Sunday, September 26, 2010

Car Show 2010

After a year break, we finally made it back to the car show. Things haven't changed! We arrived Saturday morning and set up in our favorite "overflow area". Already, the pool area was packed. Towels sprawled over every available chair and pool full of human soup. The weather was perfect. Cars were on display. The food tent smelled great. The DJ was spinning tunes. The car show was going strong!

Our originl plan was to travel to VVRC after work on Friday, but that ended up being far too late. A storm was on the way, and it's a good thing we missed it Friday night. Campers reported having a "lake-side property this morning!" Some even had a private island. It was gone by mid-morning.

We started the day out by saying "hi" to the usual group in the tenting area. They really like us, and they've been with us to most of the big events that VVRC provides since we first went there. They're fun to talk to for a while. But, we don't want to spend the entire weekend with them. There's an age gap, and we tend to sit around quietly while they chat.

Another expected couple were the ones that previously threatened us. We avoided them for the most part, but the guy did exchange a "hi" with us as we passed by. We'll probably be seeing them a lot at future events, so we may as well get used to it.

An unexpected couple called out Percilla's name. (It's funny how they can never remember mine...) It was NC and his wife. (NC is an abbreviated nickname.) NC was the person who talked my ear off at the bowling event we attended on the opposite side of the state. This time around, he tried to do the same. He encouraged Percilla and I to join a few groups on a social networking website. I at least added him as a friend and joined his main group.

That evening, we had a delicious chicken dinner! The cost for the usual car show dinner is fairly expensive, but you get what you pay for. A freshly grilled boneless chicken breast or a pork chop, baked potato, whole green beans and other vegetables, a fully loaded salad, American-sized buns, and cake for desert. Being starving tenters, we ate as much as we possibly could and enjoyed every bite.

Breakfast on Sunday was the same, except it was free. The main course was doughnuts, but cereal, yogurt, juice, and other items were available. It's a great way to start the day, and we were lucky to show up only 30 minutes before they closed it down.

Lunch was also a last minute deal. Percilla had lunch at the food tent after a massage. I found her there as she was finishing up. By the time I put in my order, the food tent was handing out scraps. My brat bun was one of those leftover American-sized dinner rolls. My brat, as it turned out, was short enough to fit in the dinner roll. It worked nicely and was a good enough meal for me.

During this meal, we talked to a retired female who is a full-time naturist with her husband. When they retired, they sold their house and most possessions and bought a very nice American-sized RV. They have a P.O. box in North Dakota (and are technically residents), live at a resort in Texas during the winter, and live at VVRC during the summer. Percilla and I can easily see ourselves doing the same thing when we retire.

For the annual parade, Percilla sat on the back of a nice car as usual. She rode with the same driver as before, despite my recommendation that she could probably ride in ANY car that she chooses. Who would turn down a cute young naked rider like her? It's her only chance to ride in fancy cars that I could never afford.

I didn't like the way they did the parade this year. Normally, they do a big loop around the RV grounds. This time, it was more like a corral. The cars formed an oval stretching from where the DJ is to the gravel road nearest to the camping area. The cars were all almost bumper to bumper driving the small oval. I enjoyed admiring the beauty of the cars as proud owners drove them around, but also felt sorry for them since they were moving like caged animals.

After the parade, things really cleared out. We were faced with a problem that had been quietly nagging us the whole time: boredom. Three years ago, the group of regulars were new and we spent most of our time with them. Two years ago, we convinced some nearby friends to attend and we spent time with them. We also had the motorcycle in the show. This year, we didn't have anyone or any involvement. Quite frankly, it got boring.

We were on the edge of bringing a friend with. She's a single mom our age. Her son was elsewhere for the weekend and she had no other commitments. She doesn't mind seeing nudity. She was faced with a boring weekend by herself. Despite being the perfect weekend to hang out with us, she is too stuck in the "nobody wants to see this" attitude. She also thinks it'll be too awkward seeing friends naked. Percilla and I have both done our best to correct the misconceptions. We just need to break the ice somehow. If she would've gone with, we all would've had a blast!

But, as it turns out, Percilla and I both had a "what do we do now?" type of look. Most of the usual group were gone, along with NC and others that we would normally talk to. The only remaining group our age seemed to want to keep to themselves. We didn't want to strike up any new friendships. (Neither of us currently have time to strike up friendships, or reignite old ones. Our social lives are on hold this year.) Despite being paid up until after dark, we left by mid-afternoon. It allowed us a nice meal at the Curve and time to unpack once we returned home.

The event itself is great! VVRC does a really good job with all of the food and entertainment, same as every year. But therein lies a problem -- we had the feeling that we've seen it all before, and some of the excitement was lost. New friends would keep things fresh, but it just couldn't happen this year. We'll have to try again next year!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

See, see, see! That's the problem with you whippersnappers, everything's got to be Go Go Go all the time! Instant gratifcation, hurry up, what's happening next?

Boring? Boring is being stuck at home sick when others are cavorting naked! Mowing the lawn is boring. Lots of things are boring, but being naked isn't one of them. Reading a bad book is fun if your nude!

Just kidding, sorta. You've described one of the main problems in attracting young folks to the lifestyle, there's nothing to do. We've all talked about this, it's no secret, but the solution seems to be.

Older folks have already had a lifestyle of fun things, sometimes it's just nice to relax, and naked is better.

Perhaps nudist camps will take a clue from commercial textile campgrounds. They have kiddie waterparks, mimi golf, bikes, boats, crafts, hayrides, dances and much more. This isn't your father's camping experience anymore.

But that stuff is expensive and requires volume business. Nudists are notorioulsy cheap and fickle where weather is concerned. Probably not practical.

I'll keep this short and stop there, ok?

Academic Naturist said...

No, not OK. Please continue. :-)

I'm torn on the subject. Yes, there is more that resorts can do. But there is also more that we can do. We can bring friends, we can start games, we can chat with new people. We should be able to entertain ourselves, but sometimes it gets a little difficult.