Key West. Clothing Optional.

Later in the evening I went up to the top of the "Garden of Eden", a clothing-optional bar on Duval Street.  I had always wondered what such a place would look like, whether people would actually have clothes on or not, and since the sign said it was "optional" I reasoned that I could keep mine on.  It was on the top floor of a three story building with a couple of other bars under the Garden of Eden (this being Duval Street in Key West), one bar on the ground floor and another bar above it and they looked pretty normal (for Key West).  So I finally reached the point of ascent into the Revelations of the Garden of Eden.

The ascent was steep, as one might expect, and there was a very sobering sign hanging just before the final entrance.  Then I walked in.  Four people were fully clothed, two men and two women, one a possibly 300 pound lady.  Four guys were naked, well displayed and lounging about in Greek-god-like glory, contemptuously meeting my nod of greeting.  Three women were naked.  One standing at the bar joking with the four clothed people, two others lounging together, talking and laughing.  All in all it was still VERY humid, muggy and miserable.  No one seemed really free or friendly.

Was I tempted to join the undressed masses?  Not really.  I had a video-camera, a still camera, an iTouch and a cell phone on me.  I was not anxious to compete with the Greek gods, and  I reasoned that maybe they were naked because they had lost their clothes.  They might grab mine and go.  And that's the naked truth.  Did I make any pictures?  No.  Not video or still or with cell phone, but I did record the highlights of the occasion for "printing" later.  I didn't "record" the clothed people for obvious reasons, and I didn't do the men because you can see them at any museum of antiquities.

With me clothing is never optional.  Perhaps I could do without all the coverings but never without the pockets.  Besides the camera and camcorder and iTouch and cell phone mentioned above I also carry with me a ball-point pen, a memo pad, business cards, a wallet, my keys, and a small flashlight - sometimes a little change.  Besides there is the issue of my faithful Swiss Army Knife.  Without it I would feel positively naked.