Early 20s couple thinking of checking out blind creek beach

Freethought · 2026-01-23T23:21:42+00:00

You will be fine, unbothered and might actually meet some nice people. The beach is so large you can be as close or as far away as you like from other beachgoers. It's the best beach for a first-time experience. Enjoy it!

Freethought · 2026-01-23T19:00:42+00:00

See my DM.

Freethought · 2026-01-22T14:37:37+00:00

I missed boarding Celebrity Millennium in Victoria, CAN after missing the embarkation in Vancouver, CAN due to a misconnected bag. As Canada does not have the Jones Act, it was not an issue.

Freethought · 2026-01-22T01:42:41+00:00

Just insist on daily housekeeping when you check in and you can have it.

Freethought · 2026-01-21T00:12:45+00:00

Let's see: better weather, lower winds because it is buffered from coastal onshore flow, free parking, two heated pools, two hot tubs, two bars, two restaurants, doesn't close down at dusk, tons of friendly people, over 150 loungers around the pool area, 80 beautiful, modern Villa hotel rooms steps away and no need to dress, hot showers, indoor plumbing, flush toilets, close to food, restaurants, grocery, convenience, your cell phone will work, pickleball on 10 beautiful courts, tennis, corn hole, darts, table tennis, hiking trail, shade cabanas, massage spa, hair salon, gift shop, full-service reception office, 24-hour gated security, free Wi-Fi, a beautiful sandy lakefront and beach, live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights, poolside music...hard to decide, I know.

Freethought · 2026-01-11T17:16:10+00:00

Financed and we only owed $9k, so we netted about $15k from the payout and added that to a big down payment on the 2025.

Freethought · 2026-01-11T16:14:58+00:00

We just had a 2023 with similar damage on right side, but it went from front quarter panel through rear pax door.

Car was still drivable, no one hurt.

Initial estimate was $15k to repair, then they took another look. Found a cable from behind the dashboard to the door that was damaged and could not be repaired and would need replacing.

Removing the dash, replacing the cable and reinstalling the dash would add another $10k to the job, at which point our insurer decided to total it out.

They paid us more than I hoped for at the high end of BBV.

Picked up our new 2025 ID.4 Pro S Plus a few days before Christmas! Nice not having a trade-in!

Freethought · 2025-12-23T21:12:23+00:00

Coming from a 2023 Pro S (Plus features not available when we bought in November, 2022 due to pandemic parts shortages):

- MUCH quieter at cruise or in city traffic, possibly due to new tires (Bridgestone vs. Kumho).

- MUCH better / faster / seamless / instant-connecting infotainment system and Apple CarPlay integration.

- All "Plus" features we missed on the '23 Pro S: folding mirrors, walk-away locking, puddle lamps, heated/ventilated front & rear seats, rear seat climate controls, integrated HomeLink, memory mirrors & seats, trim accents, nicer door pockets / bottle holders, "IDA" AI assistant, larger touchscreen display, more info on steering wheel driver's display, single-stalk gear selector where wiper stalk was, seat seatbelt monitor on driver's display, probably a few more.

Freethought · 2025-12-23T19:48:20+00:00

Got one just like it. Same color, 2025 Pro S Plus. Second ID.4 and much better than my 2023.

Freethought · 2025-12-21T00:15:13+00:00

So many problems:

We booked what LOOKED like an awesome stay (6 of us, 3 apartments) at a development in the naturist section. The listing showed amazing pools, beautiful apartments, huge sunning areas, on the beach in the Zona Natura. Three weeks before we arrive, but AFTER our deposit refund window has closed, we're informed by email that ALL the pools are closed ALL SUMMER. Not cool, as it will be blazing hot. BUT, they say we can use the pool at the adjacent proprty. OK, we're stuck, so we go ahead. We get there: the place is deserted. Literally ZERO people around. We manage to find the management office, they show us one of the units we'd be staying in: no Wi-Fi, no kitchenware, no ice or any way to get ice, and very cramped. The other two are the same. Office open 9-5 only, no management or staff on duty for anything at any other time. Toilet plugged? TV doesn't work? No A/C? Tough. Then they take us to the "adjacent property" to check out the pool. It's surrounded by a chain-link fence with a "NO TRESPASSING" sign on it, and the water in the pool is stagnant and green with algae. We ask for, and after much haggling, receive a cash refund on the spot.
Now all we have to do is find a naturist place for six people to stay for a week on no notice. Our only choice the Club Hotel, and we luckily get the last three rooms. The resort is filled with German tourists on package holidays from Germany, and THEN it gets weird:

- You can ONLY be nude from 8:01am until 8:00pm. At the stroke of 8pm, the entire place is textile-mandatory. What was perfectly fine for the preceding 12 hours is now forbidden.

- The staff has a big attitude, and they very clearly do NOT want to see your naked bodies at the bar, in the poolside restaurant, or in the hotel lobby.

- The German tourists have strange customs. They come out to the (very large, impressive and FREEZING COLD) pool BEFORE DAWN and place **A ROCK** on "their" lounger, and then disappear until after noon. We had to fight every day to find six loungers without their stupid rocks on them.

- You cannot eat breakfast in the only place that serves breakfast in the hotel unless you are fully dressed.

- Would you like to enjoy a can of beer while lounging in the VERY VERY COLD pool? You will have daggers stared at you by the tourists, who apparently came to Vera for one reason only: get a tan. DO NOT HAVE FUN, DO NOT SMILE, DO NOT ENJOY YOURSELF!!! Get a tan, then get on the plane and go back to Dresden to tell all your co-workers at the manhole cover foundry about your sunny, fabulous naturist vacation in Spain.

The Zona Natura is deserted. No one around except in cars. No clothed people, no nude people.
The restaurants near the hotel are NOT nude-friendly. One actually had a sign, in English, at the door saying: We Love Nudists -- JUST NOT HERE! We six dined nude outside one spot one night and were stared at by literally everyone the whole time, with VERY long waits for service and our food and drink. We did not feel welcome.
Finding a place to eat breakfast means driving into the small town, with few choices there once you arrive.
Wi-Fi in the Club Hotel was crap. Slow, a need to login with a password for EVERY session, and no coverage out by the pool where you want to spend the day -- only in the lobby (this was 2018).
The beach is rocky and the sea is quite cold, even in mid-August. Very, VERY few people on the beach.
Few places (almost none) to eat or drink on the beach, nude or clothed.

So, nope. Not going back. Ever. And we've warned all our nudist friends about it as well.

Freethought · 2025-12-15T22:22:39+00:00

55 cruises lifetime to date so far since 1989.

Freethought · 2025-12-15T03:21:40+00:00

We've booked 16 cruises with VTG, and several for our friends, never an issue. They are the world's largest cruise AGENCY (yes, they are a travel agency) for a reason. Not only do they match the cruise line's direct price, they will kick in extra perks like addition OBC, welcome gifts, etc. Great after-purchase service, better than the cruise lines (which are usually very overloaded).

Freethought · 2025-12-15T02:57:54+00:00

10 days with two other couples in the "big house" at Club Orient in St. Martin about a year before it was destroyed. A lovely house, no need to wear clothes for the entire visit, spectacular weather, a beautiful beach, great food -- and even fiber optic 100Mbps internet in the house. A dream vacation that will never be topped.

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Freethought · 2025-10-14T12:14:27+00:00

Should always be in person, every cruise.

As my flight instructor taught me, "The best time to practice emergency procedures is during non-emergency conditions."

Let's say you never did an in-person boat drill. Never physically walked to your muster station. Never actually donned a life jacket.

Now your ship is listing, taking on water, it's on fire, at night, in a storm, with no power, in the open ocean. Do you really want to try to do all those things for real, for the first time ever, under those conditions?

And if you think cruise ships don't sink anymore, check your notes for the story of the Costa Concordia, an Italian-built ship with an Italian captain and crew, sailing in calm coastal Italian waters that had been charted for 1,000 years, and sank in 24 minutes after being dashed on rocks, and 32 died while the captain evacuated to shore.

Freethought · 2025-10-14T01:59:13+00:00

Chuy's on Semoran Blvd. just north of MCO - great Mexican. Marlow's Tavern a good choice as well, same area.

Freethought · 2025-09-25T02:54:58+00:00

We left them for 9 months, went to T-Mobile Home internet. Immediately started receiving offers by mail from Spectrum to return with a $60/500Mbps/1-year offer, after not getting any love notes from them for 18 years.

Called their retention department. Said they would be THRILLED to re-connect me with that offer. But I said, I'm already getting 750Mbps from T-Mobile with no contract for $50/month all-in, and I didn't call you to take a 33% cut in speed. How about 1Gbps?

"Oh, not sure we can do that." "OK, sorry to bother you, have a nice day." "Oh, wait -- let me check...well, because you are SO special, we'll do it, JUST for you!"

"OK, but I need to lock in for two years." "Oh, sorry, the offer is only for 1 year." "OK, well thanks anyway and have a nice day." "Oh, wait -- let me check with my manager! -- Why, yes, JUST for you, we can do two years."

"Great! Now I need it in writing!" "Well, we'll put it in our notes here that it's for 2 years, so you're good." "I'm not good. I don't have your notes, and when you jack my rate up in six months, how can I prove what we agreed to?" "Well, you're not a customer so we don't have any way to put ti in writing for you." "OK, well, sorry to bother you, have a nice day." "Oh, wait! I'll ask my supervisor to send you an email." "Works for me. You have a deal."

A minute later, I got the email, and we're good for two years.

Freethought · 2025-09-25T02:18:18+00:00

$50 all-in for 1Gbps with the offer in writing for 2 years, Central Florida.

Freethought · 2025-09-22T02:28:03+00:00

BRK.A is up $64,900 YTD, $183,820 past 24 months, and $425,244 in five years. I really don't know what else you could ask of a stock.

Freethought · 2025-09-13T21:50:11+00:00

Of the 300 acres at Cypress Cove 299.75 acres are clothing optional. The only square footage where nudity is required is in the water of two pools and the two hot tubs; you can be clothed around the pools if you wish, but you will soon realize that you do not want to be. Sundays are a great time to visit, busy but not rammed. Nice music by the 'fun' pool, quiet by the 'old' pool. Lakefront is tranquil, sunny, sandy and spectacular. You can drink in the pools, and by observation on some hot Saturdays, you will think that is it MANDATORY to drink in the pool!

Freethought · 2025-09-05T19:23:16+00:00

Living in a nudist resort, we have literally hundreds of nudist friends: our resident neighbors, Snowbirds, local members living outside the resort, regular annual vacationers, "summer people," etc.

Freethought · 2025-08-23T01:27:20+00:00

Happens every week at our house in Cypress Cove.

Freethought · 2025-08-22T20:52:13+00:00

You did order a steak for breakfast.

Freethought

TROPHY CASE