Naked Staycation = Staynakation??? (Part 3)

I recently had a weeks vacation and not currently looking to spend a lot of money at the moment, I planned out a rather wonderful Staycation / Nakacation……or a StayNakakation for Tara and I. We visited my “greatest hits” of Naturism in the Toronto area and the only time we were clothed was for the brief travel time between destinations (and even then there was an exception). I originally planned this out at as a single blog post but decided I would split it up once I realized how long it was becoming. 

The conclusion is below and you can find Part 1 - here,  and Part 2 here

Part 3 (This is the conclusion I promise):

Thursday / Day 4:

It would not be a true naturist vacation without at least a day trip to Bare Oaks. We initially planned on camping there however it was not in the cards. We were invited to see a movie with textile friends that evening and were unable to think of an excuse to get out of it.  Textiles are people too, it would be wrong to shun them entirely.  We made the most of our naturism time as best we could. Making an early start to beat some of the traffic on the highway, we headed towards Bare Oaks. Unsure how early the Bare Bistro

My favourite swimming hole

served breakfast on a weekday we decided to play it safe and stopped at a Coras north of Toronto before heading to the park.  I have already blogged about visiting Bare Oaks and the Bare Bistro a couple times so I wont go over it in too much detail again. We spent most of the day swimming in the pond which I still find by far my favorite naturist activity. If all they had at Bare Oaks was that pond,it would be enough.  We did a fair amount of sunbathing, reading, and socializing. And of course we had lunch at the Bare Bistro which has yet to let us down. All good things must end they say, and we were back in clothes for dinner and a movie night out which I admit was a lot of fun even with the dress code.

Day 4 time without clothes: 16 hours, 30 minutes - 69%

Friday, Saturday & Sunday - Day 5/6/7:

When planning trips to Port Burwell from the Toronto area, you generally have to plan for an early start. Even from our home well west of the city it is almost a two hour drive. Not letting another late night get in the way we began with yet another early start at seven o'clock and made the typically Canadian decision to grab Tim Horton's Coffee and breakfast on the way. Another thing you have to plan for with Port Burwell Provincial Park as a naturist is the 15-20 minute walk from the parking lot to the park boundary where you can finally be free of those pesky clothes. You don't want to forget anything in the car (much less at home). Planning is therefore key and I feel like an old pro at this now. We packed a couple large water bottles, frozen the night before to keep them cold as long as you can and they double as ice in our cooler/backpack. In the cooler we had sandwiches for lunch, several beers and hotdogs in case we stay late and decide to have a fire. Food that does not necessarily need to be kept cool is always handy as well. Wanting to stay at least until night fall, we packed plenty of carrots, sliced peppers, and some granola bars to ensure we were not tempted to put clothes on before we had our fill. We have also been investing in ultra lightweight and compact or collapsible beach umbrella, chairs and so on. Sadly these things are way more expensive but we totally feel its been worth the expense with at least two trips to Port Burwell each month during the summer.

It was past 10:30AM before we were actually setup and relaxing at the beach. It was another scorcher with the afternoon high hitting 29C and that is not factoring in the humidity which made it feel almost 40C. We were fortunate enough that Lake Erie was very calm that day as we had every intention of being fish for most of the day.  We spent the day swimming, tanning, reading, walking along the shore and even wandered inland to the forest a little bit.  I am not actually sure if you are allowed to hike inland, and if you are, how far it is safe to go, so we didn't venture too far. Overall another typical day at the beach.  Soon after sunset and the stars began to come out, it was still hot enough that it felt great going for a moonlight swim in the lake. It is hard to find a down side to swimming at night. The lake was still calm so you could easily hear the crickets or an occasional owl over the gentle waves hitting the shore. It was so wonderful we completely lost track of time.  We had been in the lake so long we were clearly now the only ones still on the beach. It was actually almost 11PM by the time we thought to look at a clock. The Provincial park was already very much closed, we were unsure if my car had been ticketed or worse towed. And even if not ticketed or towed, we were unsure if the gate would still be open to let us out. Our original intention was to stay late and do some stargazing but our poor time keeping had very much gone beyond that plan forcing us to make a decision. Do we pack up, hope our car had not been towed, and hope we could still exit the parking lot? Or did we make the best of it, spend the night, and hope the car was still there when the park reopened the next morning? Originally I thought bringing blankets to keep warm while stargazing was excessive given all the other baggage we had for a full day and evening at the beach, however Tara had insisted and I was now very thankful for it. It was this that really helped us decide we could survive the night and hope for the best in the morning. 

At first we were a little distressed with the situation. We had been enjoying ourselves so much that we had lost track of time, putting a wet blanket on an otherwise perfect day. Once we decided to stay the night however the stress was lifted and we were back to just enjoying ourselves. As naturism goes, this was about as wonderful a predicament as one could ask for. We spent an entire day at the beach with nothing touching our skin but sun, sand, water and some SPF 35 lotion. Followed by an equally blissful moonlight swim, only to find ourselves completely alone on a beach, naked as the day we were born.  We collected some wood and built a small fire, cuddled together between the blankets and spent the night together under the stars. I will admit that sleeping on a blanket in the sand is not the most comfortable bed I have had in my life, and we both woke up with a few noticeable bug bites.  But it was worth the price of admission when we woke up to the sun rising over Lake Erie and the Port Burwell Lighthouse. We were so relaxed even our granola bar breakfast felt like a 5 star experience.  It was right about then we made another decision. We would not pack up our things and head home. Instead we put some thought into what we needed to do to spend another day.  First we had to put our clothes on for the first time in almost 24 hours, walk back to the parking lot with the hope we still had a car. I am happy to report that not only was my car not towed, it was not ticketed either! I did sadly lose a game of rock paper scissors, which meant while Tara walked back to the nude beach and carried on with our naturist weekend, I remained clothed and drove into town to retrieve supplies for another full day at the beach. 

Our second day was more of the same as the first only this time we were by far the first people on the beach. Another hot day with a brief but welcome sun shower around lunch time. Not risking the same mistake from the night before, when we saw the sun was low, we packed up our things before enjoying another sunset. Only then did we make our way back to the car. Normally we get dressed before heading back towards the park boundary, but after spending the majority of the last two days without clothes, we decided to delay that as long as we could and began our walk with our clothes being carried, not worn. We made it almost the entire way back to the parking lot before we saw in the distance some people at the textile beach who had stayed for the sunset as well. We both put our shorts on to avoid getting in trouble but being as warm and humid as it still was, we were more than a bit sweaty from the hike with all our beach gear, neither I nor Tara put our tops on. This was the second time this week she had gone topless in public though I was less 

I "borrowed" this photo from Google

surprised this time. It was very dark at this point, and we never got close enough to other people that they could possibly notice. We even discussed if we should remain nude right until we got to the car but decided against it for fear a park ranger may be on patrol. As we drove past the park gate I was once again surprised by Tara's boldness.  She had decided she was already uncomfortable even wearing only a pair of shorts, and before I could sputter out the words "you must be joking" off they came.  Not one to be outdone, I pulled the car over and removed mine as well.  I would like to say before going forward that this is not something I recommend, nor can I speak with any authority of its legality in Ontario. I will also say that this had nothing to do with trying to be naturists, or promote naturism, or be any kind of activists if we were to be pulled over by the police. Any naturist will tell you one of the least comfortable times to be clothed is soon after you have been naked for a prolonged period so that definitely factored into our rash decision. To be fully honest though it was for the fun of it more than anything else. A little bit of thirty-something rebelliousness. My car does have tinted windows, and I pretty much drove under the speed limit the entire way home so there was not a lot of risk of being caught.  It was close to midnight when we got back to the house. We waited for the garage door to close fully behind us before we made our way inside, still only wearing our footwear. We shared a well deserved and much needed shower before finally calling it a night.

Sunday was nothing to blog home about. I stayed home until I was due at work that evening. The first day of any work week is never really something people look forward to. Less so for a naturist who not only has to go to work, but has to become a textile again too. Its borderline depressing.  I am ever an optimist though and the memories or our "staynakation", are more than enough to get me through the necessary evil of a textile work world for now. All told we had been without need for clothes privately or publicly, from about 1030AM on the Friday, with a brief intermission for a supply run and the last 5 minutes walk to the car, until I left for work Sunday evening.  Most of it fully in nature. Tara was even more fortunate and was able to continue all the way until Monday morning. An excellent finish to a wonderful Staynakation

Day 5 time without clothes: 18 hours, 35 minutes - 77%

Day 6 time without clothes: 22 hours - 92%

Day 7 time without clothes: 16 hours - 67%

That about wraps up everything I can think of to share from the week. I know there are people who spend days, weeks, and months without even thinking about clothes, that being said, I think as a couple of part time naturists or primarily home nudists, we managed an excellent week of nakedness in nature and new experiences. Next summer I think we will try to take it up level and actually spend a few days at a naturism resort but that stays on the to do list for now.

As always feedback and conversation is welcome, either in the comments below or on Twitter and Facebook.

You can follow me on Twitter here: @NudeInCanada
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You can find out where to be Naked in Canada here

Naked Staycation = Staynakation??? (Part 2)

I recently had a weeks vacation and not currently looking to spend a lot of money at the moment, I planned out a rather wonderful Staycation / Nakacation……or a StayNakakation for Tara and I. We visited my “greatest hits” of Naturism in the Toronto area and the only time we were clothed was for the brief travel time between destinations (and even then there was an exception). I originally planned this out at as a single blog post but decided I would split it up once I realized how long it was becoming. You can find Part 1 - Here, or part 2 below

Part 2:

Wednesday / Day 3:

As we dragged ourselves from bed at 7 AM, it is just over 36 hours since our staynakation began Monday evening. Days 3 was all Tara's idea and after some initial hesitation I agreed to go along with the plan. Tara never had any previous interest in visiting Hanlans Point. This is mostly my fault to be honest, I have not been kind in my reviews.  She decided though that if we were going to truly have a naturist staycation that even a short visit should be on the “to do” list.  Keeping an open mind and having a backup list of things to do in Toronto (clothed) just in case, we went for it. Being a weekday the trains are frequent and we joined the morning commute of the unfortunate folks who had to work making our way into the city. The ferry terminal is a short walk from the train station so it was not even 10 o’clock before we had our feet in the sand. The rest went very close to what I expected. 

On arrival, most people at the clothing optional beach were taking the option and perfecting their all over tans.  As soon as we picked a spot, Tara and I joined them. A typical morning at the beach, we lay out on our towels, enjoyed the heat of the sun while reading

our books and spent a significant time in the water as the temperature reached 28C. I was happily surprised to see a large mix of people and most of those around us were taking the naturist / nudist option. There was plenty of men on their own of course (that was me not too long ago), but there was a large mix from all walks of life as well, gay couples, straight couples, a few groups of men and/or women. Right next to us was a pair of women sunbathing topless. I am always a little surprised when I see women come to a nude or clothing optional beach and go topless. I am not judging them, but more so our society as it is legal for women to be topless in Ontario anywhere a man can be, and yet (I assume) they felt more comfortable and anticipated less chance of harassment going topless at a clothing optional beach than a textile one. It actually seems logical but sadly they were mistaken. It didn’t take long for a group of four young men to choose to setup their cooler and towels between the two ladies and where Tara and I were. The beach was busy but hardly crowded enough for their chosen location to be so close to three women, two topless and one nude. To no ones surprise the young men did

not go nude. At first they were not bothering anyone, drinking beer, talking loud like you would expect at a beach. However as I was cooling off in the water, which was suspicious timing, one of the young men approached the two ladies and had the audacity to ask for a selfie. At first his friends pulled him away, apologized "he is just drunk and stupid". Their intervention did not last long, he persisted and by the time I arrived on the scene I could overhear them encouraging the situation. "Just take the selfie and we promise to delete from his phone before he can do anything with it".  Then one pointed at Tara and said "She's nude, I bet she will join us if it makes you feel better".  All three ladies were letting their disapproval very well known and the four young men were now getting attention that had not intended. By the time I, and a very large, very intimidating, also very naked man (he looked like her could be a linebacker in the NFL), could step in, they had already seen the error of there ways, and packing up for the day.

Determined not to let that ruin the day. We moved further south on the beach where the ratio of textiles was far lower. The two ladies joined us for some time. It was nice to get to know them and tell them about what real naturism can be. It turns out that prior to the drunken idiots arrival, they had been debating going fully nude. Not blaming them for being discouraged by the events, we did our best to share with them how happy we were being naturists, just not at Hanlans Point.  I would love to tell you we sold them on it. I think it is probably unlikely though they did continue to be topless until they departed. I made sure to direct them to my blog (shameless self promotion), Bare Oaks and Ponderosa's websites.  Maybe they are reading about themselves here. (As promised, not even a fake name used).  Another hour later though they did move on.  Tara and I were not far behind them as the atmosphere became less peaceful and increasingly club like with competing groups with louder music. I think I may be getting to0 old for that scene?  As we made our way back to the ferry, Tara remained topless and only put her bikini top on once we got close to the terminal where it was more crowded.  Along the way she did get a couple stares, a few smiles, and one noticeable frown from a disapproving women. This was well outside her comfort zone and not something I expect her to repeat often, but she felt like making a point after our experience with the drunken idiots.

View from the ferry, it was great weather

Sadly the rest of our day was very textile.  A few hours at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and in a a very ironic twist, went clothes shopping at the Eaton Centre. We had dinner at a trendy place in Toronto, and back home for another naked night watching movies. In the end it was not a terrible day. I did focus on the drunken idiots but who has not been to the beach and had similar issues.  Tara has suggested she may even like to go back and give Hanlans another try. Winter is on the way so I hope she changes her mind before the spring, I much prefer Port Burwell for my naturist beach experiences.

Day 3 time without clothes: 14 hours - 58%

Note to self: I tend to type out my blog posts, leave it for a day or two, read it again to make sure I am happy with it and then publish. Lets me find grammar mistakes, of which I am sure I still miss plenty, and ensures I captured everything as best as I can. This time however in the few days between finishing my first draft and publishing I discovered something else.  Everything above is an accurate portrayal of the events. I always change or omit a few things here or there for privacy, both personally and those I may mention, but otherwise I lay out my experiences as I saw them. I would like to make a minor amendment, but not in the usual way.  I came across a post by one of my favourite Naturist bloggers (Naked Wanderings - check them out here) and after reading this I wished I could amend my actions slightly, or my reaction actually. Our issues with the drunken idiots motivated us to move further down the beach to be in an area with a better naturist to textile ratio. Even though the idiots had left, and we were well within the boundaries of the clothing optional area, we moved as it seemed less of a hassle than the potential to be bothered further by other still undeclared idiots.  I wish we had just stayed. No one else was bothering us. There is no reason naturists and textiles cannot share a clothing optional beach, its the whole point of the "optional".  Naturism will always been seen as taboo by those who don't understand it and it wont help if naturists are huddled away in corners, at least that is how I see it.

Will take this opportunity to pause again. I want to let the day at Hanlans Point be a post of its own. Being a first visit there for Tara, and the events that transpired I felt it deserved it. I will mash the keyboard some more this weekend and wrap this up finally, we spent a day at Bare Oaks and then the remainder of our "staynakation"TM was spent at Port Burwell which was just amazing.

You can follow me on Twitter here: @NudeInCanada
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Naked Staycation = Staynakation??? (Part 1)

I recently had a week of vacation and not currently looking to spend a lot of money, I planned out a rather wonderful Staycation / Nakation……or a Staynakation for Tara and I. We visited my “greatest hits” of Naturism in the Toronto area and the only time we were clothed was for the brief travel time between destinations (and even then there was an exception). I originally planned this out at as a single blog post but decided I would split it up once I realized how long it was becoming.

Part 1:

Monday / Day 1: Naked night in

Our plan was simple, no clothes except when absolutely necessary until Sunday evening when I had to be back at work. My work often keeps me on fluctuating hours/days so my vacation began at 5pm Monday night and there was still the subway and commuter train ride home meaning my nakation did not begin until 6:45pm.  When I arrived home Tara was well ahead of me, having picked up pizza on her way home, and the TV was primed for a mini-movie marathon. Add in a few cold beers, microwave popcorn, and you had the perfect night in to kick off our staycation. This is not really blog-worthy on its own really. Nights spent like this became a common hang out (pun intended) for us as friends who happen to be naturists, be it a movie, hockey game or what even was on TV that night, we would try and do this once a month or so. Since we became a couple and even more so since I moved in with her, it has became a regular thing most nights at home. No different than any couple who have been together for some time only with fewer loads of laundry required. A "normal" couple may slip into their comfortable sleep clothes for a night in, our comfortable sleep clothes just so happen to be no clothes at all.

Day 1 time without clothes (Since 6:45PM): 5 hours, 15 minutes - 100%

  

Tuesday / Day 2: Ponderosa Picnic

The forecast was mainly sunny with periods of rain. Being outside in the rain is actually refreshing and fun for a naturist in my opinion, however does not complement a day at the beach if it rains more than forecast. It made sense to pick a place where there is indoor and outdoor options and we decide to make our way to Ponderosa Nature Resort. “The Pond” has everything you need for a day of without clothes. This is not a sales pitch but they do have a huge outdoor pool, hot tub, lounge pool with “swim up” bar, a restaurant, indoor pool, indoor hot tub, sauna, a fair amount of hiking trails, and the added bonus of being only 25 minutes from where we live. We spent almost the whole day there making use of everything they

Not ours, no photos at the Pond!

had to offer other than the guest rooms really. Normally the large outdoor pool is the highlight of every visit, however this time we decided to pack an elaborate picnic lunch and it just made the whole day something special. Yes I have made use of the Ponds restaurant before and never had a complaint, and we usually pack a lunch when visiting Port Burwell but it’s a bit of a hike so we bring very little with us.  At Ponderosa its just a short walk from the parking lot to many ideal picnic spots so you can pack a full lunch with sandwiches, salads, and other difficult to carry in a backpack items and even make more than one trip if needed without being an inconvenience. I believe it is against the rules (sorry but not really sorry) we did sneak in a bottle of wine to round things out nicely. Picking a spot off on our own so as not to bother anyone, we really enjoyed our naked picnic, drinking our wine in coffee cups so as not to concern anyone who did walk by. We then just lay in the sun for at least another hour while reading. A phenomenal way to decompress, de-stress, and just be happy. When it did start to rain a little we just put our books away and enjoyed that feeling too. This was about as close to a perfect day as we could have asked for.  We didn't want it to end but had to tear ourselves away for more social nude activities planned for the evening. 

Tuesday / Evening 2: Naked Dinner

“Sam and Diane” who we celebrated Nude Years Eve with are not exactly naturists in the traditional sense.  We will socialize with them here and there as they share our distaste for clothes but they are unashamed to admit they are often on the lookout for something, more, as it were.  When the four of us get together, which has been more frequent since Tara and I began dating, they make very effort to keep things in line with our interpretation of naturism and nudism with no mention of the more “liberal” lifestyle they, as consenting adults, choose to live.  To help us get the most out of our staynakation they invited us to their home for dinner and drinks. We had a lovely steak dinner with all the fixings, and a few more bottles of wine. We played cards until midnight before a "late for a weeknight" Uber ride home brought the evening to a close. Not unlike a stay in movie night the evening before, this was very much a typical dinner with friends like any other. The only exception being the absence of clothes. We could not have asked for a more perfect evening to close out a perfect day.

Day 2 time without clothes: 22 hours 15 minutes - 93%

I am going to pause here and I will post more about or "Staynakation" as soon as I can find some time to type it out.  As a bit of a teaser I will say that on Day 3 we made Tara's first trip to Hanlans Point Clothing Optional beach on Toronto island and this could be a blog entry of its own.  I will try and post this within a week or so if I can find some time. As always comments and feedback is welcome and may encourage me to blog more frequently.
For now, Keep Calm and StayNakation!

Click here for Where to be naked in nature in Canada

Strange Things Happen When Naturists Put Their Clothes On

I know, it has been a while.  In my defense I don’t actually consider myself a “blogger” and the fact I have not posted since January would stand to support that position. That’s not to say I have not thought about updating recently, I have plenty of new naturist experiences to share, and many more opinions on Naturism to share. Time however has not been my friend. Between work, life, and enjoying Naturism, actually blogging about it was low on the to do list.

This past weekend a fellow naturist (thanks David), shared my blog saying “a blog to inspire” and what do you know, I got inspired. Today also happens to be the first day of a staycation that I plan on using as a full nakation. Aside from driving to/from my standard naturist go to locations (Bare Oaks, Ponderosa, Port Burwell) I don’t intend to wear clothes until I return to work on Sunday. So why not spend some naked time blogging.

Originally this blog was about my life as a single, 30 something guy, who suddenly realized clothes were overrated.  I focused mainly on the experience side of things as a single man in the naturist world as this was the kind of information I was looking for as a type of guidance when I was a newbie nudie but had a hard time finding. Hopefully those who have read my previous posts found them of use. Even if you were not a single 30 something newbie nudie.  While I was not always single during the last few years, however as a naturist I may as well have been. I dated one woman who I successfully introduced to naturism but sadly we were not “compatible” as it were. And then there is my long time platonic friend Tara whom I have mentioned many times however her personal life meant she was……lets say an occasional naturist. So on I went and there I blogged, as a single naturist 90 percent of the time.

Life has a funny way of surprising you though, and this post is more about life than naturism but it all ties together, please bear with me, or should it be bare with me????  Having known Tara since high school and been strictly platonic friends and happy in that status for the better part of two decades, it may shock some, that being a naturist and introducing someone of the opposite sex to naturism and nudism, didn’t have an impact on our friendship. It was never awkward, it never led to any lines crossed, not even at an alcohol fueled “Nude Years Eve”.  I believe it made us even better, closer friends, if that was even possible. I will admit our relationship did take a turn in a new direction this winter but Naturism was not a direct factor other than strengthening the bond we already shared. And while its taken a few paragraphs to get here, this is the main topic for this post.

Tara and I were both guests at destination wedding in the Caribbean this past winter. It was a typical wedding, a close nit group both in terms of the family and friends invited. So

you can imagine when people see the two close friends who both attend single, there are always lots of questions….

Have you ever?

Would you ever?

Why not?

We had been through this a couple of times over the years and it is no big deal. Some were genuinely curious how a man and a woman could be best friends and not a couple (usually the older people), some had their minds in the gutter (usually the younger people). One person asked “Seriously? You’ve never seen each other naked?” and I had to lie to avoid even more complicated questions.  I think we both handled ourselves well, and went on with our lives.

About a week later and back in Canada, we were having dinner with a group of friends for a birthday. Tara and I arrived earlier than anyone else and got talking about the wedding, and the silly questions we were asked. Somewhere along the way before others arrived, we came to the conclusion we needed to have a “talk”. I’d like to tell you where in this conversation the light came on, or what it was that steered us to our enlightenment, but I can't. Somewhere in the short conversation we had decided that maybe we were more than friends and were just to dumb to notice.

Later that night we had a brief “talk” and before we knew it, the next evening we went on our first “date”, dinner and a movie, just us. It was hardly a first date in the typical sense as we spent dinner plotting the baby steps we planned to take. It may seem strange to be so methodical but with so many ways this could have gone wrong, and we had a long established friendship on the line, we didn’t want to risk destroying that.  We took intimacy off the table for the first month at least, and we put our naturist activities together on hold until after that, just in case somehow that was confusing the issue (it was not). Being Canadian winter at the time, this was actually fairly easy. 

Fast forward and here we are, many months later, almost September now. I officially moved into Tara’s home recently, still being methodically cautious we agreed in advance to wait for a short time before renting out my house and will wait at least a year before we decide to put it up for sale. It is at this point I will address what I assume is a question anyone reading this may have. Why am I posting this, it has nothing to do with being a Naturist???? The strange thing about relationships is they should be easy, but they never are, and in a textile world so it is with naturism. Add those together and it can get muddy very fast. We have been friends for so long and never saw it as anything more.  For us, naturism was no different than sharing an interest in movies or sports. We are naturists but naturism alone does not define us. And even though I take credit for introducing Naturism to Tara, when we took the relationship plunge we wanted to keep it as uncomplicated as possible. So yes, we stopped being naturists (together) for a time just as we agreed to delay telling friends or family. I won’t tell you it was the right or wrong decision, it is just what made sense for us at the time. Thankfully it all seems to be working out, we had a great naturist summer together with more to come this week.

It may be that Naturism played some part in us eventually deciding to become a couple, but not directly. It was just another activity we found we both enjoyed. If this was not the case I would have thought we would have figured this out a few years ago as there have been plenty of opportunities rather than while reminiscing about a textile destination wedding to push us in this direction. 

When it comes to naturism, I’ll be honest I am not sure where to go with this blog. As mentioned a few times this started as the experiences from the perspective of a 30 something, single, male, who was new to naturism.  Aside from still being in my 30’s (just barely) none of that is true of me anymore.  There are plenty of blogs, Facebook pages, websites, Twitter feeds, and Instagramers covering naturism from a couples perspective, young and old.  “Naked Wanderings”,Felicity's Blog, and Naturist Living Show are great resources. Another blog may not add much to the conversation but I will try and keep at it for now and I will try not to go another 8 months between posts. As I type this I remember how therapeutic I find sharing here. Hopefully there are some out there that get something from reading this, and if not I am OK with it anyway.

Will O’Canada

@NudeInCanada on Twitter

Naturist Canada Map

Keep Calm and Stay Naked

It’s that time of year again when naturists/nudists go into a bit of hibernation of sorts. I have blogged previously about my experiences and tips for surviving as a naturist through the long Canadian winter (Check them out  here and here if you like) and have not yet thought of anything of value to add on the subject.

With nothing of value to add to the surviving the winter naked conversation, I decide to start a different post than my usual “naturist experience” based ones, with the topic of current state of naturism as I saw it and the underlying politics and problems holding us back. But ultimately if got a little depressing and I could not remember what I thought would be the benefit of my rambling complaints.

Rather than focus on the ridiculous state of affairs at the International NaturistFederation or the sad (but totally understandable) announcement from YoungNaturists/Nudists of America that they are winding down all YNA operations, and don’t get me started on the many so called Twitter naturists who are really just porno addicted, dick pic sending perverts. This paragraph alone should show you how sad that post would have been

Instead I wanted to talk about the positive things going on and in the world of Naturism. There is plenty going on that give me hope that being a naturist is getting better and easier than even a few years ago. 

Out of the Shadows

Many clubs are finally moving away from the secretive and isolationist tendencies that seemed to work 20 years ago but more recently has seen many of them, at least in my area, close or switch to being textile only. And for a change, in this area the marketing power of Social Media is actually playing a positive role, even with the 1950’s mentality on censorship used by Facebook, Twitter and the like.  Clubs turn to Social Media to promote more and more to promote their resorts and get the word out that casual, nonsexual, family friendly nudity is possible.  They are also organizing specific events that often gets local media attention which is a huge win for both the club, and naturism as a whole. Bare Oaks is especially good at this with both their Comedy shows  and The Naked State art expo, initially promoted mainly on their own website and social media pages, but ended up being covered by multiple media outlets.

Speaking of Traditional Media…

... getting the media on the side of Naturism is no easy task especially in North America where prudes with no idea what Naturism is about, seem to be pulling the strings.  In my local area (Toronto Canada) the media actually had a positive impact recently on what could have been a fully terrible situation.  Spring flooding left most of Toronto Island, including Hanlan’s Point Clothing Optional beach, inaccessible for most or the prime summer season. And rather than stating in some small footnote that one of only two official clothing optional beaches was closed for the summer, many outlets (The Toronto Star and Now Magazine for example) provided alternatives.  Bare Oaks, Ponderosa, GTA SkinnyDippers, Toronto Area Naturist Sports and Swims (TANS) all getting multiple mentions.  You would have to ask the clubs mentioned what impact this had on their attendance numbers but free advertisement like this can’t be a bad thing.

Unlike North America, in Europe a quick google search will show you how much different is really is there for Naturists.  It’s far more common to see an article on Naturism or the benefits of going naked in Europe than in America but based on what I am seeing in my area as shown above, at least its getting better.

We are not alone!

I am not one to follow the tabloids, and I really don’t care what Robert Downey Jr. had for lunch, or the new skirt Mila Kunis was seen wearing in Beverly Hills. But every once in a while you hear about some famous person admitting they are a naturist, even if some may just go naked at home, it grabs my attention. Not because of who they are, but for what it can do for naturism. The more people of influence that speak openly about naturism and natural nudity the better. It can have the opposite effect, i.e. Super Bowl Nip slips help nobody, but for the most part it helps normalize nudity for the masses and for those of us in the know, helps us feel a little less alone. Ones I can confirm are:

Heidi Klum      Kate Humble

Miley Cyrus     Helen Mirren

JustinTimberlake,      Billy Connelly, 

Kevin Bacon     Robbie Williams

Brad Pitt

And thats just the ones I found easy links to, Adam Levine, Alicia Silverstone, Eva Mendes, Orlando Bloom, Bruce Willis, Alanis Morrissette, Halley Berry, Miranda Kerr, Kira Knightly all are also reportedly naturists/nudists at some level. And yes some of the reactions they got for it were negative, but we have to keep moving forward.

Merchandising

And since most of this post is about positive things in naturism, I thought I would add an area for improvement. Who doesn’t like “Swag” am I right? My two local clubs, Bare Oaks and Ponderosa, both have merchandise to buy at their club stores.
   

On my first visit I got a Ponderosa “Beer cozie” as a souvenir and I use it at home often.  From Bare Oaks I got one of those pens when you tip it the little persons clothes come off.  I plan on using it to write Christmas letters this year, make writing them feel less tedious.  Imagine if those pens, and beer cozies were not just available at the club store, but online.  Facebook is making it easier to sell your merchandise these days, and there are plenty of alternatives like Etsy and eBay. Combine that with promoting the merchandise on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Selling club branded T-shirts (the irony, I know!) and so on could be incredibly valuable for promoting your club and increasing revenue.  Perhaps they have already tried this previously but I think the possibilities are incredible. T-shirts promoting naturism is a bit of an oxymoron as it were and to be honest I’m not likely to walk around in a basic club branded shirt, but a “I’d rather be naked”  with the club logo, or even better, “Keep Calm and Stay Naked” with the club logo replacing the crown, that would draw attention for sure......hmmmm, maybe I should start my own naturist clothing/merchandise line????

Well that is all I had for now, feel free to share your thoughts, positive/constructive feedback is always welcome.  Otherwise I hope you all survive the winter and can stay naked as much as possible.  Maybe I will even see some of you at a GTA SkinnyDippers outing.

Two years Naked and Unafraid.

Two Years ago I started my journey into the world of Naturism and it’s amazing how far I have come.  What was once a taboo world to me is now my day to day lifestyle to the point I am even introducing it to some of my closer friends.  I’ll go more into that and some updates on what has become a very nude summer in my next blog. For now however, August is my "nudiversary" month, marking two years since my first trip to a public place that nudity is permitted. To mark the occasion and the recent re-opening of Hanlans Point beach after a summer of flooding, I wanted to re-post a combination of my first three blogs that detailed that first trip to the clothing optional beach that feels like way more than two short years ago.  My whole world has change in those two years and Naturism/Nudism has been a driving force of good behind those changes.

Hope you enjoy, and stay naked!

Newbie Nudist = Newdist? (First Published Aug 25, 2015)

I'm in what I think/hope is not an uncommon situation.  I discovered some time ago I like being nude, shocking I know.  Now I did the whole skinny dipping thing a few times in high school and college, but in my 20's I felt I was too mature for kid stuff like that anymore, either that or the opportunities simply stopped presenting themselves. Add in a romantic hotel stay here in there and you have my full nudist experience to this point.  But as an adult in his 30's I began to do some travelling for work.  When you are alone in a new city on a week night, you don't have many options but to hang out in your hotel room, watch t.v., surf the net, read a book etc.  You also learn to pack light and sleeping alone in a hotel room, pyjamas are an easy item to ditch to save space which is what led to shocking discovery, I actually really enjoyed walking around those hotel rooms in the buff, it felt natural and liberating.

It didn't take long for me to wonder why I didn't do this at home, keep the blinds shut, and be free in the comfort of my own home.  And for some time, that was it, I was happy in my own private nudist world.  A few years have passed and I never even had a thought of going beyond this, however that changed not long after I recently took a new job right in downtown Toronto.  Due to the proximity of my office to the Toronto Island ferry port, the annual

departmental picnic is always held at the parks on the island.  Anyone from Toronto knows where this is leading.  It was not long into the ferry ride over someone started to make the jokes.  Toronto Island is home to plenty of public parks, several beaches, a children's theme park, even a regional Airport.....and one of only two officially sanctioned clothing optional beaches in Canada.  I have known of its existence for several years but never gave it much thought until now.  On the day of the picnic, we were nowhere near the clothing optional beach, with this being a work event that was likely for the best, but that didn't stop the all too predictable jokes and comments.  And now there was this idea in my head, should I? Could I? Why would I?  But then something in the local news gave me the push I needed.

Three young women in small town not too far from Toronto were stopped by police for riding their bikes in public topless, however since the mid 1990's it is very much legal in Ontario for women to be topless anywhere a man is permitted.  For many reasons I won’t dare dive into, it still remains uncommon for women to take advantage of their right to go topless.  Many people likely didn't even realise it was perfectly legal (including the police officer that stopped them) so it became a fairly large local news story for some time and even led to a topless march in several cities.  It was these three brave women who made me realise what a chicken I was being.  They stuck their nose up at outdated conservative cultural pressures which should not be difficult in this day and age but in reality remains so even with law on their side.  But me, a mid-30's man, who just happens to enjoy walking around his home with the blinds closed and no clothes on, was unable to take the same brave step, that I very much knew I wanted to take but was too timid to do.

So I decided, the very next chance I got, I was going to walk onto that beach and let the sun see my birthday suit.  Nothing was going to get in my way.......well except I wanted to do some research first, and there was the weather to factor in, and most importantly I wanted to pick a day it was not too busy as I was sure a large crowd would impact my courage.....but other than that, nothing was going to stop me.  Sadly it was the first hurdle that proved to be the most difficult for me which is what led me to start this blog.  While there are no shortage of nudist (or naturists as I learned they call themselves, errr ourselves????) sites out there, most deal with the do's and do nots and even the where, but I couldn't find many first hand experiences to help reassure me along my journey.  Oh and you can imagine the sites Google fired back at me when I typed in "nudist blog" and the like.  So here I am, never having written a blog before, or anything other than an email frankly, sharing my experiences as I delve into the "taboo" world of nudism.  I don't expect many, if any, people to read this, but worst case it gives me an outlet to express what I've experienced, this is not exactly the kind of topic you bring up at dinner parties or when watching the game with friends.  Best case someone finds a little support along the way that I was unable to find myself.

Tearing off the band aid (First published Aug 30, 2015)

So here I am, a stay at home nudist as it were, finally ready to take advantage of the all to easily accessible clothing optional beach a short trip from my place of work. The first step is never the easiest.  Being fully inexperienced in this area I turned to the internet.  Google let me down on this one, while there are plenty of sites out there with info, hell I even looked up Toronto Island's Hanlan's Point beach on Trip Advisor. Other than plan to be surrounded by more men than women, more gay than straight, and being a clothing optional beach, plan for fewer people to take that option than do, I didn't have any idea how this experience was going to feel or impact me. I was looking for the experience side and I never did find it really.

Eventually the cards were played for me. The boss tells our whole team we get a half day off work on Friday, which is so rare for me, as a reward for performance results.  It also happened to be a perfect day according to the forecast, very warm but not hot, lots of sun, zero chance of rain. So while the department made plans with family, reservations at the local pub, I prepared some sun screen.  All my failed research was behind me now, I had decided to just go for it and packed a bag.

The morning was a giant blur, most people were going on about their plans for the early weekend, I told some lie about visiting my sisters family for a picnic, mid-day came before I knew it, so off I went.  I had a change of clothes with me, used a local coffee shop restroom to change into a pair of shorts and a tank top, otherwise I am walking on to a clothing optional beach in a suit and tie, how silly would that be.

Before I know it, I am at the Island ferry terminal, waiting to the next trip to Hanlan's Point, a stark variance in demographics from those waiting at the Centre Island ferry where the children's village is. It’s not a long ride over to the island, maybe 10 or 15 minutes max, then you have about a 15 minute walk along the path to the well-marked "Clothing Optional"

beach which is a tad awkward when there is a group of people all walking to the same destination which is still a bit "taboo" in my mind.  Based on the expressions on others faces, I was obviously the only one with "taboo" on the mind.  Soon enough I arrived at the beach access and I paused.....oh look, public restrooms and I suddenly have to pee. That was the last delay though, I now finally had feet in sand and as predicted, I was sufficiently surrounded on a not too crowded beach by almost the exact demographics as predicted above.  There was a fair amount of women too, not that I stared, either topless or also going the Full Monty.  Throw in a an equal number or clothed people who chose the clothing optional  beach and not the clothing mandatory one about 100 yards north for some reason, so really no surprises.

I picked my spot, an equal distance from anyone in any direction, still in my shorts and tank top.  How does one undress in public?  I had no idea, top first, bottoms first, standing up or discretely sitting down on my towel?  Am I putting too much thought into this?  Likely. Having no point of reference I decided to go the bold route, stood up, quickly dropped my shorts, shed my top and allowed the sun for the first time in many years to hit the full glory of my far less than perfect body.  That last moment I thought was going to be the hardest was a lot easier than ripping off a band aid, I felt really good about it actually, a huge sense of accomplishment. But it didn't take long for reality to set in, I was standing on a public clothing optional beach, having taken the option, and was standing there looking out on the water, and not doing much else........

Not wanting to stand out or look weird, I quickly grabbed the sun screen, gave myself a healthy coat, especially in the areas that I can no longer refer to as those “where the sun don't shine”, and started to lay down on my towel, but wait, do I lay down on my stomach or back first? Overthinking again no doubt, but I don't want to look like a newbie………… too late.

You always remember your first (First published Sept 9, 2015)

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.  It’s 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.  It’s hard to explain the feeling of 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

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Hope you enjoyed this flashback post. Feel free to provide feedback or comments here or on twitter (https://twitter.com/NudeInCanada) and if you are in Canada and looking for a place to be naked, check out the Naturist Canada map I created and continue to update based on your feedback and suggestions