorkel!

The Most Commonly Used Naturist Photo

This is the most commonly used naturist photo of all time. It's easy to see why: in one snap, we get innocence, family and the natural quality of nakedness perfectly expressed.

More Average People

Another "average people" photo. This looks more like the "real people" that you'd actually meeting at a naturist resort.

More Desert Shadows

Here's another photo from Desert Shadows. I realized that I typed the link incorrectly in the earlier entry. It's http://www.desertshadows.com..

Israeli Naturists?

Naturism is truly an international experience. These photos are from the Israeli naturist society, and are from the Dead Sea

NaturistMusings

ref="http://naturistmusings.blogspot.com/">NaturistMusings

Cottontail

"Cottontail" is a slang term you hear especially at a nude resort to describe first timers. Do I have to explain why?

Here's an item I found floating around the net:

The Nudist/Naturist Scale

Everybody’s some kind of nudist or naturist. Here’s a scale to see what kind you are:

1. Only natural when showering, bathing, being examined by your doctor or having sex. Even the latter two may be with some reluctance. (Please turn out the light!)
2. Natural for all the above but with relative comfort.
3. All the above, but also sleeps in the nude from time to time.
4. All the above, plus skinny-dips either with spouse and/or same-sex individuals. (But not at the same time!) May hang out at home nude. (This is called an at home or backyard naturist)
5. All the above, and will either skinny dip or be partially natural (such as going topless) when far, far away from anybody who might possibly know you.
6. All the above, and will attend a nude/clothing optional beach or resort and be bare and natural from time to time.
7. All the above, and wants to go bare as often as possible on vacation.
8. Spends every weekend at a naturist location.
9. Lives in a nudist community. Natural as often as possible. Dislikes clothes.
10. Refuses to wear clothes! Hates them! Won’t wear them again—ever!

One More Famous Naturist: Gweneth Paltrow

To round out our famous naturist series, we have Gweneth Paltrow.

Famous Naturist: Ricky Schroeder

Ricky Schroeder takes the plundge--another famous naturist. Actors are over-represented in these pictures. I read that Dr. Richter, founder of the Richter scale, was raised as a naturists and engaged in nude recreation throughout his life.

Famous Naturist: First Lady Naturist

This may be the most surprising "famous naturist picture of all time: the late former first lady, Jackie Kennedy Onassis. (I apologize for the tasteless title of the website on the photo).

More Famous Naturists: More Uma

Here's a few more pictures of Uma Thurman, a famous naturist. Unfortunately, more such pcitures are obtained by money-grubbbing paparazi. They are included here just to make the point that there are many, many people who enjoy the freedom of clothes-free recreation.

Desert Shadows, Palm Springs, CA

Here are some views of one of the best naturist places in the world, and a great favorite of Mr and Mrs Musings: Desert Shadows of Palm Springs, CA.


See more info at www.desertshadow.com