Book of Jamez

55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer

Tag: clothing optional

  • Vacation

    I need a vacation.

    Many people will chime in here and say “You’re going to Washington DC Saturday for five days” or “you just spent the weekend in Casa Grande at a retreat”

    Those people have a very different interpretation of vacation than I do.

    In a recent post I talked about when my Ma found my diary and how sometimes I have to be careful what I write so I don’t offend people… but today, I don’t care.

    I”m about to travel the span of the country and spend the weekend with my best friend catching up, shopping, whining and being best friends (she’s not one of the sensitive types that I’m referring to) and then going to Washington DC to help my ex roommate and see my ex boss and his wife and some AA folks (who I love like family) for the rest of the trip… but that is NOT a vacation. Nor is flying to a winter climate to celebrate a holiday you don’t care about. participating in a retreat when you’re the registration chair and the people around you can best be described as self-centered, self-seeking kindergartener … Yes, I’m one of them.

    A vacation is about relaxation, about not worrying about how to act or behave or treat people based on their sensitive. A vacation renews and refreshes a person so they can keep doing the mundane tasks they do most days. For me a vacation is about lying by a pool for days, with a book and my own musics… and naked men are helpful too. Swimming and sunning and sleeping… I need a vacation.

    in 2005 I decided not to travel to WI for a whole year – I’d been going 2 – 3 times a year to see family/friends and not many reciprocated. So Ma, Pa and Rhonda came to visit me. That was a nice change. Many folks have already been out here to visit me in Phoenix, that’s nice too.

    I once had a job that let me take off whenever I wanted, we didn’t accumulate days or run out – if you need off you take off. I managed to take a laptop with me most times and do anything that came up that needed to be done… but I got to relax. Thanks Jim.

    But in most jobs when you have to accumulate vacation days … those days when you feel obligated to spend with family or friends is more aggravating. There was a recent day when the only thing that kept me from walking out the door at work was the realization that at a new job I’d have to start vacation days from scratch again… and I just can’t have that happen. Days for Xmas, days for working, days for funerals and weddings… how dare people die or fall in love, don’t they know I need to relax?

    I’m just out of energy, out of caring, out of give a shits.

    I whined about this today to my sponsor and he laughed at me… no really, he did. He’s driving me to the airport early Saturday morning – he volunteered… he’s crazy. Truth is he’s a better person than me (that’s true of most people). Some day maybe i’ll look back on this post and laugh at myself – I hope when I do I’ll be lying naked at a pool next to some handsome men.

  • Sunny, Windy, Fun in Ft Lauderdale for my 41st

    For my 41st I made my usual trip to Ft Lauderdale. I stayed at the Royal Palms Resort,an all male clothing optional resort that I’ve stayed at before. Friday was pretty windy and a bit chilly, I hoped that it was not going to last as I enjoy sitting in the sun by the pool.

    the Royal Palms

    Gary had purchased a massage for me at the spa at the resort, so I had a great 1 1/2 hour massage treatment that made all my achy muscles go away and I really needed that. I had planned to meet a guy at Bill’s Filling Station Friday night, but he bailed so I stayed at the resort, ordered pizza and was in bed early.

    Saturday the wind was still pretty strong and it was a bit chilly, but I was determined to get some sun and swim in the pool (thankfully it’s heated). There are two sections to the resort, one clothing optional and one clothing mandatory, I hang out in the clothing optional part even though my room is on the clothing mandatory area. The first thing I noticed at the resort was that most of the guys looked like they belonged on a promotional photo for Atlantis Cruise, muscular, hairless chested, stereotypical gay men – I was sad about that. But there were three exceptions, one hot Daddy, one hot bear and one hot Brit (who was also bearish). I was very direct with the bear and made my intentions clear – but apparently I scared him away as I never saw him again after that, oh well. The hot Daddy was more open to having fun and we had several trips to his room. I had an enjoyable time with the Brit too, but he was a smoker and that really wasn’t much fun kissing. I didn’t do all of that on Saturday, it was over a period of time.

    Saturday night for dinner I met my friend Hampton and his partner Mark for dinner. I also got a tour of their house and a walk through Wilton Manors. It was nice to see them both and get away from the resort for a while. We ate at a little place off the main road, owned by two lesbians. They even brought me a sparkler on my dessert for my birthday!

    Sunday was still windy, but a bit warmer than it had been. I had a bit of fun with the hot Daddy, swam a bit and tanned. That evening my friend Michael K came to get me and we went out to J Marks for dinner. I only get to see Michael a few times a year, so we got a chance to catch up. We spent a lot of time talking about his dad – who’s recently home from the hospital and not doing well. I like to see Michael, we talk about anything when we talk, it’s a great friendship. Michael paid me a compliment that I kind of liked: “Aging has been good to you”… I think that might be a compliment right?

    Monday the wind finally stopped being nasty and I had a chance to sit in the sun for as long as I wished. I had an established date with a friend of a friend who I’d met up here in DC during a few of his trips so no fun with the hot Daddy. Around 1:30 I went off with Charlie and he took us on a RiverFront Cruise through the canals and into the port where they have the cruise ships, it was nice. Then he and I went back to his condo, which was really nice. We had a bit of fun before dinner at Tropics and then went back to his place for the night. I hadn’t planned that out well and in the morning remembered that I still had my contacts in – ouch, that was fun!

    Tuesday, my birthday, waking up with Charlie was very nice. He took me out to breakfast and then back to the hotel where I attempted to do some office tasks unsuccessfully. Charlie came back to my hotel and we had a relaxing afternoon before he had to leave for Chorus rehearsal. Charlie said I was a “sexy bear”, lol. I had a good time with him and hope to see him again soon.

    That evening I swam in the pool for an hour or so, went tourist shopping for a hat, and was in bed by 11:00. I also managed to start packing. That was my last full day for my annual birthday trip.

  • Naked Truth

    Two of my favorite things to do on vacation are sun-bathing and swimming in the nude. Not at the YMCA or the community pool, I go to places where it’s perfectly legal to shuck off my clothes and just lie around in the buff. It’s freeing, relaxing and truthfully feels really good. Yes, all the important parts have several layers of SPF, I wouldn’t want to burn something I had plans to use later. I’m not a gym rat, don’t have six-pack abs or sculpted pecs – I’m just an average guy with love handles, but I’m perfectly comfortable in my own skin and have no reservations when it comes to taking it all off.

    I’ve been to several “clothing optional” resorts in Ft Lauderdale and one in Palm Springs, most of them are male only, but a couple would have allowed women to also run around nude – never happened while I was there. While at one of the resorts the local health inspectors came to do a tour of the facility and one of them was a woman. Each resort is a little different in design and those who are attracted to the place. One place I stayed at in Ft Lauderdale targeted couples, another mature men; most though are just clothing optional guest houses that cater to gay men.

    Almost without exception (the exception is the one place I stayed in Palm Springs) very few guests actually partake in the “Clothing Optional” part of the resort. Guys who DO have six-pack abs, sculpted muscles galore  with glistening golden skin that makes your mouth water – nope, they keep their trunks on. Even at night these guys, and yes, some of them are just average looking fellows and some have bigger tits than Dolly Parton, keep their trunks on. It boggles my mind.

    I don’t even need them to take off their trunks for any kind of sexual satisfaction – I just can’t grasp why you wouldn’t go naked if you could. It’s like going to Amsterdam and not smoking pot or hash while your there (I’m practicing sobriety so that would be a no-no, but I had ever gone when I was still using and it was perfectly legal there I damn sure would have) and even suggested to a boss a few years ago that she be sure to try hash if she never had during her trip there. You’ve booked a room for a few days at a clothing optional resort, but you keep your junk all confined – ridiculous.

    During one stay down there, another person that liked being naked checked in during my stay – he was a senior citizen and most of us watched him walk to his room with the bellman. When he came out wrapped in his towel I was glad that another person wasn’t shy. Not only wasn’t he shy, he was a close talker and sidled up next to you whenever he struck up a conversation. He chatted with everyone and it was the exact same each time. It was uncomfortable, not because he was naked – that would have been ok, but rather due to one of his testicles being the size of a softball. It was the elephant in the living room, we all were kind of looking at it without looking at it and when he was sidled up next to us and chatting away we were doing whatever we could to not look at it and find a way to get away politely. So, yeah, OK, in that circumstance maybe staying in your trunks could be advisable, but he was probably very happy to have that nut hanging free in the breeze and the pool.

    I know there are naked gay camp sites, but I’m reluctant to go to such a place – I’ve never been a fan of camping. Give me a nice clean pool, a lawn chair and some SPF 30 and that’s all I need.