“Hangin’ Out” at the Beach

Yesterday was… different.

Our friends invited us to go to a nude (actually, “clothing-optional”) beach with them. Puritanical prudes that we are, we’d never been to one; and we were curious, so we went along.

Our friends–let’s call them Angelina and Brad (names have been changed to protect the disrobed)–are no strangers to this beach, so they were natural (pun unintended) mentors.

What a View!

And I’m not even talking about the naked people! The beach (Sandy Hook’s Gunnison Beach) offers spectacular panoramic views of the Verrazano bridge (my favorite bridge in the world) and Coney Island, plus vistas of Manhattan.

We got there late (4pm), to minimize:

• crowds,
• parking fees and
• the likelihood of a painful and embarrassing sunburn.

The beach itself was quiet–none of the noise and radio-blaring I associate with public beaches–despite being fairly crowded (though away from the center, the crowd thinned out).

Contrary to what we’d been told beforehand by some naysaying confidants, the beachgoers we observed seemed more or less normal. (Note the “more or less.” ) But then again, we were prepared for the worst: enormous bellies, ultra-wrinkled septuagenarians and lecherous stares from seedy strangers–but that’s not what we saw.

What we saw were lots of naked people having an otherwise very normal fun day at the beach. People were basically just there to get sun, swim, play volleyball, and, er, hang out; and it was no more sexual or seedy than a regular beach would be.

There were a lot more attractive and semi-attractive people than we expected. (Not counting Angelina and Brad and ourselves, of course. ) There was a large enough minority of fit people there to keep things easy on the eyes. And it’s nice to see real bodies–and to appreciate how good our fellow humans look even when–especially when–they’re not supermodels.

The fresh air felt great, the mood was fun and relaxed, and we ended up having a blast.

(Here are the pictures of us naked at the beach (18 and older, only!).)