My father sat at the kitchen table, shaking the crease out of his newspaper while nursing his post-dinner coffee.

“Looks like they’ve finally chased off those nekkid hippies out by the bridge — once and for all! They should all put their clothes on and go get a job!”

I sat quietly, picking at my Hamburger Helper. It was 1978. I was fifteen years old. I finally summoned up the courage to sheepishly utter a question, “So, what’s the big deal? Where are the naked people? And why is everyone so angry?”

I knew damn well what the deal was. I had a paper route back in the day when bundles were dropped at your garage door, ready to be folded, packed into burlap sacks, and delivered to doorsteps by a kid on a bike. The nudies at Wohler Bridge had been front-page news for much of the summer and I had been reading the play-by-play for weeks, stalling the folding regimen long enough to read the rants of angry neighbors. Local residents had gradually inherited a gridlock of so many cars parked along narrow roads otherwise bedecked with pricey country homes in the burgeoning wine country. Read more

“If you look at sculptures from hundreds of years ago, everyone's naked. It's not a bad thing.” Gigi Hadid

Yes, I am a nudist. I am a member of the AANR (American Association for Nude Recreation). I have been publicly naked in places where other naked people are, and I will do that again if I can. But, if you are wondering why in the heck I want to be that, well, maybe I need to explain. Maybe, even, if you aren’t wondering that.

I have spent a lifetime overcoming childhood trauma. At the age of ten I was grabbed by an older boy, dragged off to a hidden place, de-pants, warned not to yell or tell anybody ever about what had happened, implying he would seriously hurt or kill me, and then he gave himself pleasure by twisting my private parts, making me hurt while being forbidden to call for help.

What does that have to do with being a nudist? Well, as you can probably imagine, what remained of my childhood and all of my puberty was turned into a nightmare. I shut down the memory of the incident as a defense mechanism, but it was still with me to the point that I would wet my pants during seventh grade Read more

The history of naturism is a very interesting and colorful story. Take the fun quiz,  click here, to see how many facts you can “uncover” about the culture of “baring it all.” The answers are at the end of the quiz.

“Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue.” John Kenneth Galbraith

"Too hot to cook inside? Why not cook with the Sunshine? Solar cooking is not a new, nor really that novel concept. In fact it can be a real alternative to heating up your living space while utilizing the free, endless (for at least the next several billion years) supply of sunshine, especially here in the SoCal. We’ve been cooking much of our food over the last 25 years in a solar box-style cooker. It’s convenient, portable and it’s fun! The principle is simple: take an insulated box, put a glass lid on it and add some reflectors. Other designs utilize a glass, sealed tube with reflectors. Either method concentrates solar “thermal" energy to heat your food, either in a pot or directly on a tray. Over the years we’ve regularly cooked beans, rice, casseroles, sauces, even meats with ours. Temperatures generally run between 300-350F, up to 500F in some sealed reflector-style cookers, 250F or so in some more open panel-type cookers. Our experience is recipes may require 15min/hour more than what conventional oven-based recipes call for owing to airflow, clouds, etc. Foods cooked rarely require stirring, don’t burn, but may dry out if left too long, and cleanup is easy.

There are a few other tips we can share if you have an interest in learning more. We also have one box cooker available as a loaner if you’d like to try solar cooking for yourself. All you need is a clear view of the sun and the willingness to try something new and different. Let us know when you’re interested.

Buen provecho!“ - Tom

To receive the newsletter contact Cindy at: glenedenyoga@gmail.com

We were at a business meeting in a friend of ours’ home, and after the meeting was over we were sitting around just drinking coffee and visiting and having a great time. And the lady of the house, she kind of like embarrassed looking and hesitant. And she says, “I need to ask you for a favor.” And she says, “You’re a pastor, right?” “Well, yeah, of course, yes.” She says, “I really need you to help me. My sister and her husband and their family are nudists.” And she kind of she kind of whispered it like like it was a bad word, you know, nudists. “And I need you to help me talk them out of it.” And we kind of looked at each other like it was kind of funny, you know?

But I said, “Oh, absolutely, I’m in, but give me a week so I can get some ammo. We need to do a Bible study, find out what the Bible says so that we have some ammo for them.” I said, “I don’t want to just wing it.” “We’ll straighten them up!” And so we drove home that night.

We kind of joked about it on the way home, you know, because we had about an hour and a half drive home. And it was just it was one of those odd things. Read more

“The point is NOT that one must be naked, but that one CAN be naked, and in any context.” Richard Foley,

How do you ease your nerves by picturing a crowd naked if they already are? Author Sophie Pavelle found out when she spoke at British Naturism’s NudeFest.

Sophie Pavelle attended NudeFest as a speaker about her new book – ‘Forget Me Not: Finding the forgotten species of climate-change Britain’ (Photo: Supplied)

A text landed on my phone: “Looking forward to seeing you – beautiful weather”. This weather report might seem like the stuff of polite conversation to most readers, but I knew it had an underlying message – that clothes would be renounced at this meeting.

As part of my promotional tour for my debut book, I’d agreed to be interviewed at Nudefest festival – Britain’s largest naturist gathering. Naturally, I had a lot of questions, totally unprepared for what would become a life-affirming evening: Can I at least wear a top? What’s the etiquette for eye-contact? And, how can I calm my nerves by picturing the audience naked, if they already are? Read more

DeAnza Springs Resort

DeAnza Springs is San Diego’s only clothing-optional resort, and one of the largest in North America. Nestled on over 500 acres of high desert just outside of Jacumba Hot Springs, we are an ideal destination for year-round vacationing, outdoor adventure, and exploration of the naturist lifestyle.

With over 311 spacious, full hook-up RV sites, and plenty of dry tent sites, there’s an option for every type of camper. Meanwhile, we also have fully outfitted rental units for your comfort and convenience, including park models, midsized RVs, and motel rooms.

We are a family-friendly destination that is proud to welcome everyone interested in naturism and the outstanding beauty of this area. Full- and part-time memberships are available, as well as weekend getaway packages, and so much more.

Glen Eden is Southern California’s premier family-oriented nudist resort and RV park. Sound expensive? It’s not, and first-time visitors save 50%! Think you could never be in a clothes-free state with others around? Think again, because that’s what most people say before they visit Glen Eden Sun Club. Then they fall in love with it. Glen Eden Sun Club is a family-oriented resort with clear guidelines on acceptable behavior, and all members are screened upon their first visit.

So, if you REALLY want to escape from the rigors of your everyday routine, Glen Eden Sun Club is the place to be.

Glen Eden Sun Club Southern California's Premier Nudist Resort Corona