Coming out of my shell: Laura Leyrer goes nude.

I really enjoyed this article by Laura Leyrer of the Detroit Day Trips Examiner. Ever since her first visit to Turtle Lake Nudist Resort she has been posting more articles on nudist news. Stop by her web site to read more.

While I realize that the revelations in this article may come as a mild surprise to most of my family and friends, I can't say that any of them will be shocked. I've always been open to trying new things and, if those things prove to be fun or rewarding, trying them several times! In this particular case, I'm referring to the experience of being a nudist. (At this point, I imagine an assortment of reactions - "Oh!", "Hmm..", and even "Eww" among them.) However, it's necessary, before you read on, to get a couple of things straight:

First of all, just because someone is nude does not mean they welcome promiscuous or sexually extreme behavior. Don't misunderstand me; there are places at which that sort of thing is encouraged, but there is a world of difference between those so-called "lifestyle" resorts and the nudist or clothing-optional resorts to which I refer. Many nudist resorts, including Turtle Lake Resort in Union City, Michigan, are family friendly and their members range in age from babies to nonagenarians.

Secondly, almost counter intuitively, nudist resorts aren't about external appearance. People who visit a nudist resort are not the airbrushed beauties from the covers of magazines; they are average. They are your neighbors, your co-workers, and your friends

Why is this article showing up on the page of someone who writes about day tripping? Because there are several nudist resorts, in both Michigan and Canada, within a day's drive of Detroit that are fun and have a great deal to offer to those who want to experience something truly different than a "textile" (clothing mandatory) resort. I'm also writing about this subject to clear up some common misconceptions about clothing-optional vacations.

My thoughts on the subject of nudism ran the gamut from fun to perverse to obscene to frightening during the months before I finally decided to make the leap (and reservations) a couple of years ago. I finally worked up the nerve to see what it was all about, then nearly chickened out less than five miles from Turtle Lake. What was I doing? For Pete's sake, I was nearly fifty, at least ten pounds (fifteen?) overweight, and considerably out of shape. Wouldn't people there be grossed out by someone like me? After all, Americans value the toned, the bronzed, the young and beautiful. Yet, there I was, pale and nervous and unable to stop obsessing about my cellulite

I took a deep breath and went into the resort office. The woman at the desk was clothed, but several people who walked in and out while I checked in were not. No one behaved bizarrely; no one was any different than people I'd seen every day of my life. I listened carefully as the office manager explained the rules of the camp and "nudists' etiquette" - carry a towel with you wherever you go and always use it to cover surfaces before you sit down, keep your campsite or lodge room clean, be respectful of other people's belongings and space and, most importantly, act appropriately. Any sexual innuendo,behavior, or language that makes others uncomfortable is grounds for expulsion from the camp.(Trust me when I tell you that you will run into more overtly sexual behavior and conversation on a public beach than you will ever encounter at a nudist resort.)

What I did experience at this nudist resort was the most incredible sense of acceptance and freedom than I'd found anywhere else. At a nudist resort, people don't care if you're wealthy or beautiful or powerful. Ironically, nudists care more about the person within your skin than the skin itself. Maybe it's because you see so much of it that, in a very short period of time, it just doesn't matter anymore. In my experience, the people at nudist resorts have been universally kind and thoughtful, considerate and welcoming.

The people at Turtle Lake were happy to provide directions and advice. Within the first twenty minutes of my stay, I was invited to a community dinner and a water volleyball game. Both men and women seemed delighted to meet me and were easy to laugh and enjoy relaxed conversation.

Read the rest of the article here.

Needed: New Nudists

From FWWEEKLY.com

Brown hills, like the crimped rim of a pie, made a privacy fence around the resort as it baked in the 105-degree heat. But at the end of a dusty gravel road, a swimming pool and icy drinks promised cool refreshment for Wildwood's club members.

"Volleyball!" yelled a 9-year-old girl as she cannonballed into the pool. And as though she were an umpire announcing the end of a time-out, people left their beers and other drinks, got up from the surrounding tables, and followed her into the water.

Water sports are staple summer entertainment at the 11-year-old resort in Wise County, along with horseshoes and darts. But water volleyball - even nude water volleyball, the only kind they play at Wildwood Naturist Park - just isn't drawing many young people anymore, and that's a problem.

Naturist camps, it seems, like newspapers and music stores in the clothed world, are having trouble attracting the younger generation these days.

What to do? Have a mass skinny-dip-in. That's coming up on July 11 at 2 p.m., when Wildwood and other similar clubs around the country try to set a world record for the largest number of people bathing in their birthday suits at one time.

The mass dip-in is the inspiration of the American Association for Nude Recreation, which contacted the Guinness World Records keepers to see what kind of new record a bunch of unclothed people might be able to set.

Beatrice Taylor, manager and part-owner of Wildwood, sees the problem firsthand. When she, her husband, and four others bought the land and founded the club in 1997, the average age of those who joined was 40. Now, she said, it's 45.

She's tried to reach area young people: She called North Texas college newspapers and radio stations to ask about buying ads. Wildwood didn't want to advertise orgies or any of the other snicker-inducing activities that people who wear clothes often assume start happening when lots of people get naked together. Just natural living - and maybe a membership discount for young people who could show, say, a school ID card.

But no one returned her calls. "I don't know why the schools won't call me back," she said. "I'm willing to pay."

The world-record skinny-dipping attempt isn't an offer by Wildwood to open its gates to those who just want to ogle others for the day. Visitors are allowed, but they must sign and obey the same rules as members. Nudity is required, drugs are prohibited, and "overt sexual activity" is not tolerated. "We want participators, not spectators," Taylor said.

Perhaps it's not surprising that camps like Wildwood are having a little trouble with the twentysomething crowd. The nudist movement, after all, grew up in the 1950s and '60s. And the delights of living with skin exposed to the sun may seem foreign to a generation that's become pasty-faced from too many hours of video gaming and 'net surfing.

Taylor and other Wildwood members said that if people, young or old, can just be convinced to try nude living, there's an excellent chance they'll be hooked. It's what happened to most of them - doctors, lawyers, bankers, plumbers, teachers, people from all walks of life.

Read the rest of the article here.