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.