Becoming a Beach Nudist

My first social nudity was an unplanned visit to Black's Beach in the late '80s. I flew into LAX from South Florida for a week of business. Because of the three hour time difference I wanted to have as much time as possible to get acclimated to the change. Therefore, I arrived in Southern California before noon on Saturday. My plan was to drive down to San Diego and see the sights, spend the night there, and return to LA Sunday afternoon.

On the drive south I stopped a few times to admire the California coastline, which is much different from the Florida coastline to which I was accustomed. Whereas the Florida beaches are flat and sandy, some California beaches offer cliffs and waves crashing on rocky outcroppings. By late afternoon I was approaching the San Diego area. I got off I-5 and found myself in La Jolla. On a local coast road I took a turnoff into a parking lot for a glider port high above the ocean. After getting out of the car and walking to the edge of the cliff I looked down to the beach below. It was quite a distance, but it looked like the people below were naked.

Like most non-nudists I was curious. A few times I had heard about nude California beaches, but never thought I would have the opportunity to visit one. I found and took a path that wound its way down to the wide sand beach. (I later found this to be the longer, but easier, access.) My heart was racing, not from the easy climb down, but from the eroticism of being at a nude beach.

I had never been shy about participating in non-sexual nudity; such as skinny-dipping, group showers and mandatory nude boys swimming classes in junior and senior high school. So removing my clothes and being naked with other people would not a traumatic event for me. I found a spot back by the cliffs and some distance from the nudists. Once I began removing my clothes the titillation unfortunately caused an unwanted erection. Even though I did not know about social nudism etiquette, I had noticed no sexual activity on the beach and thought it best to hide my arousal. I sat down and put my folded clothes on my lap. Surprisingly, within five minutes my penis became soft. Now I felt free to get up and walk nude along the beach. Because it was late in the day I could enjoy the wonderful sensations that accompany outdoor nudity for about an hour. That was all it took to get me hooked.

The next day I returned to Black's Beach for many more hours of the natural freedom I would grow to love. At the time I had no idea I was visiting one of the most famous nude beaches in the world. During that far too short time I observed beach nudism as it was, not as others had implied; no overt or covert sexual activity; people of all ages; families, friends, and singles; and nudists and non-nudists (mostly surfers) coexisting. In the middle of the afternoon I reluctantly had to leave for my drive up to LA. I was not sure the next time or place I would be able to experience my new life as a nudist.

Once my business trip ended, and I was back in South Florida, I began my search for a local nude beach. The internet was not available to help me. I found the World Guide to Nude Beaches at a book store and used that to begin my quest to visit nude beaches in the Sunshine State. To my misfortune, the closest beach required many hours of driving.

The first Florida beach I visited was Playalinda at the Canaveral National Seashore, a good four hour drive. Playalinda was not a truly legal nude beach, but being on federal property, which has no prohibition against nudity, nudists turned the most northern section of the beach into a clothing optional area.

On my first visit I experienced something I had not seen at Black's Beach. When I first arrived and was setting up my space, three nude women not far from me started giggling and pointing towards the water a little ways down the beach. In shallow water was a man about 30 years old with an erection. I was not sure why the women were amused nor why the man was not trying to hide his arousal. Nonetheless, it did not seem like a sexual situation, just a guy with a hard-on.

Eventually, before Haulover became a nudist paradise, I found other nude beaches in Florida and California. Some were tolerated by the locals for nude use, others were secluded and only known to the few who sought and discovered them. When Haulover opened as a nude beach I was one of the first to visit. There were maybe 100 or so of us on a weekend. Now it is world famous, visited by thousands.