A Picture and a Story

These pictures were taken during my first stay at the GNI Gathering in 2008. It was the first time that I had gone 'camping' in very long time since the first time that I had convinced the BF to go.

For those unfamiliar with the event, GNI takes over a campground in rural Pennsylvania for 10 days. The full week is dedicated to camping naked and is attended by 800 naked guys.

The week was magical for me. It's funny how if you're naked long enough with others, that you actually forget all about the nudity. What I loved most about this weekend was the same thing that first drew me to underwear night at the Green Lantern, then ultimately to naked events in the first place. In fact, it is one of the things that I find most satisfying and fulfilling in the world. That is that I just loved the closeness and honest sharing that I had between me and others. It is part of human nature that we all want to be part of something and to be close to others, yet we (and society) erect barriers designed to protect us that, unfortunately, have also alienate us from this basic need.

So who did I meet? Far too many people to tell, but some of the ones that I still keep in contact with are:

• A group of Columbians, particularly two from New York that I love and still call friends,
• A couple of Canadians from Ottawa, and
• The greatest and sweetest guy originally from Pennsylvania, now living with his partner in Boston.

Since that time, I've run into people I've met at GNI at various places across the country including several people in San Francisco, Ft. Lauderdale and Key West.

The backdrop in the first picture shows the man-made lake at the campgrounds. It is larger than it appears in the picture as only a portion of it is visible. The camp has paddle and row boats as well as kayaks available for use whenever you please. Many of the activities take place near the lake including some of the cocktail parties, naked wrestling, daily volleyball and many others.

These next two pictures were taken by a friend from DC called Camera Guy. We had met him many times since he used to go to the GL Underwear parties. He had offered to take some naked pictures of me on several occasions so when I saw him at GNI, I definitely took him up on the offer.