Jan 22nd to 29th, 2006
Our first trip last year began with hopes, fears and fantasies. Our second trip began with hopes, plans and expectations. It is impossible to recapture the experience of a first time encounter, but it is possible to create a unique and special experience that happens only once.
This trip report will seek to address a few of the oft discussed topics on this board. In particular the concerns of non-Lifestyle people attending during the prime Lifestyle weeks in January. The second issue is the matter of the current Hedo culture not measuring up to the standards set by the council elders.
The basics:
1) Grounds: perfectly wonderful by our standards
2) EC Staff: Doing a fine job. Admittedly we did less with the EC staff as we were fortunate to have so many great people to hang with that we just talked and played the days away.
3) Food: Thank you Robert. Without you we would have actually lost a lot of weight as we were never otherwise tempted to eat
4) Delroy, Scumba and the bar folks great as always
5) Augustus and the ground crew - totally on the case.
6) Security could have been more aggressive regarding clothes in the nude area. LOTS of clothed people in the nude area.
7) Weather : We got our order in early and it paid off. Perfect weather. I mean PERFECT weather.
People: The advantages of returning at the same time as last year were so hugely apparent. Folks that we had hung with were added to folks we recognized but had not gotten to know and they knew these people and on it goes. Then add the people from pre embarkation bulletin boards and then add wackos we stumbled upon along the way and voila! we have a super community. The people part was huge last year but grew exponentially this year.
Breaking in the 1st Timers: One can not recreate that 1st time experience but we can be part of it by passing on the good energy to other 1st timers and making their start as edge-busting as they can stand. It is so much fun to see what can happen in a few days time as the guards are dropped.
Lifestyle Month for those not in the Lifestyle: We 1st booked our Hedo trip last year without knowing about Lifestyle month. Like others on this board we were nervous. Fuggetaboutit! If you dont want to party with L/S folks they will not trouble you. Even supermodels like ourselves shoo them away with one hand. (In our dreams). Bear in mind that we have never gone in a non L/S time so a comparison would not be valid but this is what we can tell you: there are all kinds of people there lots in the L/S, and plenty not. The following trends are clear, however. This is a very extroverted lot and therefore you will have LOTS of opportunities to make friends. Yes, some will fade away if you are not a beddable prospect but PLENTY of others are people-first type of people. As long as you are secure in your sexual boundaries there is no issue here. And for us we are much richer people for knowing personally, the stories, histories and preferences of the members of a stigmatized sexual community. Nothing breaks down a stereotype like the act of asking so how did you guys find your way into the L/S? Everyone has an opinion on swingers, and many have no 1st hand evidence to back them up. We are grateful to those who have shared with us their personal journeys and listened to ours.
Lifestyle Month for those in the Lifestyle: What the hell are you waiting for? Book now. (Through Denny, of course) Everything you want is right there.
PDAs: Ok confession time. No we did not do it on Delroys Bar. We have read too many times about this to venture onto the sacred altar. There was one girl/girl scene there for all of 2 minutes and the pool gave it 35 thumbs (and peckers) up. But yes there were lots of PDAs and we LOVE being one of them at least 4x per day. Ours were nothing compared to the French couple who turned the nude pool and hot tub into nonstop wave pools. In any case we made sure never to block anyones access to Delroy, and hopefully did not leave anyone feeling disrespected with anything too much in their face. We had great fun dragging our gang out into the ocean for the 4F club meeting. (The Fabulous Four Oclock Fvck Flotilla).
Wallies: Wow. Big time. The hottub was full of washing machine spinners doing radar searches. This is no big deal because they seem content to hang there and not bother anyone overtly.The wanking wallie on the side of the hottub went several steps too far- he was constantly trying to stick himself in our and others scene without ever even speaking. When told to get his hands off just he stayed there staring at us from two feet away. Huh? Our good friends comically broke the tension by sitting down next to us and pronouncing themselves to be curtains. Our attitude is always to push on with the positive and this was no exception.
Constancy and Change: Hedo is a stationary physical landscape with a transitory peoplescape. It feeds on live people energy and each person plays their part. Various times I had people say to me that this or that energy was down from last year. My reaction was Then make it happen. Make happen what it is that you think is missing. Just one person can make a huge difference for everyone. It is not Hedos job to entertain those who sit back if you want excitement set it in motion you will likely never find an arena more open to the possibilities you envision (gay male sex excepted) There is endless discussion on this board about new folks not adhering to the brand of spontaneity pioneered by the elders. But if the new blood must conform to the old ways, the spirit of edgeplay that was set in motion decades ago is lost for the new generations. Are we restricted to existing plays from the old book? We came to Hedo with our own ideas that we hoped would bring a smile or a belly laugh, or open an eye, without any malice or intended insensitivity to others. Respect. We hope our antics were appreciated and that our energy did more than make OUR trip fun that it actually made OTHER peoples trips more fun too. We can certainly say how much we appreciated the fresh and original efforts made by others because we sure had a LOT of laughs and smiles from the antics of others. Our thanks to all of you who made our trip so special.
Same time next year? Ya mon. Hell yes! Barring some unforeseen circumstance we will definitely be back. Will we expect it to be the same? No. Will we bring fresh silliness in our minds and our overstocked suitcase? Guess youll have to come and find out?