April, 2007

Bell Acres Resort is four miles from the Atlanta Dragway, big-box stores like Wal-Mart, and numerous restaurants, yet it is secluded and heavily wooded. If you didn’t know it was here, you wouldn’t know it was here.

Many nudist parks are very friendly. Bell Acres nudists are friendly, but more important, they are friends. We had come to this club because it was Pool Opening Weekend with a wine and cheese party and a Saturday night dance. Last week we had a demonstration of global warming, but this weekend was a wack in the face with winter’s hind end as he went out the door. The pool was ready, the water crystal clear, and the temperature shockingly cold. It’s Easter weekend, with signs of spring all around and it’s cold - record setting, crop killing, cold. We nudists are resilient. We stayed in the clubhouse. And why not - the potluck was in the clubhouse. Delicious.

What really made this particular weekend uncommon was the departure of the managers, Doug and Roxie. They had been at Bell Acres for the last seven years and the park’s managers for the last year. They were helpful to everyone and judging by the tears that were shed, friends to everyone. Personal reasons compelled them to move to upstate New York. There just wasn’t much that would soften the blow. On Sunday, a small crowd helped them pack up the last of their belongings. After sniffles and hugs and photographs, friends departed by ones and twos to their homes. A few hung on for a last warming in the hot tub. Finally, It was done. Doug and Roxie drove away on Monday morning leaving Tom behind as the new manager.

What else makes it Bell Acres and not just some generic nudist park? Location, location, location. It is about equidistant from Atlanta, GA and Anderson and Geenville, SC, and just a short distance from I-85. Another distinction is the hills. There are not a lot of flat places at the park. It’s not mountainous, but walking between your campsite and the clubhouse a few times can provide a day’s quota of exercise. Up a dirt and gravel road are several full size homes for permanent residents, inside Bell Acres and protected by it, yet very much apart. This is a fine place to spend a few hours, a day, a weekend, the summer, or the rest of your life!