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Restoration of nudist beach sought

Sunbathers sans clothes want their own strip of sand


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In the 1980s and '90s, hundreds of nudists would bask on Bates Beach in Carpinteria, but when the Internet exploded in the late '90s, word of the beach spread beyond the relatively small group of recreational nudists. Wayne Zellner of Oxnard, wearing a swimsuit, says he's been visiting for more than 40 years.

Photo by Joseph Garcia


In the 1980s and '90s, hundreds of nudists would bask on Bates Beach in Carpinteria, but when the Internet exploded in the late '90s, word of the beach spread beyond the relatively small group of recreational nudists. Wayne Zellner of Oxnard, wearing a swimsuit, says he's been visiting for more than 40 years.

Wearing a thong bikini bottom and loose T-shirt over her deeply tanned body, Sonya Robinson felt overdressed.

If the 59-year-old Ventura woman had had her way, she'd be sunbathing au naturel on Bates Beach, working on the perfect tan she's been seeking since first shedding her clothes in the name of nudity almost 20 years ago.

Over the years, Robinson spent countless hours on this beach just north of the Ventura County line, playing volleyball, basking in the sun, making friends, all while wearing nothing but her warm smile.

But about seven years ago, when local residents started complaining about the hundreds of nudists who flocked to the beach, along with the perverts, gawkers and other nefarious characters who came to watch, Carpinteria police starting cracking down on those who stripped down. Soon, the nude beach that for years had slipped under the radar of officials was gone.

Now, a "Nudity prohibited" sign juts from the cliff-side path leading to the long, narrow beach, an ominous warning for those who dare to try to embrace the beach's past.

Robinson and her fellow nudists want to change all that.

On a recent Saturday, Robinson and about half a dozen other members of the Southern California Naturist Association sunbathed clothed while flying a banner for their group to raise awareness for their cause.

They want a little stretch of beach to call their own, a designated place where they can be free of laws and clothing and be naked as the day they were born.

"We don't want the whole beach, just a portion," said Robinson, who retired from the Ventura County school system. Scores of members of the group, with a roster of about 120, are from Ventura County.

'A few bad instances'

Naturist association members have been on a campaign to spend $2 bills in Carpinteria to show how much money a nude beach could pump into the community. They plan to meet with local officials to persuade them to give a one-year furlough from Santa Barbara County's no-nudity law, to prove that a nude beach can exist without the dubious characters that can sometimes come with it.

But Lt. Darin Fotheringham, who has worked on the Bates Beach issue for years, said that's highly unlikely. It isn't necessarily because of the nudity itself but the people a whole beach of bare skin attracts, he said.

"Are they themselves causing a bunch of criminal acts? No," he said of the handful of nudists trying to take back the beach, but "there would still be problems, because it is all of the other activity that the public nudity brought."

In Bates Beach's heyday in the 1980s and '90s, hundreds of nudists would bask on the beach, but when the Internet exploded in the late '90s, word of Bates Beach spread beyond the relatively small group of recreational nudists.

The beach was posted online as a place to cruise for sex. People would stand on the cliffs with binoculars and cameras eyeing the nudists below. Residents complained of people having sex in the bushes, masturbating in the open and soliciting sex on the bluffs.

"It became populated by people who were no longer interested in people sunbathing as much as other activities," said Steve Halsted, a member of the Rincon Point Homeowner's Association, a cluster of multimillion-dollar homes south of the beach. "A few bad instances ruined it for the people who were just sunbathing."

After a slew of complaints, Fotheringham led an operation that resulted in a series of tickets and beachgoers putting their clothes back on. Even though the occasional nudist would strip down sometimes with a friend as a lookout the nudists largely left.

Nude beach etiquette

Naturist association members agree that things got out of hand but say this time will be different. They say they will self-patrol the beach, reminding people of nude beach etiquette (no photos, no staring, no unwanted advances) and keeping undesirable folks at bay.

After the crackdown at Bates Beach and fearing that the same thing could happen to the famed Black's Beach in San Diego, Lloyd Johnson started the Black's Beach Bares, a group of nudists working to keep the beach from being overrun by undesirables and open to nudists. Johnson and others pass out fliers on etiquette, confront anyone who acts inappropriately, clean up the beach and help maintain the trails there.

Photos by Joseph A. Garcia / Star staff 
A sign is posted on the cliff-side path leading to the long, narrow Bates Beach. Members of the Southern California Naturist Association are campaigning for a designated place where they can be free of laws and clothing.

Photos by Joseph A. Garcia / Star staff A sign is posted on the cliff-side path leading to the long, narrow Bates Beach. Members of the Southern California Naturist Association are campaigning for a designated place where they can be free of laws and clothing.

The Naturist association folks said they would like to try to emulate what was done at Black's Beach, but the San Diego beach is under different circumstances. Black's is on a state beach, where the "Cahill policy" takes effect, a law interpreted differently by different groups. The policy basically says a person must complain about someone's nudity and the person must be given a warning first. Black's Beach is also relatively remote and the main access is a primitive trail down a 300-foot cliff.

'You are on your own'

Bates Beach is on Santa Barbara County and Carpinteria city property, and laws there prohibit public nudity. Access is down an easy path that starts at a large parking lot.

Fotheringham said that as Southern California's population swells, there are more people on the beaches and more who want to use them without having to worry about seeing nude people.

Which gets to what some say is the core of the nude beach issue: public nudity. Robinson doesn't understand what all the fuss is over someone being completely natural.

On a recent Saturday, when others were wearing the signature nudist cap one with a pocket for when there are no pants pockets and playing volleyball, she talked about all the friends she's made when she's been naked over the years.

"Without clothes, you are on your own, you can't be fake anymore," she said. "It takes away the pretense."

She wonders about the reality of returning Bates to a nudist designation, but she thinks that it should. Being naked to her is not about sex or voyeurism or perverseness. It's just who she is.

"Nude," she said, "is not lewd."

Discussions

There are 42 comments to this article.   

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Comments

Posted by smithjc on June 5, 2007 at 2:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

if god had intended for us to be naked, we'd have been born that way.

Posted by AnnaWhaat on June 5, 2007 at 6:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Well a dry birth would have been alot more painful !!!! Your born without clothing so it is easy on the Mother.

Posted by AnaCapa on June 5, 2007 at 6:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)

touche

Posted by Ventura22 on June 5, 2007 at 7:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Maybe their organization can lease a stretch of beach, pay for security and put up fencing along the bluffs. I would be angry at them too if the nude beach attratced those types of problems near my home!

Posted by jimhensley on June 5, 2007 at 8:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It is time American wake up to social nudism, making laws to ban nudity on remote beaches denies us our Constitutional First Amendment rights; “Congress, shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably to assembly, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The article states it isn’t the nudist causing the problems, as much as the quotes a law enforcement authority who admits, it the draw of undesirables and that is true. Why don’t these problems occur on regular beaches? Because life guards are present and it is know that law enforcement can and will be called in short order. If clothing optional beaches had the same constitutional protection as clothed beaches the problems would be mitigated. Law enforcements and life guards abandon the citizens on clothing optional beach, leaving them as second class citizens with few rights and normal protection. A sizable percentage of people would love to attend clothing optional areas and areas should be established for them by the percentage of people who attend, more people, expand the beaches, lakes, rivers and other remote areas to fit the needs.

Posted by NothingButTheTruth on June 5, 2007 at 8:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Ventura22 has a reasonable suggestion, however, the environmental impact report might be a daunting task. Such a place would in essence have to be "private" beach with regulated membership to keep the p-verts away. Security should be by reimbursable services provided by the police department so the officer would have official powers of arrest and therefore be a better deterrent to the bad apples. There are nudist colonies in California I'm sure, but probably none with "beach access". Most of us would not use such a beach because we'd look more like pale, beached whales! Ha, ha, ha! Good luck to the au naturel crowed... give them their privacy.

Posted by hotwildflower on June 5, 2007 at 9:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I am neither for nor against this...but I just wonder...why?!? Why do you feel the need to be nude in public? What benefit do you recieve from this? Are you in serious need of attention? If you want to lay out nude, what is wrong with your backyard? Just curious....

Posted by Jacksprat on June 5, 2007 at 9:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Worry about Nudist beaches, look at the bathing suits? now being worn by all the young girls, they hardly cover much of their body. So they take it off big deal, we make such a big thing about the nude body. The problem is that the perverts all think nude is sex. It is not.
Of course we can be like the Islam and make sure that the women are all covered up, from head to toe.
The body is something that we should not be ashame of. In most part of the world they don't treat nudity like we do here.
These people have a good point. If we opened up all of our beaches to nudity we would have no problem, and the bathing suit manfactures would suffer.
Look at what is charged for a tiny piece of cloth they call a bathing suit. Maybe the nudist have a good idea, cheaper.

Posted by ThinkingForMySelf on June 5, 2007 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It is too bad the pervs ruined Bates Beach. But I feel it's history of nudity should be respected. If those people are willing to accept potential problems, what's the problem. Though I can see the concerns of those who live along the beach, my empathy lies with those who don't. The same that the beaches of California are supposed to be made open and available, by law, but ignored. As a recent article pointed out here at the Star, about those Beach Front property owners who have gone to great lengths to limit a free people's access to the beaches illegally.

If the police have a problem, maybe they, and the nudest organization, and City/County can move on something as was mentioned of Black's Beach of S.D.. Come up with some clear guidelines of conduct. Have fines or assessed penalties, high enough to significantly offset enforcement costs. If you approach this as a private beach with hired security, it becomes an exclusive club.

I hope they sort it all out, for Bates Beach was a cool place to go. I'm not much of nudest, but the people I met there were more open and more relaxed and seemed to take life one wave at a time.

Posted by dse_kpa on June 5, 2007 at 11:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If we were allowed to be nude, it wouldn't be as taboo, and people would get used to it. If people are used to it, there would be less people acting perverted because it wouldn't be 'taboo' anymore.

If you go to Tahiti or Europe it's not a big deal, it's a cultural thing. It would be nice to go topless every once in awhile...if guys can do it, why can't women? We have beautiful bodies young or old, and we should embrace that.

Posted by Ventura22 on June 5, 2007 at 11:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Do it away from populated areas, join a colony or go to another country! Show respect for the residents and exercise more responsibility.
The authorities are right to ban it there and they have the responsibility under the penal code to do so. Public nudity is banned; public accessible beaches fall under that category.
There are other clothing optional beaches in less populated areas; go use them.

Posted by sunnbear on June 5, 2007 at 1:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ever had your bum sunburned? NOT FUN!

Posted by drshocker on June 5, 2007 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Stop Open mindedness.....don't allow others to think dictate what everyone will do from now until the Revolution......hehehee

Aside from the people who live near the beach the only people I ever saw at bates were nudist doing their own thing and leaving others alone wish more people would do that

Posted by Ventura22 on June 5, 2007 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Revolution?? Think that was tried back in the 60's-failed. A small group of weenie waggers revolting? I'd laugh myself to death if I saw that...as would the majority of people. I was around back in the day when undercover Sheriffs ran down and raided a beach near UCSB and sprayed dye pumped out of pest sprayers on all the nudists out there, then the colored ones were met at their vehicles by uniformed personnel with handcuffs. Stopped that every since. I laughed so hard I almost had a stroke(and I was a young guy).
Again, it's a simple matter of showing respect, exercising responsibility and using good judgement. There's no dictation here by the government, just well justified expectations as listed in the previous sentence. Try it sometime. We all need to do this if we are going to coexist in the modern world where there's more people around than ever before.

Posted by rebel123 on June 5, 2007 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The problem is not with the nude bathers, but with those who find it so titillating that they must go use binoculars to spy! All beaches draw the perverts, not just nude beaches. Live and let live.

Posted by nannyfo1 on June 5, 2007 at 3:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If people have the freedom to sunbathe in the nude, don't perverts have the freedom to watch. It's a public beach. It seems like an individual would have the right to be a pervert in public. It's almost a symbiotic relationship. One enjoys being nude in public, the other enjoys looking at people being nude in public.

Posted by Ventura22 on June 5, 2007 at 3:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Besides, some of you most likely look so horrible without clothes on that nudity laws save us from pure mortifcation. They look bad enough with a bathing suit on. I would think the sight of some nude bathers would drastically diminish the sex drive of most so-called perverts.
Dgreen; you actually expect anyone to believe that men are the only ones "looking at flesh" and you neeeever ever have?? Come on now, be realistic.
Porn shops also draw perverts; how many communities fight them or just ban them all together? Once again, a reflection of the vast majority views and values.

Posted by Ventura22 on June 5, 2007 at 4:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

And you won't have to worry about 99.9 percent of men who undress you with their eyes raping or killing you either. The instances of that happening in comparison to the number of men out there looking is very small. When these bad things do happen, they do draw a lot of attention very fast.
The wierdos jerking off in the bushes are just wierdos, not necessarily dangerous and probably have no chances of getting it with another person due to mental/physical traits. They are however very annoying and as a property owner/resident near a beach, I would be upset at finding them on or near my land doing that, especially with my kids playing nearby.
If you're gonna try and go nude, you will draw onlookers; be it curious youth or people hoping for a peek at someone attractive. It's the onlookers that annoy residents and cause most of problems but they come with the nude beach package; that's the reality. Nudists should be responsible and aware of that problem they will bring with them when choosing a location to strip down.

Posted by byteme on June 5, 2007 at 4:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Okay now where on earth do they put their keys at wallets at?

Posted by nannyfo1 on June 5, 2007 at 5:18 p.m.

(This thread was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by Ventura22 on June 5, 2007 at 5:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If he does it in or even near my bushes I'll make sure he goes to jail if I see it :o) Then he can be eligible to be registered as a sex offender if convicted. At the very least his name will be in the paper so we all know who he is and to avoid him, and he will have an embarrasing arrest on his record to think about before he reconnects again. Look it up in the penal code under lewd acts, indecent exposure, sex related crimes... This is not acceptable behavior and should not be tolerated near our beaches and parks or any public space/populated areas.
He may reconnect with nature in his own backyard or way out in the woods out of sight as much as he wants.

Posted by nannyfo1 on June 5, 2007 at 6:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you Ventura. Everything you wrote applies to the nudies as well.

Posted by sea3gull on June 5, 2007 at 11:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

No group can "lease" a public beach, there isn't a nudist "colony" (an archiac term) in SB, Ventura, LA, or Orange County, the closest "tolerated" clothing-optional beaches are in San Diego County or Central CA, and few backyards are private anymore among the overbuilt McMansions. In fact cities such as Carpinteria and Simi Valley have draconian anti-nudity laws that prevent someone from enjoying au' natural "privacy" in their own backyards. Heaven forbid, if you jump out of the shower, run to answer the phone and someone in your home forgot to pull to shades, a snoppy neighbor can decide to be offended and call he police! What this article didn't mention was that a few rich homeowners (especially one) who live on the "Point" above Bates Beach (and belive they are entitled to own "their" beach) could afford to hire off-duty police to repeadly ticket (even when their were not complaints from actual beach goers) the peaceful nudists at the very far end of the beach. Did the police give as much attention to the real offenders mentioned who hung out at the top of the beach. BTW--if anyone if worried about getting too much sun on the buns--how about using sunscreen and a beach umbrella.

Posted by slugger on June 6, 2007 at 7:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

we have a nude "beach" here in austin, texas (it is called "hippie hollow"). it is fully operated by the travis county parks system. admission is charged, it is patrolled by uniformed officers, and is managed quite well. the park is very clean, and has all the amenities one comes to expect from a park facility.

admission is restricted to persons over the age of 18. the creep factor has been minimized and is essentially under control. in short, the park is a huge success, is tolerated by the adjacent community, and has become an austin landmark.

i would like to suggest that hippie hollow be studied by your community and used as a model. if a win-win proposal is developed, maybe the community might change its mind and offer support.

Posted by Ventura22 on June 6, 2007 at 9:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Paranioa runs deep there. Sad.
Off-duty cops can't write tickets either. When off-duty, they have no more authority over enforcement of such codes than a private citizen. The can only act as a good witness, document and intervene with force if threatened, or someone else is threatened.
The place in texas sounds interesting. May work here if done right. However, charging admission and patrolling sounds more private than public, but at least it cuts out the so-called pervert factor. This may be the only way to have a clothing-optional beach area around here and still be considerate of the codes, nearby population and public safety.

Posted by slugger on June 6, 2007 at 5:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hippie hollow is patrolled by park rangers. if law enforcement is necessary, then the sheriffs are called. the rangers are respectful to all. they do not reek of "big brother". admission is good. it raises money for the operation and maintenancee of the park and discourages people who don't belong there from entering.

by the way, i used to be a bates beach regular during the summer of 1989. i made many friends there. it was a nice place to spend the weekend. i miss it.

Posted by sea3gull on June 6, 2007 at 9:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

To Ventura22: I stand corrected. If off-duty police can't write tickets, then obviously on-duty police wrote enough tickets to scare away the nudists several years ago. If there were so many people who wanted to use the beach if the nudists were gone, then how come hardly anyone uses the whole stretch of beach any more for the past several years. There must be other reasons people don't use that beach--maybe some unfriendly/unwelcoming homeowners got their wish to discourage the public from enjoying "their" beach. Beachfront property owners have a history of taking measures to discourage the public from using the beach near their property. The Surfrider Foundation fought and won a case in Malibu when homeowners tried to keep the public from using "their" beach. In other words, this issue is broader than just about nudity on beaches.

Posted by justdboy on June 6, 2007 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

All this nonsense reminds me of Lazarus Longs' words..."Of all the stange "crimes" that human beings have legislated out of nothing, "blaspemy" is the most amazing---with "obscenity" and "indecent exposure" fighting it out for second and third place."

Posted by Ventura22 on June 7, 2007 at 12:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Very true, sea3gull. Those who have the gold tend to prefer private beaches and will passively ward-off visitors as much as they legally can.

Posted by BobB on June 7, 2007 at 2:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

A piece of Paradise was Lost when a Rincon Point Homeowner summoned the Sheriff and law enforcement started arresting nudist at Bates! Nudist occupied the north end of the beach which was rarely visited by clothed individuals except for those walking dogs. Every Spring the beach was cleaned of debris from winter storms and was burned or removed. During the summer the nudist area was routinly raked weekly and kept clean. Today the area is full of litter and dog duff and rarely if ever does anyone visit or use the area.

A core of frequent nudists kept Bates clean and safe. If a nudist saw someone exhibiting inappropriate behavior they would kindly ask them stop. If the behavior continued a nudist would courteously ask them to leave the nudist area so they would not ruin Bates for those who enjoyed the space. I felt safer at this beach than at any other California Beach.

Bates was truly a place to renew your spirit. Walking down the hill was a beautiful sight to see with dozens of multi-colored umbrellas unfolded on the sand . As you reached the beach there was always a fragment hint of sun tan lotion in the air. There were people from all walks of life . . . aerospace, rocket and an Amtrak train engineers, artists, teachers, musicians, attorneys, models, business people, scientist, etc. There were also a lot of creative people who enjoyed the beach. One man used to come to the beach and make complicated mazes in the sand that we all enjoyed negotiating. There were many musicians. However, the most unusual was a Italian man and a Spanish woman who used to bring African Mbiras to the beach and play Zimbabwean Music. There were dancers that used the waves as a back drop and the breaking waves as music for there beautiful performance. Usually there were several volleyball matchs and occasionally people would play horse shoes. People went to Bates to relax, enjoy the sun, frolic in the surf, enjoy each others fellowship, play volleyball, share conversation, taste good food, enjoy the warmth of a fire at the end of the day or sing heartfelt songs.

Bates was place of beauty, joy and celebration! It was inspiring to the mind, relaxing to the body and energizing to the spirit . . . something close minded uptight people will never understand! People are frighten by nudist, like death, because they don’t know what it means to live.

Posted by AnnaWhaat on June 7, 2007 at 3:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

dse_kpa , You mention other countries going nude. For one thing they do not have clothing. Another is they do NOT LUST......
I agree with Hotwildflower, Lay out nude in your fenced back yard. Or go swimming in YOUR pool nude. Just dont do it where others dont want to see your big butt !!!! Not you flower. That was for the other commentors.
If People want this freedom so much why not open a MOTEL FOR NUDIST.......They can run around the motel nude, swim in the pool nude........just build a large enough fence around it so others cant see in !!!! Great idea !!!! Nude and Margaritas !!!!!

Posted by PackRat on June 7, 2007 at 3:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

reply to Hotwildflower- Why go out to eat when you can eat at home or to a bar when you can drink at home or for that matter, why go anywhere when you can do the same thing at home. It's a social event with like minded people enjoying the sun, waves and feeling free of restictions.......(until recently)

Posted by sea3gull on June 7, 2007 at 4:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

To BobB: you described the nude beach experience perfectly. To AnnaWhaat and Hotwildflower: very simple, a motel doesn't compare in any way to a beach visit (and the beach is free). Would you say the same thing about nudity if all the nudists were young and buff?

Posted by PackRat on June 7, 2007 at 7:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Has anyone gone to the website in the picture on the front page www.nudebeachalliance.com ? There are some good stories and info.

Posted by AnnaWhaat on June 10, 2007 at 7:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

PackRat, Feeling the free of restrictions, Going out to dinner with your spouse and getting a babysitter for your kids .... maybe having a couple of drinks with your friends are just playing cards somewhere at someones home. That is social life.

Bobb, I really could care less what they looked like. My concern would be the homeowners that are in view, the gawkers, the people who just plain get off with thier binoculars. And minor children who sneak off to go out and check it out. I am not against a nude beach IF its far enough away that others cant sneak around and gawk .........

Posted by Localguy on June 10, 2007 at 10:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

AnnaW, to address you first concern, you hit it on the nose, you CAN relax with friends and enjoy peoples company even in the nude. Granted, gathering in a clothing optional event is not for everyone. I know a lot of people have issues with nudity. Some issues may be their upbringing, some may have body awareness issues. But there are those that are very comfortable with who they are, and with the body they have.

Posted by Localguy on June 10, 2007 at 10:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

AnnaW, other point. I think that it is one of their points for having the nude beach, is to have a designated area set aside, marked by signage, that reads, " Beyond this sign, you may encounter nude sunbathers" or something to that affect. That way, if you have a problem with seeing the human body nude, you can just turn around and walk the other way.

Posted by Localguy on June 10, 2007 at 11:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

One more point if I may. If you have ever been to Bates Rd. beach ( Rincon beach) you will see that there is PLENTY of beach to share. The sunbathers will do their part and work with the local law enforcement to help rid the area of those offenders on the cliff. Now we know there are those that are merely curious, but any offensive behavior will be dealt with, with a call to the local authorities. Besides, when the nudist were chased from the beach, where do you think those "sexual offenders" went? Home? I for one think they are still out there in the community. Let them come to the beach now, and see what happens!

Posted by slugger on June 11, 2007 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

OK, this is not going to be pretty.

Those of us who were raised in the hinterlands amongst hillbillies, rednecks, yay-hoos, klu klux klansmen, and other assorted culturally challenged people used to think that Southern California was a laid back, live-let-live culture, where diversity was celebrated and man's consciousness was elevated beyond the rest of the nation.

I was quite surprised by all the uptight, repressed folks I encountered while I lived in Ventura (1988-1990). The people (nudists)I met at Bates Beach were by far, the nicest people I met in Southern California. Consider the irony: I live in Texas, in the heart of the bible belt, George Bush country (yechh). Yet we have Hippie Hollow. It is everything that Bates Beach yearns to be.

Reading some of the uptight banter on this website reminds me of why I left Southern California and returned to Texas.

Good luck, ya'll!

Posted by AnnaWhaat on June 13, 2007 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Well yippie Yi Ya !!!!! If you want a nude beach just make darn sure that there is NO where for minors to view anypart of the beach.PERIOD. They have those stores in downtown areas where you can put a quarter in the slot and watch....of course you have to be of age. SO lets make sure that underage children can not view this site!!!

Posted by sea3gull on June 13, 2007 at 5:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That's the purpose of putting up a sign to warn people if they don't want to their children to view nudity.

Posted by slugger on June 14, 2007 at 1:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The correct pronuciation is "yeehah!".

Posted by justmeina on June 15, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

To BobB: Very nicely said!

To those who want people with bodies to basically go away and/or go somewhere else: How about this (obviously a turn about, that's fair, isn't it?...). I really don't like seeing people with clothes on very much, especially when they're just not needed or practically seem to get in the way. Perhaps those that insist on wearing them should go create a "colony" of their own and stay away from the rest of us that simply enjoy being ourselves, human and alive. Why is it any different? There are LOTS of places to be dressed, and few places not to be. The only risk to children, beyond scaring their parents, is that they might not grow up to be as irrational about bodies as they are. Wouldn't that be scary?





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