NothingToDread.com

Twenty years ago, I had the good fortune to stumble upon a small B&B called Le Petit Chateau. Despite the fact that I was a dreaded single male, the owners of the inn, Don and Mary Robidoux, always made me feel like a member of their extended family. Since Mary always introduced me to the other guests, and both owners always gave me a warm welcome, the other poolside guests never seemed overly concerned by my presence. Besides, anybody who had ever stayed at Le Petit Chateau knew that Don didn't tolerate a whole lot of nonsense from anybody regardless of marital status. Staying at the Chateau was so much like visiting friends that I never considered staying anywhere else in Palm Springs until after Don and Mary sold the property and it began catering to gay men. That change occurred while I was living in another state where I had the good fortune to be welcomed at an AANR affiliated club that also didn't seem to mind my single status. I eventually introduced my wife to social nudism at that club.

I had the good fortune to encounter open-minded people like Don and Mary Robidoux whose screening policy had more to do with a guest's character than marital status. Since then, I've been able to share the joys of social nudism with friends who went on to experience nude recreation themselves. I never heard Don or Mary run down any of the other clothing optional inns in town. Instead of running down the competition, Don and Mary ran one of the most welcoming places (Clothing optional or otherwise) that I've ever visited.

Since Le Petit Chateau has traveled to a distant point over the rainbow, Desert Shadows Inn Resort & Villas has become my Palm Springs destination of choice. Staying at Desert Shadows is for the most part an impersonal experience. I couldn't pick one of the owners out of a line up. If I've had a conversation with one of them, I didn't know it. Desert Shadows is a beautiful property, and an excellent example of how a nude resort can successfully compete with mainstream resorts. Despite that fact, I don't feel any greater sense of loyalty to Desert Shadows than I would to the Hilton or Marriott. Therefore, I've been considering checking some of the other clothing optional and nude resorts in the Palm Springs area.

The Terra Cotta Inn has long been at the top of list of properties I've been thinking about checking out on my next nude vacation. Tom Mulhall from the Terra Cotta maintains a blog boasting "A popular clothing optional/nudist resort" as an obvious promotional tool for the resort. Tom's writing tends to take a "we're better than you" tone when referring to his competition, but that's understandable. The man is running a business. However, he makes a brief statement in a recent post that just runs right through the single male I was twenty years ago.

They told me they were surprised at how many single men are allowed at the big nudist resorts and they were surprised children were at them too. They thought they would be fun, friendly places like us.

Terra Cotta Inn @ BlogSpot

Ok, I'll be honest, I don't really like being around a lot of children either. Given a choice between a clothing optional property full of kids, and one with no kids, I'll choose the kid free zone. I understand that some couples feel the same way about single males. Regardless, the statement about single males annoys me. As I've said before, this kind of sentiment would make sense to me if we were discussing a swinger's club or Lifestyles resort.

Why do single males frighten some nudists? I can think of only one occasion when somebody said something inappropriate to my wife at a nudist facility, and that was an old married man in his fifties whose wife happened to be at another location on the property. I have news for you hotshot; some of those couples you so proudly welcome to your resort are staying with you and playing at nearby Lifestyles facilities when the latter are overbooked. Try weeding out the swingers before worrying about the lonely schmuck with a book. I understand that the swingers will be asked to leave if they behave inappropriately; however, I don't understand why the single male isn't afforded the same consideration.

Twenty years ago, I was a young overworked single male in need of a break. I was on my lunch break flipping through the classified ads in a regional travel magazine when I spotted an ad for a bed and breakfast called Le Petit Chateau. The owners of Le Petit Chateau described the property as a small bed and breakfast in the tradition of the French Mediterranean. I'm not sure why, but the ad spoke to me. In fact, I was so sure that Le Petit Chateau was the right place for me to unwind that I skipped right to the phone number at the bottom of the ad and called to reserve a room without reading the part about sunbathing au natural. A few days later, I arrived in Palm Springs and after some difficulty found Le Petit Chateau on a quiet residential street.

The exclusive look of the place impressed me immediately. High walls surrounded the property, and an impressive pair of locked doors provided the property's single entry point. A polished brass plate mounted above a button to the right of the doors read that the property was accessible by reservation only and requested that guests push the button for service. I had a reservation, so I pushed the button. After a few short moments, a nice woman opened the door and introduced herself as Mary. I introduced myself and explained that I had a reservation. Mary invited me onto the property and my life changed forever. Naked men and women surrounded the swimming pool! I managed to keep my jaw from dropping. My 50th anniversary mirrored Ray Ban sunglasses managed to conceal my rapidly widening eyes.

My first thought was that I should apologize and explain that I'd made a mistake. With any luck, I'd only lose my deposit. However, I started to think things through. I'd always claimed that society's views regarding nudity were more than a little ridiculous. After all, what did it cost me for somebody to see my naked body? I'd changed in front of friends, and had even done a bit of drunken skinny-dipping on a secluded beach. I decided to stick around and put my money where my mouth was.

Mary showed me around the property and then to my room. I put my luggage away and immediately went out to visit some friends who lived in town. I told them about my predicament, and they tried to talk me into dumping the room and spending the weekend on their couch. I declined their invitation and explained my decision to give the place a chance. We had a late lunch and I returned to Le Petit Chateau.

I returned to my room and undressed. After undressing, I spent nearly an hour standing in front of a mirror trying to muster enough courage to leave my room. I couldn't shake the irrational fear that the naked people were only on property in the morning. I was certain that stepping out of my room buck naked in the afternoon would get me arrested. I finally gathered the courage to leave my room and spent a quiet afternoon reading by the pool. Thankfully, the naked people were still there and nobody called the cops to report a naked man. I was still nervous, especially about where to look. The strange thing was that I was more concerned about seeing other people than I was about them seeing me.

Many nudists I've spoken to over the years have described the moment they realized that nudism fit their lives. My epiphany came later that first evening. Although the owners would later install small refrigerators in the guest rooms, at the time there was only one communal refrigerator out back near the hot tub. I stepped out of the shower in my room and decided to grab a beer from the six pack I had stashed in the public fridge earlier that evening. Out of habit, I started to towel off so that I could get dressed before stepping out to the communal fridge. Suddenly it hit me! I didn't have to get dressed. Hell, I didn't have to towel off. I could walk right out of the shower and into the courtyard dripping wet and naked. Nobody would care. That was the moment I realized that I am a nudist. Le Petit Chateau has been gone for years, but I'll always have a place for it in my heart.