Ok, Here We Go....One Heck of a Crazy Trip...

Well, I've finally recovered from the bad case of heat stroke I had, so now it's finally time to tell you all about our trip. Let me start by saying this: I'm firmly of the opinion that we only get one trip around the block on this great big blue marble, and I'm all for experiencing as much of it as I can along the way.


Last year, our special weekend away together was a physical challenge: hiking 52 kilometres of the most grueling trail this part of the world has to offer. But this year, the challenge was all mental.


A few weeks ago I had been discussing with a co-worker her recent trip down south and her descriptions of the nude beach they have there. In the course of the discussion, she asked me if I knew there was a nudist resort not that far away from us, on Prince Edward Island?


Well, actually, I hadn't heard that, so of course I immediately Googled the website, (since I have this need to know everything about everything.)

The place is called The Oasis Resort, and is a short four hour drive from our home. I was immediately intrigued. I've always wondered about what sort of people hang out in these places, and what it would be really like to be stark naked in the middle of a group of strangers.

It didn't take me long to convince Bob that this would be a great lark and something we would remember for the rest of our lives. (I don't know if he envisioned a whole resort full of supermodels or what, but I didn't exactly have to beat him over the head or anything.)

And if I was really going to do this, I wanted to do it before everything started going south on the ol' bod, if you get my drift.

So I called up and booked us a campsite for the weekend.

Then the serious questions began. Just how is one expected to behave in a nudist resort? I made sure to read up on all the "naked ettiquette" before we went. (For example, you must always sit on a towel in public places.) I had other questions too. For example, I wondered if certain (ahem) personal grooming was expected? (I never really got a answer to that one....)

So Friday at noon, the bags were packed and off we went.

We got there at about 5:30 PM. When we pulled in off the road we were met by a very imposing looking locked gate....

....accompanied by this sign....

There was a phone provided to call the owner to open up the gates, which we did. He said he would be there in a moment and to please wait by the office. So we pulled through the gate and did just that. This was our view as we sat waiting.

About 60 seconds after pulling in and turning off the car, a very fat lady wearing nothing but a smile ambled through our line of vision on the way to the pool. That's when it really hit home just exactly where we were. I was sitting in the car, wondering what the rules were: Were we expected to get out of the car and strip off right away? Could we at least wait until we were at the campsite to get nekkid? Turns out the owner was clothed when he showed up, so that made that easier.

So we found a campsite and set up camp. Notice that solid wall that goes all around the entire resort. Bob and I had our tops off within two minutes of getting out of the car, and I have to say, it felt great to have the breeze cooling me down. (We waited, though, to take the pants off until the tent was set up, because as far as I'm concerned, crouching and pounding in tent pegs is Bad Naked.)

After we were down to our birthday suits, we pretty much immediately grabbed our towels and headed for the pool. My feeling was, the longer we put if off, the harder it was going to turn out to be. So off we went.

There were about eight people hanging around the pool at that moment, and more showed up later on. And really, there wasn't anything very embarassing about it, believe it or not. There were all sorts of different body types in the resort throughout the weekend, and believe me when I say, none of them were supermodels.

One thing that I found pretty darn great about the place is the fact that everyone talked to us. It was like having a vacation with a whole crew of long-lost friends. Bob and I had read that nudists were known to be very friendly folks, and it was absolutely true. People there were genuinely interested in knowing who we were and all about us, and over the course of the two days, the conversations never got boring.

We spent amost all of Saturday out in the sun and spent a fair bit of time having drinks by the pool (two things that really came back to bite me in the proverbial ass.) I am pretty red all over despite lots of sunblock, and considering that a lot of my parts hadn't seen the sun in a long time (if ever) it wasn't wise of me to be out so long. But it was sooooo warm and the breeze felt good on my tuchus , it seemed a shame to waste it hiding in the tent.

A quick word about the food: I finally remembered to pack my homdemade veggie burgers....

...and my seitan steak, which we ate with beans and mushrooms.

We didn't really eat a whole lot, cuz it was just too damn hot.

The Final Verdict: It was a lot of fun, and actually incredibly liberating. My self-esteem and self-image got a real shot in the arm. I had expected to come home with funny stories about all the wacky people we met there, but it turns out they were some of the nicest folks I've met in a very long time.

One other thing: in case anyone is wondering, there was absolutely nothing sexual about this place at all. Some older people might think that nudist is just another name for "swinger", but I can guarentee you that the atmosphere is far from sexual. Turns out that where there's nothing left to the imagination, any interest or wondering you might have about other people's parts just dissapears. Then there's nothing left to ponder except what might be between their ears.

I would actually recommend doing something like this to just about everyone, especially if you don't have the greatest body image. Besides, everyone deserves to feel the summer breeze on their cheeks at least once in a lifetime....!)