So a photon checks into a hotel. The concierge says, “Would you like me to take your bags, sir?” and the photon says, “No, I don’t have any bags; I’m traveling light.”
That’s us. My wife and I will be traveling light.
The other day, I went to Walgreens to purchase our “clothes” for the summer. These clothes came in squeeze tubes of Coppertone 50 Sunscreen and After Sun Gel. At least, I wish that was all we’ll be taking—that and a straw hat for my wife—but where we’re going, the temperature can sometimes dip below 65 degrees at night, a bit too chilly for wearing nothing but gel.
Since early 2020, I’d dreamed of going to Valalta Naturist Resort in Croatia. I even made online reservations and sent them a $100 deposit that I’ll never get back, because, as you can probably guess, something unexpected happened that year. The following year wasn’t any better for travel, and in 2023, my eldest child graduated from high school, so we had to take her to Japan. Loving fathers put the needs of their family first, I believe. Then, in 2024, I came down with a bad case of cancer. You’d think God really didn’t want me taking that trip! When, finally, it seemed I would be getting the chance to visit Valalta, they told me they were all booked for June and July. That left us with the next best thing: La Jenny, France, which was highly recommended by Nick and Lins and looks really lovely. It has its own beach, golf course, and archery range, and you can go naked everywhere. That’s my kind of heaven!
According to the International Naturist Federation, naturism is “a way of living in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity, and which has the consequence of promoting self-respect, respect for others and the environment.” I prefer this definition over AANR’s, which puts greater emphasis on body acceptance. Body acceptance is all well and good, but I have never understood how getting completely naked is supposed to make us feel better about ourselves. Couldn’t the same be achieved without exposing our genitals? However, when we shift our focus to connecting with nature, stripping away all the trappings of modern civilization, including underwear, just makes sense. No living thing hides its genitals except for humans. I have also found that, in America, nudism is often treated like something subversive, kept hidden from the public eye, an “adults only” practice more closely associated with swinging.
True nudism should be as innocent as a trip to Disney World, and most Europeans, except for visitors to Cap d’Agde, still hold to that view, advertising resorts like Valalta and La Jenny to families with children. France promotes nudism as nonchalantly as it does kayaking and skiing, which only makes sense, given that school children are exposed to museums like the Louvre, where naked paintings and statues are the norm. This is how nudism, or naturisme, should be.
Is La Jenny all it’s cracked up to be? If all goes well, if it doesn’t rain, we don’t get sick, and it doesn’t get too chilly, by late July (we’re also visiting Morocco), I’ll be back with a rave review of La Jenny!
Being and Nakedness 
Leave a comment