Last month I did a tongue-in-cheek blog about "How I Got Hit On At The Luau". In the article I defended Sandpiper's as being pro-family, anti-swinger. At the time, I was very new to the Sandpiper way of life and I guess I was just hoping I was correct in my assessment of the club's atmosphere.
I was right. Karen & Jay are strong supporters of the family friendly policy endorsed by AANR.
But this is what you'll find there:
LAND O' LAKES - In the midst of an investigation into its involvement with a swingers organization, Caliente Resorts has given up its membership in the American Association for Nude Recreation.
The luxurious clothing-optional resort off U.S. 41 in central Pasco County had its charter temporarily suspended by the association in late May after rumors circulated about sex parties at the resort. It parted ways with the organization Friday.
Caliente officials notified AANR they were withdrawing from the association after AANR sent a letter reminding its roughly 260 member clubs of the organization's "principles and standards," said Erich Schuttauf, AANR's executive director.
During the investigation, Schuttauf said AANR's board of trustees found it "very troubling" that Angye Fox, Caliente's public relations director, is scheduled to speak at Swingfest 2008, an adult trade show starting this month in Hollywood, Fla. She is scheduled to lead a workshop promoting the co-existence of swingers and nudists.
"We're a family-oriented association," Schuttauf said. "That's very important, and we've been saying that for 75 years. There isn't an awful lot of room for co-existence."
"We were continuing to collect information" about Caliente's marketing and advertising, he said. "The board of trustees was going to meet again in August. We sent the letter to let other clubs know how serious we take this. That letter did make reference to Caliente."
Fox questioned the extent of AANR's investigation, saying the organization was "taking sides with a small number of our homeowners."
"They didn't request any information from us," she said.
Doug Butler, president of Caliente's roughly 350-member homeowners association, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Schuttauf said AANR's principles are more important to the trustees than how many homeowners complain about sex parties.
The loss of the charter – something AANR says has happened to only two other resorts in the past decade – will cost Caliente considerable marketing and lobbying muscle, according to the association.
"They will no longer be advertised on our correspondence or Web site," said Carolyn Hawkins, AANR's public relations coordinator. "We have a list of [member] clubs that goes out to thousands of people. When someone calls wanting information, they get that list of clubs, and they could be calling from California or anywhere in the country.
"They're also losing overall protection. For instance, if something happens legislatively where someone wanted to ban alcohol where nudism is involved – like at strip clubs – we still have to go out and defend ourselves and explain what we are and what we aren't."
Fox said losing the charter won't harm the resorts advertising and marketing efforts.
"We've helped them, frankly," she said of AANR. "They haven't changed with the times. We're taking advantage of educating the next generation, the 20- and 30-somethings on social nudism. [AANR] hasn't done a good job of targeting those folks. Young people communicate differently. It's a different world to them. You can't send them a newspaper."
Recently, Caliente, whose membership hit 1,800 in December, has been aggressively pursuing younger demographics through advertisements in Creative Loafing, a local alternative newspaper, and on a local sports talk radio station, where Fox and events and entertainment director Deb Bowen are occasional on-air guests.
The resort also e-mails a weekly newsletter and connects with the younger crowd on MySpace, the popular social networking site, and is creating national and international media kits with photos, videos and podcasts, which people can download and listen to on their computers or iPods.
What draws many younger people to Caliente is its theme parties, such as last month's "Arabian Nights" event, where guests dressed as genies, kings or queens, or this month's "Eyes Wide Shut" event, an homage to the 1999 Stanley Kubrick film with Tom Cruise. Attendees are encouraged to wear masks.
Those parties are thrown by the Aahz Party Lifestyle Group. On its Web site, Aahz touts "an explosive sexual atmosphere" at its parties, some of which are advertised as swingers' events.
"Theme parties are fun and sexy parties," Fox said. "They wear masks and elegant clothing. It's hot and attractive, and there's no pressure for anybody to have any sexual relations. What they do in the privacy of their own room or home is up to them."
Caliente's policies forbid public displays of affection in common areas, and single men are not allowed unless they are association members. Even then, they must pass a background check.
The resorts marketing efforts seem to be working. Last year, Caliente reported a 120 percent increase in revenue over last year.
Whether or not Caliente's marketing efforts are more effective than AANR's isn't the point, Schuttauf said.
"We have 75 years of success and we have trust in the community, and that's not easily earned," he said. "To some degree, we have to do what we feel our principles and standards would dictate. Our reputation and credibility is extremely important to us.
"We've worked hard to earn Pasco County's trust, and we want to keep it that way."
Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or gfox@tampatrib.com.
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The following is the letter from AANR to all member clubs.
July 11, 2008
Dear AANR Clubs and Participating Businesses,
AANR is the largest, strongest and most recognized advocate for nude recreation in the Americas. Together with our PR firm, Y Partnership, AANR has developed a highly effective media network. This relationship with the media provided the great article in the New York Times Sunday Travel section this spring and the recent mention in the AARP online newsletter’s Special Interest Travel video that provides suggestions for members who prefer to “vacation the natural way.” How much more credible can we get than AARP!!
AANR is the credible voice for nude recreation because, in part, we make a strong distinction between healthy mainstream nude recreation and any exploitation of the human body. AANR rejects any use of its name as a cover for sexually–exploitive purposes. This distinction has earned AANR the trust of government entities and the public. Local and state governments regularly draft and strengthen laws to deal with problematic behavior and they increasingly trust AANR clubs to be the credible voice for nude recreation because of our commitment to our principles.
AANR’s principles have served our Association well and observing them is critical to our continued credibility and effectiveness. Credibility is hard‐won; it has taken many years and the investment of thousands of volunteer hours and many more thousands of dollars to achieve the reputation for high standards that we enjoy. You made a major decision to be an AANR chartered club. You chose to associate with AANR’s brand as the credible voice for nude recreation. And, importantly, as a chartered club you signed an agreement to operate within AANR’s standards and principles. You agreed to reject any attempt to associate the good name and reputation of AANR and wholesome social nudism with sexual exploitation. You agreed to maintain an atmosphere that is in keeping with the culture of this wholesome code of conduct.
As you may be aware, the AANR Board of Trustees recently voted to temporarily suspend the charter of Caliente. Caliente is a beautiful club with dedicated management, members and homeowners who feel strongly that their club should maintain its charter with AANR. However, there has been some concern over some of Caliente’s recent marketing strategies and their conflict with AANR’s principles. It is important to AANR’s continued credibility that all AANR chartered clubs embody our values. The suspension provides the time for a thorough investigation. It also provides a period to rebuild and restore what AANR believes is a valuable
business relationship; a relationship where clubs benefit from AANR’s years of public education and hard‐won credibility, and AANR’s brand becomes stronger as clubs practice wholesome social nudism.
I thank you for your dedication to maintain our high standards and preserve the AANR brand. Should you ever
have a question about these principles or your charter, my staff and I are prepared to assist you.
Sun‐cerely,
Erich E. Schuttauf
Erich E. Schuttauf, Esq.
AANR Executive Director
Cc: AANR Officers and Trustees
American Association for Nude Recreation
1703 N. Main Street, Suite E ▪ Kissimmee, Florida 34744
800/TRY-NUDE ▪ 407-933-2064 ▪ Fax 407/933-7577
E-mail try-nude@aanr.com ▪ www.aanr.com
As you can see from the above pictures we still have lake front property. The water really is starting to go down but it will be a slow process.
This shot is from #38's driveway looking south.
This is the field in front of #24, Roy & Kathy's house,
This house, Dave & Evelyn's, #122, is typical of the kind of standing water 
It is really starting to howl outside...4 o'clock. The heavy stuff is almost upon us. The house is shaking, palm tree is banging hard against the siding. Satelite image is going in and out on TV.
It's really raining hard! 
Update tomorrow I hope!
