It's the Weekend... Gonna Get Nakey !

Okay, okay, last weekend was the Memorial Day holiday.  But after just four days back at work we already feel like we need a weekend to recover from last weekend... what with landscaping, barbecues to prepare for and attend, as well as stopping to honor vets it's time for more R&R.

We plan to get bare for several hours this weekend in our own back yard!  Maybe we'll have that squirt gun fight we posted about yesterday.

And if it rains?  Here are some nudist related news stories from this week to keep you in the spirit while you relax indoors on the couch:

Mark Haskell Smith Bares All as Nudist 4 Naked at Lunch Book  - From the Los Angeles Times;

Latest Twist: Nakations  - From USA Today (actually ran 5/20/15 just over one week ago);

Naked is not Nude (in Germany) - From the Huffington Post today;

Authorities Forced to Release Rules to Naked Tourists - The Daily Mail (5/28/15 - about tourists snapping nude pix at historic landmarks);

Why I Love Being Naked - From Cosmopolitan .

Time for an Old Fashioned Squirt Gun Fight

It's HOT outside!  At least it is already in many parts of the country right now.

This Saturday, why not plan an old-fashioned squirt gun fight in the back yard?  Toss in some water balloons.  Or set up some targets and don't stand to far away when you shoot / pitch at them.

Oh... and one more thing:  Why not hold this shooting gallery in your birthday suits?  Sounds like fun to the Platypus.

Go on.  You still have time to stop by the store and pick up your H2O arsenal.

Have fun!  Play naked!

New Platypus Poll Asks, "Will You Spend the Holiday Weekend Naked?"

Actually, the latest poll commissioned by Bare Platypus and offered to visitors courtesy of the good folks at Poll Daddy asks the question a little more broadly.

Go on... tell us... How will you spend the next few days?  We hope you can be with folks who care about you and that you can be in your birthday suit at least some of the time.  The same for your family and friends.

We'll keep this poll running through Independence Day to gather your thoughts.

- The Platypus

A Tale of Two (Nude) Cruises

Just a few days ago a story ran in the New York Post and on Yahoo about nude cruises.  In the article the writer interviewed Nancy Tiemman of Bare Necessities Tour and Travel, who is well known within the nudist industry.  In typical professional style, Nancy relayed information for first-time travelers about what they could expect on a cruise, the fact that your fellow travelers will be friendly as well as nude, and other helpful facts.

The writer also interviewed a spokesperson for "Bliss" travel which makes bookings aboard ships of "a different color."  Summarized, the "Bliss" experience is an adult playground where anything goes in certain areas.  Ironically though, passengers can only enjoy simple nudity within a few restricted areas.

We know which we would choose.

Mr. and Mrs. Platypus have traveled on three Bare Necessities journeys and can completely recommend this reputable company. As to the folks from "Bliss..." we will say only that their full disclosure about what to expect may help people avoid booking an unexpected surprise. We don't know any more about them, but will let their quotes speak for themselves.

There's nothing quite like getting naked and staying naked for days on end.  You stay nude and on one ship, while the ship goes to different places.  True, you'll have to don clothes to travel into port towns on the itinerary, and within the formal dining room.  But you can always opt for clothing-optional cafeteria dining, and to linger on board when at anchor and stay au naturel.

As for the moment Nancy describes in the story about when nude cruise ships hit international waters and the "all clear" is given to get nude:  It's another awesome moment of metamorphosis as the ship gradually goes from polo shirts and butts in shorts to bare butts.  First time nude travelers take a little more getting used to it, but they're often the most dedicated nudists by the time the trip's over.

Regarding the Platypus "Puggles" and "Grandpuggles" to come... well the article points out that neither cruise is a good fit there.  So if we're all traveling together as a family, we'll just dip our webbed feet into the swimming pool---or walk the lakeside sands---of a nudist club somewhere ashore in these 50 states.  And take it from us... there's nothing more cute than a lil' bare butt walking along the beach under their sailor hat.

Bon Voyage!

Our Walter of the Week Goes to.... Mrs. Platypus

Those of  you who have followed the Bare Platypus blog for years know that it was once tradition to award a "Walter of the Week" award for the person who had most served the cause of nudity, nakedness, nudism, or just positive appreciation of the human body.  The "trophy" (picture) bearing a golden platypus at its top was named after Walter Bishop, a slightly eccentric professor character on the television series Fringe who celebrated naked Tuesdays by making pancakes sans clothes.

Over the years we awarded Walter Awards to movies, actors, brave nude patriots, you name it.  If you select months and years over in the right hand column, you can identify the recipients by simply selecting "Walter of the Week" stories... almost always named on a Tuesday.

We're bringing back the Walter award this particular Tuesday to honor a woman who had done so much for the cause of social nudism: Mrs. Platypus.

You see, tomorrow will mark the 26th wedding anniversary between the Platypuses.  Over those years Mrs. Platypus went from accepting nudity within the house when it was just with Mr. Platypus to visiting a nudist club---reluctantly at first, but with a willingness to try something that Mr. Platypus wanted to do.  From there it was raising a family of "puggles" whom the couple raised to be nudists. Along the way the family joined some nudist clubs and visited many more.

Mrs. Platypus defended social nudism within the media and introduced countless of her friends and their families to the joys of going bare for days out in the sun, or even a vacation.  She inspired the Bare Platypus to start this blog and continues to offer helpful insight as a member of the Platypus team.  She even designed many of the items available for sale in The Bare Platypus Souvenir Shop .

Mrs. Platypus is an amazing mother.  She is an amazing wife.  She is a model of Christian faith that knows no bounds and doesn't always "color within the lines" as expected.  Mrs. Platypus is beautiful, talented, and the reason Mr. Platypus feels so special and blessed.

This week, this Walter is for you, Mrs. Platypus.  You deserve at least 26 trophies... one for every special year you have given me.

Berkshire Vista Nudist Resort Gets Good Press

This morning the Bare Platypus fired up the computer and checked news sources.  Among the nudist articles he saw was a Story About Berkshire Vista Resort in Hancock Mass .  We're glad it was a good story too: Owners Dan and Ginny Bookstein are good folks.  They are not nudists.  But when they bought the property they listened to the naked people who called this club home and were persuaded to keep it nude.  The Booksteins support national nudist associations with members and with stays at the place as prizes for fund raising contests.  They provide an ever-improving club.  And the residents make the place extra special.

The Platypus knows all this because he and his family have visited the club on several occasions and always found it friendly and a great place to go nude.... even in winter.  The core structure of the main lodging house is a farmhouse dating back a couple hundred years or so in old New England.  The club is right next to some great skiing slopes.  Take a short drive and you're in Stockbridge, inspiration for the legendary "Alice's restaurant" of Arlo Guthrie's song.  It's also home to the Norman Rockwell museum.  Tanglewood music center is nearby too.

We wish these folks all the best.  Congrats to them!

By the way, the writers of the article actually went nude during their visit.  Another new pair of converts to our cause???

Dreaming BIG

The Bare Platypus tends to do this every time that the PowerBall jackpot gets up there and he fishes into his wallet with his webbed feet to purchase a ticket: Dream BIG.

And whenever he dreams about winning a big lotto jackpot, it usually involves how he would enjoy simply being naked more often in different places, different ways.  Sometimes he dreams of visiting the nude beaches and resorts of France and Germany.  Sometimes owning his own nudist place...

Today it's about what the Platypus would get in a house.  Not marble or silver candlesticks, mind you. But windows... lots and lots of windows to let in natural light.  Set back on a parcel far enough that anyone encountering nudity would have to come onto the private property (and ignore the advisory signs) to get there.

One feature not seen before in a house that he would also consider: Putting a closet between the garage and main part of the house.  Why? So that he could get bare upon parking the car, and get clothed only when about to leave the premises. Of course, some natural rock waterfall and lots of plants would be part of the picture too.

How about you?  What's your dream?

An Important Lesson Learned From the Platypus Family's Pooch

We have written a number of times on this blog about the "lessons" our family has learned from our family pets.  For one thing---rather obviously---they don't wear clothes and they do not seem the least bit bothered by it.  They thrive!  For another thing, our pets learned quickly that they should be wary of anytime that anyone in the family puts on clothes. It means we'll be leaving them alone soon and they "protest" by barking, even raising a paw of "protest" to keep us from getting dressed.  You can read blog entries  ( March 17, 2012 Lessons from the Family Pet  ) and March 29, 2012 Staying Naked Makes Their Terrier Merrier
on those subjects.

Today the lesson is a little more serious.  See, until now we have always had very, very clever pooches that are escape artists when it comes to the back yard.  They were constantly looking for a way to dig under a fence, squeeze through a gate, even jump and use objects to get out of the yard and down the street.  Very clever. But it also meant we could not simply let our pets roam in the backyard for fear they would soon be down the street generating a neighborly "complaint" or, worse, risk getting hit by a car.

In the past six months, however, we lost two pets to age and have a new, larger dog. He is content to enjoy his big backyard with nary an attempt to pull a jailbreak.  True, there have been a couple of occasions where we left a gate open and he wandered. But day-in-day-out this hound is a good neighbor.  Doesn't bark to disturb others. Doesn't press the limits of boundaries he shouldn't.  As a result, we feel comfortable letting him enjoy ALL of that backyard, and with letting him out virtually any part of the day that he wants to be there.

What does any of this have to do in a nudist blog?  It's about respecting boundaries. As nudists, when we are fortunate enough to have a beach or nudist club to enjoy, we help preserve---even increase---our nude freedoms when we use such places responsibly and encourage others to do so.  Help clean up the beach. Report inappropriate behavior. Use sound judgment when encountered by others.

Do we mean that there's anything wrong with enjoying our nakedness?  NOT AT ALL.  No more than there is anything wrong with our family pooch enjoying his backyard.  The problem(s) come(s) when folks attempt to "test" the limits of what they can get away with.  [The Platypus is reminded of a time when a man sought legal advice after being cited for indecency on a beach. Turns out, in that particular situation the man had been walking the sands in an obvious state of arousal  and was actually wearing a "device" specifically designed to "maintain" that state.  Really???? ]

Those who abuse beach and club privileges are, of course, very much the minority.  We know that Platypus readers are among those who work to make their "backyards" a better place.  We just don't want the reputation of a few stray dogs to cost the nudist community more of the precious spaces that we enjoy.  

Moms Pamper Yourselves With A Little Naked Time

Congrats moms!  This is your day.  We celebrate the countless hours you put into making our next generation all that it will be.  That's why we hope you can do something special today in your birthday suit just for you.  A few ideas:

- Take a long relaxing bubble bath;

- Enjoy a glass of a very nice wine without wearing a stitch;

- Watch an entire movie in bed or the couch sans clothes;

- Curl up with a good book naked;

-Sunbathe in your back yard;

-Skip doing the laundry... the kids and dad can go naked too.

Happy mother's day from The Bare Platypus.

Why Getting Naked is Big in Germany

There is a story out today on CNN about Why Getting Naked on Holiday is a Big Deal in Germany .  The piece is quite interesting and provides a litany of information about present-day habits among German naturists, plus the history in the country which helps explain why it is popular to bare there.  The story goes into some detail about the unity-in-nudity that occurred between East and West Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Bare Platypus has offered prior entries on this blog in which we speculate why nudity is so popular there, ( see the September 23, 2013 post that Germans Love Nudity ) as well as the meaning of the letters FKK ( March 23, 2012 post).

It was, frankly, nice to read a positive, comprehensive treatment of naturism on a mainstream news site today.  One can only hope that folks who read this will give naked a try. The only unfortunate aspect of the piece is the author's observation that naturism may be on the wane a bit.  That echos our understanding of some current trends. See Our Birthday Suits Not Made In China (April 22, 2012 post) where we discuss the possibility that the U.S. is "exporting" prude notions abroad to Europe including Croatia.

Memorial Day Weekend is Coming

Those in the naked community know that, for many, the nudist "season" unofficially opens with Memorial Day weekend holiday.  People will be visiting clubs and beaches eager to shed their "cotton tails" and other tan lines they have acquired through the winter and spring.

For this reason, the Bare Platypus usually makes a blog post reminding folks to start making plans for the holiday early in May each year.

Consider yourself reminded!  Why not...

• Book a hotel near a nude beach while remaining rooms are available;
• Do a bit of walking in your neighborhood so you'll be in shape to hike from the parking lot to that  nude beach...it can seem a   l --- o --- n --- g way, especially on a holiday weekend;
• Ask for an extra day off from your boss, in advance, so that you can get a four day weekend this year to spend in the buff;
• Take a naked "before" selfie with your tan lines and "cotton tail" so you'll have an something to compare it with "after" you spend a weekend au naturale;
• Think of a new friend that you could invite to give naturism a try;
• Get a pedicure so your bare toes will feel at their best;
• Plan the route you'll take to visit a nudist club;
• Get some travel games ready for the kids to play in the car during the drive you'll be making;
• Go to the store and pick up some great new, plush, towels so you can have them laundered and ready for your bare tush...pick up some sunblock while you're at it;
• Get a henna tattoo to sport while you're in your birthday suit.  It's only temporary and all in good fun;
• Do a bit of walking in your neighborhood so you'll be in shape to hike from the parking lot to that  beach...it can seem a   l---o---n---g way, especially on a holiday weekend;  
• Start cleaning the leaves out of your family pool and add the chlorine so you can dive in and skinny dip when the time comes.

As we also like to remind folks, please plan to spend a few hours in activities that remember the brave men and women of the armed forces who have sacrificed so that we can enjoy such freedoms.

It's All Greek to Us

You've no doubt heard the oft-used expression, "It's all Greek to me!" to explain puzzlement or bewilderment.  The phrase is especially fitting as we turn to a discussion of the United States Supreme Court's consideration of the gay marriage issue one week ago.

Please hear us out! This post is not about to argue one way or the other on the marriage topic itself.

Instead, specifically, the Platypus is interested in a line of questioning raised by Associate Justice Samuel Alito.  During an interchange between the Justice and counsel seeking to strike down laws against gay marriage, Alito opined that while ancient Greek civilization did not discourage--even celebrated-- relationships between members of the same sex, the culture did not recognize marriage between them, per se'.  As a student of history, he wanted to draw from that classic chapter of history.

It's true that we get many of our basic ideas about democracy, republics, and the jury system from Athenians... ethics too. We gain military insight from the tactics of the Spartans. Nowadays our country seems more than happy to copy the Greek approach to accumulating vast debt as well.

Our puzzling question is, if all that's so, why wouldn't the U.S. Supreme Court be open to allowing the practices of Ancient Greece to drive decision-making and lawmaking with respect to nudity?  When it comes to nakedness, well,... no one quite celebrated it like the Greeks did:  All those Olympic games and tournaments waged without a stitch of clothing. In fact, we get the word gymnasium from the place their athletes worked out in the nude.

Looking at most sculptures, statues, and architecture from the era you have to wonder whether anyone in that civilization actually ever wore a robe.  (In another case involving obscenity that took place decades ago, the Court noted that the very Supreme Court building itself was adorned with all manner of naked cherubs, boys, and girls, etc.  You can see, for example, Naked Figures on the East Frieze Supreme Court  Down the street outside the Library of Congress are fountains where water splashes over naked figures (i.e. The Court of Neptune. )  There's nude statuary outside the Rayburn House Office Building (i.e. "The Spirit of Justice")

So how about it?  Perhaps it's time we took one more chapter from the book written by those on that peninsula in the Adriatic. Let's embrace our "gymno" state!

The Platypus Celebrates Naked Gardening Day

Saturday was World Naked Gardening Day and the Platypus turned it into a naked gardening weekend.  Aside from running some shopping errands at the store and the family's trip to church this morning, he spent the hours landscaping.

Now, to be perfectly honest the habitat of this Platypus is not secluded enough for him to bare his fur while mowing the lawn or weeding and caring for the front yard.  In fact he had to keep shirt and shorts on while he transplanted a large oleander to a corner of the back yard and planted two lilacs in a window box nearby where their height would help make things more secluded too.

This Spring, for the first time, the vegetation in this little corner of our world is lush enough that it is actually possible to get naked and enjoy the fruits of all that labor.  The space may only be about 8 "webbed" feet by 8 "webbed" feet, but it is enough to set up two chairs, or a blanket, where you can be au naturel without giving offense.  We're counting our blessings. In the past we have always had to set up a small shelter constructed from a quick-up canopy.

Now there is no need.  And no walls... just thick vegetation so the breeze flows through everything. What's more, with all those flowering plants around the scent of the live bouquet is nothing short of amazing.  Powerful jasmine here, mixed with lilac and freshly cut grass that includes some clover.  The space may be small, but that means we can lavish it with Miracle Grow that we couldn't afford for the rest of the yard.  And we can thoroughly water everything in on this little patch without being water gluttons.

Laying there in the sunshine... comfortably naked now... it was possible to get a glimpse of what life must have been like for Adam and Eve before they bit the fruit.  The wonderful smell.  The sound of mocking birds chirping and insects buzzing.  The sight of butterflies and dragonflies. Splashes of orange (lantana), purple (lilac), pink (oleander and bougainvillea),yellow (lilly) and blue (plumbago).

If someone were to ask the Platypuses why we are nudists, at this point our first response would be to sit that person into a chair, out there, on a day like today.  Just sitting there (or laying on a blanket), in the sun would capture the essence perfectly.  We have cruised on nude cruises.  We have been as far as Mexico and Canada visiting nudist clubs with all manner of amenities.  But be it ever so humble there's no place like your own backyard in the buff.