Still a "Newdist" but not a Newbie

It was a little over a week later I finally got another chance to make my way to Hanlan's Point Clothing Optional beach.  I was not feeling so brave as to face a weekend crowd yet however work and weather was against me.  Getting time off during the week was next to impossible, not that it mattered as the days had been cool or it was raining.  So soon enough I found my self on the Hanlan's Ferry on a Sunday, hoping that it being only forecasted to hit 23*C with a sun/cloud mix the large crowds would stay away.  It was not.  The beach while not overflowing with people was still rather crowded.
I did a quick look around as I arrived at the clothing optional portion of the beach, surprising enough the majority ware taking the option.  So I decide to be brave, undress right there and make my way through the crowds until I found a spot in the sun to lay out my towel.  The demographics were about what I'd seen last time.  Most of those on the beach were men and most of them were starkers. Some alone, some with their girlfriends, some with their boyfriends, even a few groups.  Only a few ladies were completely in the buff that I noticed, others were topless, most kept their swimsuits/clothes on.
I quickly got settled into my book but I am really having a hard time understanding why so many people visit a beach, that has both clothing mandatory and optional sections, would choose the optional beach but not take the option.  It didn't phase me to the point I felt uncomfortable or wanted to leave, but I can totally understand why that would bother someone who was new, especially if they were female.  On this occasion there was even a few families with younger children in the nude, how did their parents feel about the clothed people on the optional side of the beach?
Ok, so I have focused on the gawkers enough, back to my day at the beach.  I learned a few things from my first visit that I took advantage this time around.  First, most people sneak alcohol to this beach.  Some don't hide it much, others were using travel mugs etc. I am positive this is not legal, however from what I could tell, no one was really enforcing the law here either.  So I had along with me this time a few beers in a soft sided mini cooler along with my trusty travel mug, just in case.  I also learned from my first visit that while you can rent lounge chairs at Halan's Point, there is not always someone there renting them so I packed a small travel pillow along with my towel to make reading a bit more comfortable.
So what next?  Another day, fully naked in the sun.  This was becoming more comfortable very fast and I felt I needed to take the next step.  I knew there was nudist resorts not far from the city so I decided to start my research again.  Google this time was actually a lot of help, and it did not take long to realize there was a list of pro's and cons to these resorts.  I'll try and articulate all that in my next post.

You always remember your first

Once you are laying out in your birthday suit on a public beach, you end up doing a lot of thinking.  Some thoughts not too surprising, is the naked woman staring at me, does she think I am staring at her? Why are there so many clothed people on a clothing optional beach when the clothing mandatory one is not far away? Should I care?  And now what do I do?  I had been over thinking everything all day so I decided to grab my book and try and be as if it were any other day on the beach, just with a slight increase in exposed skin.
I was actually feeling very proud of myself, I've always considered myself rather liberal and open for anything, this fit that bill 100% for me.  I was very quickly comfortable and being naked was no longer a concern, perhaps still a novelty though.  Its hard to describe the feeling of being naked in public and truly enjoying it.  I went for a short dip in the lake, which was really cold, walked along the shore for a small distance.  I didn't really notice the people around me any more than I would any other day, nor did they seem to pay any notice to me.  It felt like any other day at the beach and I was loving it.
Being a Friday afternoon it started to become a bit more crowded as the afternoon progressed. The demographics did not change much, though the clothed people who must really like being surrounded by naked people seemed to be increasing faster than those who went in the buff.  I was trying not to let this distract me too much but it was hard not to think about it.  Maybe they are working themselves up to taking their swim suits off, which some eventually did, maybe they can't afford to go to a strip club and really like to see naked people in the flesh as it were.  I almost packed up and left early but I was determined that I was there to be naked and free, not worry about those who were not.  Thankfully I was able immerse myself in my book and ignore those around me, clothed or not.  My time at Hanlan's Point was overall an amazing first time at a clothing optional beach but sadly I was forced to keep it short, I had plans with friends that night and only had time for a little over an hour on the actual beach.  I was determined to be nude as long as possible though so I picked up my things, walked as far as I could along the beach until I got to the "Clothing is Mandatory beyond this point" sign and that was it, I was once again clothed and on my way home.
I didn't go far before I started to plan my next visit though, I was on the boat back to the mainland already checking the forecast and trying to figure out what day next week I could use a spare vacation day.  I was determined to try this again but I still wanted to stick with weekdays where there would be fewer crowds.  The whole time I was smiling though.  Its hard to explain the feeling or accomplishment, that you did this thing so many people may judge you for even considering.  You very quickly realise that you feel proud, not ashamed, you feel free, not exposed.  Although I felt awkward at first, that changed to comfort very quickly, and I could not wait to have that feeling again