Ships Island

[jbeegoode]

Part #8 of the "To Georgia and back" series. We are down south on the Mississippi coast. Gulfport isn't the little town washed out by a hurricane that I knew back in '75. Times have changed.

We head out on a big excursion boat to a barrier island with a Civil War fort and an unofficial nude beach.

https://thefreerangenaturist.org/2023/01/08/ships-island/

Jbee

[Safebare]

I always enjoy your beach adventures. Ships Island reminds me of the Padre Island National Seashore adventures I have had over the years.  I should have set aside more time during your visit here last summer to detour there. It also starts at a popular 'family' beach, but naturist sanctuary is found after a 'short' walk South. We can save it for your next visit.
There is a fort across the bay from Galveston that was privately held in my youth.  We had a cabin nearby and I would often make nude excursions to explore the fort. It was a favorite place to take unsuspecting dates. Romantic, to be sure, but also scary and intimidating. The fort is now a park, similar to the one on Ships Island.
We also have to contend with the birders, with their long lens, they can spot various species in the natural state, including humans. I doubt they are as easily offended as the Rangers have expressed to me. The Rangers use binoculars to cite ($400) beach nudity and defend their actions by claiming that the offender is 'exposing' themselves to the binocular wielding birders.
Give me a break!
Anyway, the National Seashore offers clear blue water and (mostly) white sand for Texas beaches.  There are miles of free range strolling to be had along the beach with the occasional surf dip. 
I am interested in the seafood dinner you had after the island visit. Any details?

Stay Safe, Stay Bare (& warm)

[jbeegoode]

I've forgotten the name. It is just down the road east of where the airport road t-bones the coastal road, near the boat docks. The food was okay. It wasn't super seafood, but good. We did sit on a stool bar overlooking the road, beach and sunset. That is where that last picture was taken. A flock of birds.

Watching the traffic pass was okay, not peaceful, but entertaining. Didn't spot any carnuders.

Some on mentioned the lack of free beaches on the Gulf coast in the comments after the story today. i mentioned your bad news, but didn't have the sea shore news to give. You might inform them there.

You make it sound like there are lots of options along that coast. Camping? Long walks? Romping in the fort naked on a full moon? Boating out to?
Jbee

[Fellsnude]

JBee, your Ships Island trip looks almost idyllic, but also frustrating that you feel the need to cover up even for distant birders with telephoto lenses. I often envy your weather, but at least in UK I can feel relatively relaxed naked if there are clothed people about in places that one might expect to find solitude. There's now virtually no chance of legal issues over here if we take reasonable steps to be out of people's faces, so to speak.

I do often carry a small pair of binoculars, for route-finding and birding, and also to look at those dark lumps in the distant that might just be clothed people. The advantages seem to outweigh the disadvantages of the extra weight, and the slim chance that another nudist might suspect me of voyeurism.

[jbeegoode]

It seems reasonable to me that one should expect a degree of respect for privacy. Being watched with binoculars seems to be going out of one's way to look. Minding one's own business in the wild is natural and reasonable persons would give and get privacy.

Then, there is that being nude is not inherently offense, dangerous, or even a problem for others. So, anybody needs to get over it and let the nude be nude, anywhere.

Oh to find the power to wipe out the silly, yet consequential, anti-nudity laws.

Jbee

[Fellsnude]

On another forum some years ago there was a thread about nude sailing. The sailing community apparently had an unwritten rule "if you need binoculars to see it, you're not allowed to be offended by it".

[Peter S]

"if you need binoculars to see it, you're not allowed to be offended by it".

No reason for that rule to be limited to sailing!

[jbeegoode]

If you require binoculars and you insist on using them, birds or me, it is spying on other beings who are unawares, minding their own business and a natural phenomenon. They stare and get a kick out of it. What's the definition of voyeurism, if not that?

To me it is like being in my own home and having someone outside staring in the window. They need to look the other way, or get arrested as a peeping Tom.

Who looks at birds at that distance anyway? How many unusual birds are around people on a beach anyway?
Jbee

[Fellsnude]

How many unusual birds are around people on a beach anyway? - Well, there are a few, but they are unusual. The New Zealand Dotterel comes to mind. One of its regular haunts is a CO beach we visited in early 2020. It's rare but quite tame.

[Safebare]

"You make it sound like there are lots of options along that coast. Camping? Long walks? Romping in the fort naked on a full moon? Boating out to?"
Jbee
Romping naked in the fort was in the 70's, not something one could get away with today. But, yes, I believe there are lots if options here in Texas if one is adventurous and determined.   Of course my adventures have led to unwanted attention from time to time. Your own stories have encouraged me to do more, never less.

About the birds, the wetlands are waylays for a huge number of migratory birds, many of them endangered. Birders often are out collecting data on the health of those flocks. They are not interested nor bothered by the sight of any naked humans or other ground based animals. The rangers use the excuse that in view of the public can also include binoculars wielding naturalists.  I agree that looking through any enhancing devices for nefarious intent is the same as voyeurism and intrusive.
~Safebare