Blacks Beach (California) Report

This report is brought to you by NevadaNaturist. He can be found on the message board under the same name.

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Misadventures in Southern California Report

2003

Note: All images are full size.

In July of 2003, I took a 2-day naturist trip to SoCal with LV Bare Hiker (an accomplice I'll hereforth refer to as Criminal #2), and while most of our travels were enjoyable, a couple of not-so-enjoyable circumstances will always remain standout in our memories. This post doesn't contain much information about a particular location--perhaps just a little entertainment for bored readers.

We hit the road from Vegas early on a Friday morning, still debating on whether to hike to Deep Creek Hot Springs, in the high desert near Apple Valley, CA, or continue driving another 1.5 hours down to Black's Beach, a clothing-optional area near San Diego. The weather wasn't promising at either location and we opted for Black's Beach, hoping the overcast would break up later in the day..…..it didn't.

By the time we got to I-5 near the coast, light rain showers began. We arrived at the glider port above Black's around 10:30am. The rain had stopped, but it was still cool and cloudy. This was just my luck--the same kind of weather I experienced during a February visit, yet here it was, less than 60 degrees F on a midsummer day! Undeterred, we gathered our packs loaded with survival gear (burritos & beer), and slogged down the steep trail to the beach. It was expectedly void of the usual sun-worshipping crowd, and we were probably the first nude visitors of the day. We did some walking and jogging up and down the coastline, in order to explore, take some photos, and keep warm. The temperature eventually rose to a comfortable range, and a few more nude visitors settled on the beach by early afternoon. We were easily outnumbered by textile visitors. Around 3pm, we decided to take a stroll along the surf to the south, and that's where we ran into problems.

We were walking southward along the shoreline, when we noticed distant signs across the beach, at the base of the bluffs, facing toward the ocean. We couldn't make out any of the lettering from our distance, so we walked directly inland from the shore to the closest sign.

Sign on Blacks Beach

Up close, we could read the "NUDITY PROHIBITED" notice. At that point, we figured we were at some point of demarcation where nudity beyond was not acceptable. We proceeded to take a couple of photos of the sign to add to a trip album. As we were walking away, back toward the north, a San Diego Lifeguard Service vehicle carrying 4 or 5 individuals, approached us at high speed, and the apparent leader got out of the vehicle and asked us in an angry tone what we were doing to the sign. We explained that we were taking photographs, but he proceeded to accuse us of vandalizing the sign, based on a radio call from a lifeguard at the glider port lookout atop the bluffs. The lookout's perspective, although with binoculars, was not clear enough to tell that we were merely taking photos, rather than damaging the sign.

When the inquisition was finally satisfied that the sign had not been tampered with in any way, the leader asked us what the sign read, and why we were nude in public if we could read it. It wasn't until then we discovered that that particular sign was the second in a series of 3, and that the first sign was at the Torrey Pines State Beach boundary, about 50 feet to the north (Torrey Pines is the official name of Black's Beach). This boundary is marked by a thin, brown post along the bluff line, with the letters "TPSB" on it…again, not visible from the shoreline, and probably not interpreted by most newcomers. The 3rd sign, further to the south, seems to complete a buffer zone to advise nudists and non-nudists for what to expect on either side. The lifeguard continued to assert his unquestionable authority before his troops, and began filling out citations for public nudity, before explaining any of this. Talk about anal!

After about 10 minutes of citation writing and background checks, a lifeguard supervisor arrived on the scene. He was much more willing to listen to what we had to say, and he explained the boundaries, and the fact that nudity is only tolerated on the state beach, not the city side. When we pointed out that there was no visible signage near the shore or along the width of the beach, he said they had problems maintaining signs there because of high surf. I was later told by frequent Black's Beach visitors that the lifeguards usually place traffic cones from the bluffs to the shoreline during busy times, to distinguish the beach boundary. Due to the inclement weather and extremely low number of visitors that day, the lifeguards apparently did not consider boundary enforcement an issue. Other nudists were observed beyond the same boundary by the lifeguard service that day, yet none were approached. It was only because of our mistaken actions near the sign that we were approached and received citations. It would have been so much easier for them to just tell us to get back within the state beach boundary, exactly where we were headed before we were so rudely interrupted.

I'm wondering if I can somehow market the photo below on naturist memorabilia, since it cost me $215.

Naturist memorabilia?

In the San Diego County Court, Criminal #2 faired slightly better than I did. He was able to appear before a judge a couple of months after the event and paid $145 total, including court costs, public defender's fee, and parking. His charge was reduced to disturbing the peace. Immediately after his court hearing, he was back on Black's Beach by 11:15am for a warm, sunny day, with over 100 other naturists! He also made it to DeAnza that evening during the Western TNS gathering there, and enjoyed a long nude hike with 18 other naturists and no lifeguards.

I was overseas when the citation finally processed, so I requested a court appearance waiver and to plead my case by mail. The $215 charge was a bail in lieu of court appearance, and unbeknownst to me at the time, this was also substitute for pleading my case. The penalty was reduced to an infraction, but the charge and cost remained. I thought it was ridiculous to be charged for public nudity when no "public" was present, and even if there was, it would have been legal if I was a few feet further north, still in plain view of "the public."

Back to the scene of the crime....we returned to where our belongings were and relaxed on the beach for another hour or so. Later, we drove up to Glen Eden to camp out and spend the following day. Enjoyed a long, relaxing soak in the Jacuzzi. The following day, Saturday, was warm and sunny. Glen Eden was very busy that weekend. There were craft booths, 3 bands, and an evening dance that day. We hiked the perimeter trail, did some swimming, BBQ'd, and enjoyed the company of people we'd met in the past, as well as some new friends we met that day.

Criminal #2 had to work at 2am the following day, so we showered, packed our belongings for the return trip, and he moved his car closer to the clubhouse for a quick departure after we indulged in the evening festivities for a short while. That's when our 2nd unpleasant event took place.

Soon after Criminal #2 parked the car and we'd met up at the pool deck, he realized he'd lock his keys in the car! Good thing we were at a nudist resort because the only thing we hadn't locked in the car were the sandals on our feet. So, we had to forego mingling with the evening crowd to contact and await the resort's maintenance man with lockout tools. We all took turns trying to unlock the doors using a complete low jack kit, but had no luck even with the detailed directions and implements for that specific car model. Finally, after several attempts, rethinking, and retries, Criminal #2 managed to unlock the driver's side door with the method he started with 2 hours prior…by meticulously maneuvering 2 coat hangers through a small opening in the sun roof--much more difficult than those arcade machines that take your money when you try to snag a stuffed animal with the crane control.

Relieved to be out of that predicament, we stopped by the pool area one last time to see what we were missing, and then hit the road for the 4-hour trip back to Vegas. In all, we enjoyed our escape, and even during the low points, I recalled a saying I'd once heard: "If, in the future, you can look back on this moment and laugh, you might as well laugh about it now." We did.

- NN

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