An Attempt at a Naturist Story
It was
Spring Break and Joan, a student from a local community college in the
foothills of
Joan had arrived the day before and they’d both been up late the evening before catching up on old times. As a result, they’d slept in this morning. For Joan, the weather was unbelievable. Sunny with temps in the 70’s. In March. “This is heavenly!” Joan had commented.
“The weather is gorgeous down here most of the time. Would you like to take advantage of it and start the week off with a picnic at the beach?” Angie asked.
“Why not? A boyfriend had talked me into a bikini last summer, and I brought it along. Are the beaches crowded this time of year?”
“Yes and
no. Jam packed? No. More than someone from
“Sounds like fun.”
They packed their picnic baskets, changed into their swimsuits. Joan’s mention of having a bikini gave hope that she might be up to a little Spring Break adventuresomeness. Angie thought of her own bikini, but opted for a one-piece instead. Something easy to get in and out of might keep her own courage up.
Once packed, Angie drove them to a parking lot by an airfield where they could see the ocean over the top of the cliff. “I bet the view off of that cliff is marvelous,” Joan commented as they climbed out of the car.
“It looks like it will be. Hope the trail isn’t as steep as that cliff would have us believe,” Angie answered.
“We’ve hiked before back home. Are you going soft on me?”
“No,” Angie replied as she started toward the cliff, “But I’ve heard the path is pretty steep. One thing. This is as close to a wild, ‘Spring Break’-type thing as I’m likely to do. I actually came out here last week on a day off, I decided to try somewhere else that day.”
“Oh.” Joan’s eyebrow went up as they continued walking.
“Yes, my friends were insistent that it’s very like a normal beach. Quieter than most they’ve been to, even. But it IS a nude beach.” Angie admitted, stopping.
“Whoa. A NUDE beach?”
“These classmates aren’t partiers, or I would have blown them off. I knew better than to come with my roommates. Their great fun, but they do go overboard sometimes. Anyway, it is Spring Break.”
“I trust you to keep a level head, but this is reaching…”
“Hey, if we don’t like it, around the bend down there is ‘normal’ beach.”
“I guess, but talking me out of my swimsuit might take some work.”
“Me, too, quite likely. Let’s go.”
They almost quailed at the sight of the trail down the cliff face. Angie looked at Joan and shrugged. “THIS is probably why it’s a nude beach,” she said starting down. Joan merely sighed in resignation and followed. The thought of the beauty of cliffs from beach level held the thoughts of the other scenery awaiting them at the bottom. About two-thirds of the way down, when they could get a good view of what was happening, Angie turned to Joan, observing “That looks almost normal to me,” and continued on. Joan rolled her eyes at “almost normal” but left the obvious unsaid.
They reached the bottom, and Angie led her reluctant friend down the beach to an area that seemed to have some extra space. She found a spot near some other young women. One group had their boyfriends along. “Good spot?” she asked.
“As good as any I guess. Are you sure about this?”
“’In for a penny’ is my philosophy right now. If you don’t feel comfortable, stay ‘normal’,” Angie answered.
They laid their blankets out and started out of their clothes. Once down to her bikini, Joan sat down on the blanket and started rummaging through her picnic basket. Angie, however, straightened herself, took a deep breath and let her swimsuit fall to sand. Stacking her swimsuit with the rest of her clothes, she joined her very preoccupied friend on the blanket for lunch.
“That cliff is beautiful from beach level, isn’t it?” Angie inquired.
“Quite,” Joan answered, casting her eyes from way-down to way-up. “I’m not sure what to say about this,” she faltered.
“Give yourself a few minutes and start looking around. This beach is marvelous. I’d like to know how it stays such a secret.”
“Not much of jump there. Most normal people would stay away because the climb alone, but you have naked people at the bottom. Do you feel as calm as you look?” she asked.
“No, this is definitely different. Still getting used to, I imagine, but I’m not in any real hurry to get dressed either. Eat, sun, and test the ocean a little, maybe?” Angie offered.
“Maybe.” Lowering her eyes to beach level, Joan really looked around. “I’m not the only one covered, I see.”
“I saw quite a few as we were walking. We’re not the only first-timers here; I would imagine.”
“Probably true,” Joan replied, finishing her sandwich. Looking at her naked friend for the first time, she admitted, “I can understand how a person could walk away coming here. After I finish eating, I’ll probably walk some nerves off.”
They finished eating to the sound of the waves rolling up onto the beach. Joan packed her lunch stuff away and stood up. “The longer this goes, the more normal it seems to get. You look comfortable,” she noted.
“I’ve worked myself up to the ‘Now what?’ stage,” Angie answered, reaching for a sunscreen bottle. “Right now, I think I’ll work on these tan lines.”
“Go for it. I’ll see if I can clear my head a little.” Joan said, walking up the beach toward where most of the activities were. “When I come back, I might have worked myself up to joining you.”
“Be careful.”
Once layered in sunscreen, Angie laid back to enjoy the rays.
Joan walked along the waterline, letting her gaze pass from the water to the cliff to those on the beach. She saw children skipping rope and building sandcastles. She saw couple holding hands. She saw others like her with clothes on, some with friends, some alone. When she walked past a volleyball game, she stopped to watch and was immediately struck by the practicality of playing nude. On a regular beach with her strapless swimsuit, she would have put on a shirt before joining a game. These women weren’t concerned because you can’t lose what you aren’t wearing.
That thought stayed with her as she turned back toward where her friend Angie was soaking up rays. For the first time, she began noticing what she was wearing, not what she wasn’t. After a few moments, she began to feel somewhat sheepish about the whole thing. She decided that she was going to try this, but she did want to get back to her own towel first.
For the walk back, she decided to walk along the foot of the cliff. Near the bottom of the hiking trail, she spotted an apprehensive looking young woman sitting on one the many rocks at the base of the cliff. Walking over to her, she asked, “First timer as well?”
“Yes,” came the nervous answer.
“My name is Joan. My friend Angie and I are a short way down the beach that way. Would you like to join us?”
“My name is
“Believe it or not yes, and has been for almost an hour at least.” Joan replied.
“Company would probably help. Yeah, I’ll come along.”
“Follow me then,” Joan said, walking away. “I was nervous about this, too. After a while though, I started to feel silly. It’s worn off to the point that I’m stripping off once I get back to my towel.”
“I hope you’re right,” Char answered, following Joan.
Meanwhile back at the blankets, Angie’s languid sojourn in the sun didn’t last very long. She had never been much of a sun-bunny anyway. She sat up and gazed around. No sign of Joan in the crowd anywhere. She turned at the sound of rattling dice. Where two couples had been before, the two women were playing what appeared to be a game of Yahtzee. Josi and Cari, who seemed to be regulars noticed Angie looking on and invited her over. Angie joined in somewhat anxiously, admitting to being a newcomer.
“Your bikini-clad friend walked off and left you, huh?” Cari inquired.
“Walking off nerves, I hope. She wasn’t gung-ho about my choice of beach once I told her what it was.” Angie replied.
“That happens, you didn’t ambush her, did you?” Cari asked.
“Not exactly. I gave her an opportunity to turn back on the way to cliff, but she trudged on behind me anyway. That bikini is actually very daring for her.”
“Not very daring around here, but oh well. An ex-boyfriend dragged me down here last summer. I thought he was nuts at first, but as you can see, I enjoy it.” Cari said.
“This is a great place. You almost forget that you’re naked.”
“Yes, you can forget the ‘real world’ here. Unfortunately, for my ex, he developed a pattern. ‘Go to the beach, get naked, soak up the sun, then back to his apartment for an afterparty’ I noticed the pattern after a few weeks and came here myself one when he was working and I wasn’t. Had a great time mingling amongst everyone. When I told him about it, he got very upset. A week later, I told him to take a hike.”
“Too bad about that part.”
“Yeah, but I’ve kept coming and having a great time. I haven’t seen him here at all.”
“His loss.”
“Yeah, brought John down here a month ago. It was our third date, actually. It’s been marvelous.”
“Good for you and him.”
“Then they drug Steve and I down here a week later.” Josi chimed in. “Steve was enthusiastic, but I was like ‘OK, but I’m staying dressed.’ That lasted about 30 minutes. I felt so silly once we’d settled in.”
“Hope, Joan ‘settles in’ as well.” Angie replied, peering down beach toward Joan and another young woman were walking up the sand.
“Found a friend, I see.” Angie called out as Joan walked up to the blankets.
“Yeah, found her at the base of the trail looking lost. She’s a first-timer as well.”
Introductions were made, and Cari welcomed both as regular.
Char went off a little ways to settle herself. Joan, however, reached behind her back to undo her stop, then slipped out of the bottoms. Tossing her swimsuit toward her blanket, she sat down next to Angie.
“Well, a new convert after all,” her friend commented.
“Would you believe that by the time I reached that volleyball game down there, I was starting to feel silly?!”
“Happened to me, too,” Josi said.
“What decided it for me was watching the volleyball game and realizing that playing naked means that you can’t lose your top!” Joan confessed. “It’s weird. One minute, you think this is just too weird. The next, you’re thinking of a really practical reason to join in.”
“Welcome to the converts,” Cari spoke.
“Yeah, Who’d a thunk it!” Joan answered, relieved.
Meanwhile, Char was setting her stuff out nearby. She was sitting on her towel uncertain of what to do next. “You’re all making this look so comfortable,” she said finally.
“If you’re not really ready, take a page out of Joan’s book and keep your swimsuit on. No reason not to enjoy the beach,” Angie answered.
“Small detail. I didn’t bring a swimsuit.” Char said. She was greeted by surprised looks from the whole group. “I figured if I put my swimsuit on, I’d never talk myself into taking it off,” Char offered by way of explanation.
“Braver than I would’ve been, had someone told me before we got to the parking lot,” Joan said, nudging at Angie.
“And would you have come?” Angie answered playfully.
Char laughed at their teasing. “And why come, if not to join in,” she stated, taking a deep breath and pulling off her shirt. The group turned back to their game to give Char a sense of privacy.
A few moments later, Joan looked over and saw a nude Char sitting with knees curled up to her chin and arms wrapped around her legs, watching her new found friends. “Get over here and join us. I didn’t invite you along to have you sit over there,” Joan said.
The day passed leisurely with stories, Yahtzee!, and card games. John and Steve stopped by every now and then between volleyball games. They succeeded at luring Joan away to join them at one point. To Angie’s surprise, Char was a student as UCSD as well. They traded campus stories over bad dice rolls. It was not a good day for the newcomers for Yahtzee. The cards were much more even, but everyone was playing more for company anyway, so they didn’t much notice.
Joan had her thoughts on the practicality of playing volleyball nude confirmed. Being a somewhat fearless digger and diver, she ended up well-coated in sand. Fortunately, since she was nude, that resolved itself by simply walking out into the water. That proved to be real shock…physically. That water was ice cold. She was, however, cleaned up, and she headed back to her friends.
Eventually, dinner-time rolled around, and as Joan and Angie had only brought lunch, they decided it was time to go. Josi and Cari insisted the sunset over the ocean was lovely, but rumbling stomachs prevailed. Char asked if she could come join them. They all headed off to a McDonalds near campus to discuss their next moves. One thing all three agreed on. They were going to meet again at the beach Friday and this time they would stay for the sunset.