Nudist Vacations?

Oh, boy.  Where do I begin?  The New York Times Travel Section has a story this week, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem," exposing the growing trend of nudist travel.  Apparently there are all-nude luxury resorts from Mexico to the Caribbean.  This growth industry  is estimated at $440,000,000 last year.  There's even an all-nude Hawaiian cruise scheduled for 2010.  And - get this - they are referring to a such trip as a "nakation." 

There is absolutely no way I would ever do this.  Yes, I'm modest.  But even more importantly, I really don't want to see other nude people frolicking on a cruise ship or lunching by the pool or playing volleyball / water polo or whatever (like in this photo).  However, I think I've figured out why this is becoming popular.  Who wants to go through all the hassle of bringing luggage to an airport these days?  With the nudist vacation, lost luggage is a thing of the past!  Besides, is being nude for a week really that much more embarrassing than having a full body scan at your local airport security checkpoint?   Probably not, unless you're taking a trip with your parents or your boss.  The main problem I foresee is managing to fit a sufficient amount of sunscreen into those Ziplock bags they make you use now.  Click on the title of the post to read the full article in the NYT.

So today's discussion - would you go / have you ever gone on a "nakation?"

Hugs and fishes,

Jenny Mo

Down the Line

I'm Jenny, and I'm excited about my first blog post about diving. If you've ever been SCUBA diving, you know that rush you get when you first plunge into the water, become weightless, and feel the air in your BCD carry you up to the surface before you descend into the completely incredible world beneath us. You know the peace that comes over you as the world becomes silent except for the bubbles of your breath. You know the sensation of discovering an eel hidden in coral or watching a school of spotted eagle rays swim above you. And even better yet, you know the great feeling of sharing that experience with your buddy and the handful of people diving with you.

If you haven't done it yet, it's incredible.

I have to say that although I am passionate about it now, I was a little hesitant before I tried it. I was in Cabo, I wasn't certified, and I met a local at the crack of dawn who agreed to take us out on his boat and rent us some gear. The only advice I got was, "If your mask explodes, don't worry about it. Just make sure you keep breathing." Needless to say, that was not the kind of instruction I expected. I got on the boat anyway - mostly just to make sure a guy I was dating thought I was cool. But when it came time to get in the water, I chickened out. I sat on a rock in the middle of the ocean and sang songs to pelicans and watched sea lions while the rest of my group went diving. And the guy ended up pretty smitten anyway.

I learned such a great lesson that day - NEVER dive if you aren't comfortable. I went straight back to California and enrolled in certification classes, determined to learn everything I needed to know to get back in the boat and into the water. I've been certified for four years now. After learning the ropes, I now know I would not go on an open water dive without having some experience. I needed to get used to the gear, to understand how things work, to learn hand signals, and how to be a responsible diver. Once I had that down, I was hooked. I'm including a photo from my first open water dive in Maui.

My favorite dive so far has been Molokini off of Maui, HI, followed closely by a fantastic dive in the Bahamas. I'm planning a trip to Bora Bora for August and I'm desperate to get to Turks and Caicos. I'll be posting about my dives periodically and I'll include pictures from some of my underwater adventures.

Jenny Mo