Being in the Nude at Jones Beach

Note: This was written in 2007 when summer was about to end and autumn (my favorite season!) was soon to take over. I see now why it has to be one of those early moving-on experiences I had when I started living here in the US. I was completely in transition then; I wanted good company; I wanted to overcome my own fears and set-notions. Looking back now, I've got more than I imagined mainly because of my venturesome nature. Take time to read too what the New York Times has about Jones Beach in one of its articles here

I came back here again, if I recall it right during the summer of 2011. I was with another friend, who I thought all along was a lover after we started meeting, having long conversations, being in bed and intimate together. But he pointed out much, much later when we were clarifying our situation that we were, apparently, just dating. I was heartbroken. During that visit, we spent a few hours naked in an area of the beach where there were a few other swimmers and visitors. We hugged, kissed, and felt happy over being here. We brought some water, some snack foods. I tried to capture the moments in pictures, but I doubt if I still have the pictures in my files. But I'll try to check if I've kept some of the pictures---no naked pictures in that batch, whatsoever. There's really no point in taking pictures of naked people when you come to Jones Beach. The place has its very lovely moments; it's as if time has stopped running momentarily. And you sense you've very much connected with the waves, the whirling wind, the wet endless bodies of sands, the birds hovering around you. I felt so clean. 

Just how I got myself walk in the nude at Jones Beach simply baffles me to no end. I joined GAPIMNY's another summer outing last Saturday (August 25th) thru the courtesy of my friend Claudio (note: he has since then moved to Malaysia, the last time I heard from him). I noted that this would be my first beach outing here in the US, where I actually got to took time to swim in the beach.

Last year, I was accompanied by my friend Bob somewhere in Ventura beach in Los Angeles, California (a few days after I arrived in the US the second time around) but I did not dare swim. It was somewhere in between spring and summer then summer and fall then spring and summer then, if I recall it right, and I remember some swimmers who were in complete outfits that I figured would help them keep away the cold. Yes, the water was cold, that cold, that I even saw the thick fog covering the several blocks of streets gradually, and making me recall movie scenes right there and then in the late afternoon. Whew!! That experience blew me.....being a Filipino who enjoyed a lot of swimming experiences back in the warm, sunny islands of the Philippines at least 19 direct flight hours away from Los Angeles. I realized I won't even enjoy swimming again in a beach until I get back to the Philippines again.

But that outlook changed last Saturday. I even went out of my way to swim in the nude (actually, just standing, walking, struggling, and fighting the strong waves along the coast of Jones Beach in this side of Long Island, that's at least 1 and a half hours drive from ManhattanManhattan).

We arrived almost by lunch time and I realized a number of families and groups have been ahead of us in the beach. The beach authorities were not charging toll fees for those who wanted to swim that Saturday; perhaps, because the weather was not that sunny anyway. It was actually foggy and our views were dimmed by whatever that looked like light greyish in cloudy form right in front of us our view. But people were agog and, from the looks of it, were having fun. Summer is soon gone, and everyone's making the most of what remains of summer.

I walked alone for at least 3 hours. I walked away from the groups where I saw a brave nude fellow in all his glory, lying on his back, close to his African American friend and with his penis displayed in flaccid state and he was sending signals to everyone not to bother him ["mind your own business" as I walked directly in front of him]. I heard some people hurling challenges to others to do better than this nude fellow. But no one dared follow. I would have wanted to be nude right there and then, yet I thought I'd look pathetic in a crowd that would just be making gleeful fun out of what I've got. Just then, I decided to keep on walking. I heard later on from Claudio that nudists flock in distant areas of Jones Beach. He knew what he was talking about as he lived nearby before, many years ago. I thought, "You'd be rewarded if you'd keep walking."

I walked until my feet hurt and they got so sore. I must have walked three hours or longer, as I've said before. There were wide patches of the long seemingly endless coast where practically no one was around. I would be seeing and meeting from time to time individuals walking, men and women by their solitary selves, naked. They didn't want to be bothered; yes, not at all. That's why, most probably they walked up this long, long distance to get away from probing eyes and unenlightened minds not ready to realize it is great to swim in the nude. It's actually one of those early experiences most of us have had from our childhood years with either good or bad memories, & we'd prefer not to do again in our adult years, at least not in public.

I saw an African American whose penis was then erect, and being admired by a white guy. Nothing's happening out of the ordinary at all. I kept walking. No one was watching them, it seemed to me. I felt guilty from this voyeuristic encounter. I saw old women, naked, with hanging, sagging breasts, with such non-challant attitude toward to gawkers like me. Some are with groups with individuals still in the bathing suits. They were being cool about the whole experience. They must have been together in nude swimming outings before. I saw more men in the nude, and saw I was really small down below my stomach and as compared with them. Many looked proud and confident.

There's something very sensual about the site. Something that's very brave and elemental as I saw everyone in the nude. I saw several guys who would just sit again on the sand when they see someone coming fully clothed, or in swim outfits. They would just take a quick glance at me. After I passed by their space, they'd stand, and start doing their own thing. Some cavorted with the strong waves in the nude. That's being very liberating. Everybody's pretty much alone by themselves, separated within safe, secure, agreed distances. You just bother with yourself. I decided I might as well remove my light lavender colored shorts, and join in the experience. No one bothered me. I felt very clean. I felt very smooth all over. I just didn't bother anyone in turn.