Vacation Continues

Good Morning!
Okay, since there are so many exciting things happening today, I decided to post in sections. Right now it's almost 9am. It's a beautiful day outside! Woke up to the sound of running water; had a wonderful breakfast! Mark had French toast, sausage and OJ and I had yogurt, breakfast burrito and coffee. Now it's time to rinse off under the waterfall. But no worries; the water is nice and warm!

Skinny Dipping Anyone?
The place we like to go at the Yuba River is known to be a popular skinny dipping place. We knew that ahead of time, and I thought I was prepared, but actually seeing strangers in the nude brought up a couple interesting questions. First, how the hell did they get down to the river? The path is rocky and steep at places and the river is WAY down there!


I don't have a problem with people skinny dipping, but I have to admit it captivated my attention. I'm not used to seeing strangers prancing around in their birthday suits. I mean, what's the etiquette for this sort of situation? Do you look? Do you not look? Do you pretend they have clothes on when they talk to you? Do you look away when they walk by? And what about the lady that is laying spread eagle out on the beach? You can imagine all the old beliefs that ran through my mind! "Well, I never...." And then Wisdom spoke!

Suddenly I saw all the people that were enjoying the sun in their "all in all" are much freer than I am. They are not ashamed of their bodies, and they don't care what anyone else thinks about them. They can be who they are, regardless of what others judgments may be. I was fascinated and a little jealous. Here I stood in shorts and a top and a top to cover my top and a hat, and there was really no sense of freedom in any of it. Wisdom said, "what's your problem? Why are you not that free? Why do you allow what others think of you to run your life and dictate what freedoms you enjoy?"

Wow, that really put me in my place, and gave me a new appreciation for the folks that were soaking up nature in such a wondrous fashion.So, did I break down and go skinny dipping? Only the Yuba River knows for sure.