JMF's Nudist/Naturist Pages -- Gunnison Beach Trip Report 5/31/99

<BODY> <HR SIZE="1" NOSHADE> Site Navigation Menu <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.shtml" TARGET="_top">Home</A> <LI><A HREF="about0.shtml" TARGET="_top">Intro to Naturism</A> <LI><A HREF="favspot0.shtml" TARGET="_top">Favorite Beaches & Resorts</A> <LI><A HREF="news0.shtml" TARGET=_top">Nudes in the News</A> <LI><A HREF="goods0.shtml" TARGET="_top">Naturist Goods & Services</A> <LI><A HREF="nbooks0.shtml" TARGET="_top">Reading Room & Bookstore</A> <LI><A HREF="guestbk0.shtml" TARGET="_top">Site Feedback & Guestbook</A> <LI><A HREF="nlinks0.shtml" TARGET="_top">Naturist Links</A> <LI><A HREF="nphotos0.shtml" TARGET="_top">Naturist Photos</A> <LI><A HREF="misc0.shtml" TARGET="_top">Miscellany</A> </UL> <HR SIZE="1" NOSHADE>  <H3>Gunnison Beach Trip Report, May 31, 1999</H3> <I>(Originally posted to <A HREF="news:rec.nude">rec.nude</A> and <A HREF="news:alt.nudism.moderated">alt.nudism.moderated</A> on May 31, 1999.)</I><P><P>    What a difference two weeks makes! Memorial Day Monday found Gunnison heavily populated, air temps about 80 -- it was actually HOT, including the sand, which was pretty punishing for early-season unacclimated bare feet. I guess there is a reason why Memorial Day is the official unofficial kickoff of the summer season -- the summer climate arrived out of nowhere this weekend, practically overnight. The ocean temp is still plenty bracing, but is now much more swimmable, and many people did so, including myself. (One of my two friends from NYC, who joined us at the Hook as they often do, thought I was insane for attempting it!) Quite a shock on first entry but extremely refreshing thereafter.<P><P>    By the way, according to the friendly ranger manning the "Lot Full" sign by Parking Area G, Lot G filled up and closed at 10:00 on Sat., 9:30 on Sun., and at 9:50 on Mon. (Mem. Day). Still plenty of places in the North Lot as usual.    The holiday weekend let us make this more of a real trip; we came down Sunday night and stayed over to get an earlier go at the beach this morning. We're still in the experimental stages for Sandy Hook accomodations. Some posters here have recommended the McIntosh Inn in Long Branch, but that had just filled up when I called. I also spoke to a very nice man at a little family B&B in Highlands, which is within rifle shot of the Hook, but they were also full this weekend. (He actually said, when I asked him about their location, "Yes, I can see Sandy Hook right from my front door. Unfortunately, I can't see the nude beach, though, even with binoculars!" A few sentences later I told him that my family and I are regular patrons of Gunnison, and he immediately apologized for his earlier joking remark, and I told him not to worry, I could tell he was just kidding.)<P><P>    We ended up staying at the Marriott Courtyard in Tinton Falls, which is just off Rt. 36, very convenient to Garden State Parkway express exit 105; there are quite a number of hotels at that interchange, including a Holiday Inn. I'm not sure how long it takes to get directly from there to the Hook, since we made a side trip to Red Bank to give my NYC friends a lift in from the train station, but it must be on the order of a good 25 minutes. Still, this beats a 2.5 hour drive the morning of your beach day!<P><P>    There is a Marriott Courtyard about 5 minutes from my house in Poughkeepsie. We like our local one a lot, and sometimes we go there for an extended night out, i.e. hit the pool and hot tub while one of our more gullible visiting relatives watches our kids overnight. (: We were, however, not as impressed with the one in Tinton Falls, NJ. First off, their pool, albeit VERY nice, is outside, actually IN the "courtyard", and so it closes 2 hours earlier than the indoor pool at our local Marriott, so we didn't get to swim as much as we were hoping last night. Also, we had asked for a rollaway bed for our son when making the reservation, and it wasn't in the room when we arrived. (That in itself was no surprise, I don't think I have EVER requested one ANYWHERE to then actually find it pre-set in the room on arrival; it makes you wonder why they even bother making a note of it on the reservation computer. However...) we then had to ask TWICE after checkin to finally get it, when it was delivered we had to make it up ourselves, and they never did give us a pillow for it, they were "all out." A hotel that size "running out" of extra pillows? Yikes. Plus, the bed was SO hard, even by usual extra-firm hotel mattress standards, that "the parents" got almost no sleep. Actually, I suppose setting out on a beach day with tired, cranky parents and happy, rested kids is better in some ways than the reverse, but we didn't think so at the time. (:<P><P>    My wife was more annoyed with them than I was. I was thinking we should give the Courtyard another future shot at it, since what annoyances there were were fairly minor; my wife on the other hand is determined to try a different place, at least on our next visit, for comparison. I think our next attempt might be The McIntosh Inn, assuming availability is in our favor. The McIntosh is a few minutes closer and is rather less expensive than the Marriott, with prices in the $70-80 range, with top end being a King room with a fridgie and a microwave. The microwave I can take or leave, but the fridgie would be useful to keep our previously prepared cooler items fresh overnight.<P><P>    So I'll try to share my findings as we try different lodgings around the Hook this season. If you're looking to (at least) locate some at this point, I found several, including the Marriott, using www.mapquest.com and checking the "Lodging" category box to display icons for establishments.<P><P>  <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="#CCFFCC"> <TR><TD><A HREF="gunn_tr1.shtml" TARGET="_top">[Previous Report]</A></TD> <TD><A HREF="gunn0.shtml" TARGET="_top">[Back to Gunnison Beach page]</A></TD> <TD><U>[-----]</U></TD></TR> </TABLE> <HR SIZE="2" NOSHADE> Last modified June 23, 2000 <HR SIZE="2"> <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5><TR> <TD>  <font face="arial,helvetica,verdana" size="1"> <a href="http://fastcounter.bcentral.com/fc-join" target="_blank">FastCounter by bCentral</a> </font>  </TD><TD>  <a href="http://member.bcentral.com/cgi-bin/fc/fastcounter-login?1963516" target="_blank"> <img border="0" alt=" [Counter] " src="http://fastcounter.bcentral.com/fastcounter?1963516+3927039" WIDTH="90" HEIGHT="16"></a>  </TD><TD>served since June 15, 2000.</TD> <TD>  <script language="javascript"></script> <script language="javascript1.1"></script> <script language="javascript1.2"></script> <script language="javascript1.3"></script> <script language="javascript"></script> <script language="javascript1.2"></script> <noscript> <a href='http://www.stats4all.com/asp/login.asp?sSiteName=fitzwilliam' target=_blank> <img WIDTH=20 HEIGHT=20 BORDER=0 src='http://www.hit.stats4all.com/asp/hit.asp?sSiteName=fitzwilliam'></a> </noscript> <script language="javascript1.2"></script>  </TD> <TD><font face="arial,helvetica,verdana" size="1"><A HREF="http://stats4all.com" TARGET="_blank">stats4all.com</A></font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <HR SIZE="2"> <FONT SIZE=-2>To comment on this web page, report HTML problems or broken links, please contact James M. 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