anymer down for a nude beach meet?

[Trade Winds]

I threw this around with some mers last yr but we never solidified anything. There's a couple nude beaches around Austin and Houston I believe. But before I get too excited I wanted to gauge interest in such an event. We could make it a one day or weekend thing depending on our needs. This would probly be a late summer event.

[Trade Winds]

Come on, mers, don't be shy to admit it. Mary Marine is down for it, but we need more than just us!

Hippie Hollow is in Austin. I am not linking to it however, due to the...well, nudity. Just Google and their website has all you need to know!

[Mary Marine]

Considering how easily I get sunburned I should probably be covering up more skin, not less! But I love the idea of sitting on a rock topless with my hair over my boobs like a Waterhouse painting. Clamshell tops are nice and all, but sometimes they feel a little too Disney for me.

[mermaid_rebby]

Teeeempting.. I suppose I'd be down if I could catch a ride with someone. I always buy food/gas in return. (sorryimsuchabum)


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[Trade Winds]

If it means having someone else come along, we could try to work something out I'm sure. My car has no a/c so carpooling is the only option.

[mermaid_rebby]

If it means having someone else come along, we could try to work something out I'm sure. My car has no a/c so carpooling is the only option.

Thank youu ;//w//;


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[Mary Marine]

My car is available for car pool! It's a Kia Spectra so the max would be me + 4 people, 3 of which would have to squish in the back. Plus we'd have to fit tails in the trunk, cooler, any luggage if it's an over night trip...

[Trade Winds]

I think overnight is best. That's too far for a day trip

[mermaid_rebby]

Mer slumber partyyy~ but yeah I second that it is really far


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[Trade Winds]

It is a 6 hr drive. We could drive there, go to the lake same day, spend the night, and go home next day.

[Mary Marine]

We'll have to plan this for next year as my summer is already pretty booked. But perhaps June, July, or August 2017? We will see about over nighting at a hotel, maybe whoever is interested in going could all stay at the same hotel. We'll pick a cheap but clean one close to Hippie Hollow.

[mermaid_rebby]

HEK yeaaaa >:3!


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[MermaidRaegan]

I've lived in the Austin area and have never been to hippie hollow. Too nervous to go alone [emoji15]. But I would love the chance to mermaid without constantly fussing over my clams lol


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[Mary Marine]

I've lived in the Austin area and have never been to hippie hollow. Too nervous to go alone [emoji15]. But I would love the chance to mermaid without constantly fussing over my clams lol


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OMG now I want to call this trip the "clam bake."

[Trade Winds]

Yay, Mary got to the idea 1st...let's do next summer! Since we will be nude and the sun is evil, we may want to try the least evil-sun times of the summer. But if next yr is anything like this, that won't be easy. I got fried in early june...

[merwandering]

early evening is perfect- warm and summery but no sunburn, lol
I'll meet up sometime:)
But I was raised in Austin so it doesn't seem weird to me- people swim topless at Barton Springs, lol
buncha hippies

[MermaidMama]

Where is the nude beach in houston? I'd be there this weekend lol

[MermaidMama]

Found one! Emerald lake resort has a pool, hot tubs, and a beach, I think I'll go investigate just how mermaid friendly they are this Saturday!

[MermaidMama]

I just called to make reservations, the guy at the desk said there was nothing wrong with swimming in a tail provided I was respectful of other swimmers! Yay!

[jvry8c]

when I think of nude beaches I instantly think of Party cove in lake of the ozarks and the movie euro trip. They both have one thing in common. Only the dudes are naked, there are no women, and no one is even gay to make things interesting.

[merwandering]

No one at hippie hollow will ever hurt your eyes! Because they are peaceful and chill and not going to walk up and hit you in the eyes- which is- the only way naked people swimming could hurt anyones eyes:)
Though they also aren't putting themselves on display- everyone there is generally just- people relaxing in the water. They aren't there to see anyone naked, or to be seen naked, they are just- swimming naked because it is comfortable.
I guess <3 hippies after all lol

[MermaidMama]

I had a blast yesterday though, there was a nice mix of a bunch of nice people. Of course someone did steal my second bottle of Hurricane mix. Probably for the best, I did drink the first one on my own and wake up still tipsy.
Anyway, back on topic, I was able to swim easily in the pool between volleyball games, and I swam the length of the lake. It's very well taken care of, no nibbles from anything in the lake other than my husband who was very nervous right up until he got there. I don't recommend swimming the entire length unless you're very athletic however. We'll be going back the last weekend of every month for the foreseeable future. Thinking I may need a membership!

[MermaidMama]

Oh that was another lovely part of the resort, it's all sand and grass mostly so even though we got about ten minutes of rain there weren't any puddles really!

[PearlieMae]

:eye twitch:
I've never been there before, but I know for a fact the group I'm camping with won't be hurting anyone's eyes

Seriously? :eye twitch:

[MermaidMama]

I was trying earlier to keep it simple and it really didn't come across as intended. It'seems very easy to forget how much a part of communication is lost on the Internet when we must remove the inflection from our voice.
By all means everyone who can behave with respect towards other people come out and relax in nature, it's a wonderful feeling

[merwandering]

You know.... there is no law in Texas against nudity. Really we can swim naked wherever we want-
lolll

[MermaidMama]

I looked it up, technically she's right, naked for a mermaid is topless and there's no law about that. However if you're being disruptive or lewd about it you can be arrested. But if you do that at the respectable naturist parks you'll be kicked out also.

[merwandering]

Was totally kidding
Not at all suggesting, lol
because- Hippie Hollow is government run and maintained, but also limited to 18+
While people do regularly swim topless at the natural swimming areas here, including Barton Springs, which is a city run public pool, they also pretty much keep to certain areas- the topless sunbathers and swimmers at Barton Springs, for ex, are mostly on one side of the pool
Places along the greenbelt people don't really care or hardly notice, unless you are being weird about it. So, swim somewhere topless, no one cares. If you are a bunch of people wearing mermaid tails??? Kids are going to think you are AMAZING and keep coming up to talk to you because the tails will draw attention regardless-
which then would be super awkward
dragging heavy mermaid tails down a hiking trail would suck anyway
and while I'd personally keep my top on there, it's really irritating Barton Springs doesn't allow tails!!!!!

[PearlieMae]

State by state laws on nudity: https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=31193

I frequent the nude beach at Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area, a federal park, and have been going there for nearly thirty years. The people there - for the most part - are respectful, inclusive, friendly, and polite. The only problems I've ever had there were with first-timers thinking they can have sex in front of everyone (and you WILL be arrested), and the occasional looky-loos who have no manners at all.

The thing you'll notice at a nude beach is that everyone is people shaped. The initial surprise at witnessing...um...low hanging fruit, or people of extraordinary body shape, is short-lived, and everyone gets over it.

But, even after all these years, I can't help but think that guys who play volleyball certainly can't walk away unscathed by all the violent bouncing. :eyepop:

What's even funnier is that guys will walk around nekkid, but wear a cap to hide their bald spot.

Advice: Wear sunglasses.

---

Edited to add:
TEXAS

* Penal Code Title 9, Section 42.01 Disorderly conduct: public nudity.

(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:

(12) exposes his anus or genitals in a public place and is reckless about whether another may be present who will be offended or alarmed by his act.

§21.08. Indecent exposure.

(a) A person commits an offense if he exposes his anus or any part of his genitals with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, and he is reckless about whether another is present who will be offended or alarmed by his act.

RULE §59.134 Rules of Conduct in Parks (Texas State Parks)

(h) Nudity and disrobing. It is an offense to appear nude

[merwandering]

Is it weird to anyone else that the Texas law keeps mentioning exposing your anus? Exposing your anus takes some effort...

I was thinking in the context of wearing a tail though, so- in my head was thinking just topless, as far as other parks

[PearlieMae]

Sometimes, in some cases, a lot of Texans manage to show their (they're? ;) ) anuses while fully clothed!

[merwandering]

Sometimes, in some cases, a lot of Texans manage to show their (they're? ;) ) anuses while fully clothed!

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mary Marine]

No anuses or genitals exposed in a mermaid tail! I wonder if "nude" refers to fully naked or includes toplessness? Because unless county or city laws specifically prohibit topless ladies, it sounds like legally you could wear a mermaid tail without shells anywhere in Texas.

EDIT: Nevermind...

TEXAS STATE PARKS
RULE §59.134 Rules of Conduct in Parks
(14) Public nudity--To disrobe or appear nude in public. Females are considered to be disrobed when their breasts below the top of the areola are exposed except when nursing a baby.

So if you go swimming topless at a lake, check which parks are state parks and which are city. For example, Joe Pool lake has one state park and two city parks. Cedar Hill is the state park, so no boobies there. Lynn Creek Park and is a city park so it would fall under Grand Prairie public indecency laws. In looking over the Grande Prairie penal code, the closest I can find to nudity laws is Chapter 43. Subchapter B. Obscenity.

(1) "Obscene" means material or a performance that:
(A) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex;
(B) depicts or describes:
(i) patently offensive representations or descriptions of ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including sexual intercourse, sodomy, and sexual bestiality; or
(ii) patently offensive representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions, sadism, masochism, lewd exhibition of the genitals, the male or female genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal, covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state or a device designed and marketed as useful primarily for stimulation of the human genital organs; and
(C) taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.

So none of this says naked lady doing non-sexy things is illegal, although it could be argued that by "contemporary community standards" a naked lady doing nothing sexual "appeals to the prurient interest in sex" because we are conditioned to think a naked lady is inherently sexual. So I guess you could make that argument in court if you get arrested for skinny dipping?

[PearlieMae]

Technically, you could fight it in court as being discriminatory, if men can go without a top, so can women, but you're talking years of litigation and thousands of dollars in attorney fees. Not to mention all the bad press, headaches, etc.

[MermaidMama]

I vote we just stick to the respectable nudist parks, it's not like Texas has a huge shortage and they all have pools or lakes to swim in because staying in the Texas sun without a way to keep cool is dangerous to everyone with or without a tail

[Mary Marine]

Technically, you could fight it in court as being discriminatory, if men can go without a top, so can women, but you're talking years of litigation and thousands of dollars in attorney fees. Not to mention all the bad press, headaches, etc.

I'm trying to imagine the headlines for THAT news story!

I definitely agree with MermaidMama about sticking to the parks that allow nudity, I just thought it was interesting how all the laws on a local level make the state topless law practically useless. Like, out of the hundreds of cities in Texas how many allow topless ladies? A handful? Better than none, but my angry inner feminist is shaking her fist at the unfairness.

[MermaidMama]

Really is a big load. It's hot as sin in Texas, it is not fair that a man can take his shirt off to cool off, but if I try it, I'm not trying to cool off, I'm trying to do something lewd or obscene to draw attention to myself in a sexual manner.

[Trade Winds]

I want to revive this instead of makong a new topic. Anyone still interested for a meet this summer at a nudist beach...we can try the one Mermaidmama tried or Hippie Hollow for 18+ (preferable...)

As much as I would like to plan it, I have a trip in June and doubt I can get away with 2 trips this summer

[NyxNightingale]

I would love to go. I have also been up to hippie hollow and everyone does seem nice too.

[MermaidMama]

Emerald lake is the best price for nudist glamping in the Houston area, they maintain their hot tubs, pool and lake really well, I work in pond management currently and used to be a swim instructor so you can take it to the bank. I've swam that lake's distance almost every time I've gone out, which is about a dozen times in the last year. And I've had the tail in the hot tubs and pool too, so long as you're respectful to other guests and residents it's a very mer-friendly place. Not to mention the Sunsets are absolutely breathtaking...

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[MermaidMama]

I had a really good picture last year of all the egrets on the tree on the island in the middle of the lake, however along with the rest of my burning man weekend pictures they seem to have vanished...

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[Mystik_Leah]

I just called to make reservations, the guy at the desk said there was nothing wrong with swimming in a tail provided I was respectful of other swimmers! Yay!

Awesome!! Id like to check it out as well!!

[Mystik_Leah]

If anyone plans a trip, Austin or Houston, I'm down!!