Under the warmth of the afternoon sun, a white-haired couple rollerblade casually down a quiet street in their gated community in Land O' Lakes. Gliding past 4,000-sq.-ft. homes and parked Porsches, the sun-glazed seniors could easily be tagged as prototypical active retirees -- if not for the fact that, aside from their wheeled shoes, the two are stark naked.

MAKING A SPLASH: While most of the Caliente Resort & Spa is clothing-ooptional, the pool area is a nude-only zone. Caliente is home to about 600 permanent residents but draws 200 to 300 visitors every weekday, and about 1,000 guests on weekends. It's one of seven nudist communities/resorts in Pasco.

So is everyone else at the Caliente Resort & Spa, a playground for thousands of nudists from around the world and full-time home to hundreds more. The development, on 100 acres in Pasco County about 20 miles north of Tampa off Highway 41, is the brainchild of Chuck Foster, 71, a veteran of Florida's nudist industry who vowed more than a decade ago that he would build "the hottest nudist resort in the world."

Caliente -- hot in Spanish -- draws between 200 and 300 visitors every weekday and upward of 1,000 guests each weekend. Around 600 people live there in condos, two-story villas, spruced-up manufactured homes called "casitas" or traditional single-family houses.

The resort's expansion has made it the crown jewel of a well-established nudist industry that has boomed along with the rest of the economy in Pasco, the state's 11th fastest-growing county. Some 100,000 nudists visit the county's nudist resorts each year. Meanwhile, developers have been quick to recognize that there's a good market in well-heeled nudists willing to pay a hefty premium for gated havens where they can live and roam unclad. Homestead exemption data and figures from the communities indicate that more than 2,000 full-time nudists live in the county.

Pasco's nudist roots date back to 1947, when Tampa tax lawyer Arthur Brubaker founded the Lake Como nudist resort on 200 acres in Land O' Lakes. Nestled among cypress trees, the rustic retreat caters to a trailer-and-camper crowd looking to get back to nature, lie around the pool, play volleyball and lollygag in a shack called the "Butt Hutt."

? Four-year-old Caliente raised the nude-living standard in Pasco. Many of Caliente's residents are wealthy empty-nesters. The community includes a 33,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse and European spa.

In 1979, Lake Como resident Fred Bischoff decided Florida's nudists needed a more sophisticated setting, like the luxury nudist resorts that were cropping up in the Caribbean. He purchased 72 acres adjacent to Lake Como and launched Paradise Lakes, a "clothing-optional" resort that included a lakeside pool, restaurant and nightclub. The "clothing-optional" appellation was meant to appeal to those who dabbled in nudism but hadn't adopted it as a lifestyle.

The concept caught on. Paradise's membership and national reputation grew, and the resort reigned as Pasco's top nudist destination into the 1990s, when Foster, who had been a manager at Paradise, architect Bill Baldwin and several associates decided to build Caliente.

Getting financing proved difficult, and construction on the project languished from 1996 to 2000. But the opening of Caliente in 2002 ushered in a new era of upscale nakedness. From the 33,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse, which opened in 2004, to the 8,400-sq.-ft. pool and European spa, the community is big on amenities calculated to appeal to wealthy empty-nesters who prefer to do everything from bicycling to home repairs in the buff.

"I know everybody," Foster says as he zips down Los Cabos Court in his custom-designed, yellow Mercedes golf cart. Indeed, he greets all his bronzed neighbors by first names and points to homes occupied by lawyers, former law enforcement officials and retired Army colonels.

About 25% of Caliente's residents hail from Michigan. Many guests and residents are wealthy, though "you'd never know it," Foster says, stopping to greet a topless woman riding in her golf cart with her Shih Tzu. The middle-aged snowbird tells him she's enjoying her last few days of Florida sunshine before heading back up north for the summer months.

Real estate in upscale nude communities has appreciated like the rest of Florida's turf. Three or four years ago, a lot in a Caliente subdivision sold for $70,000 to $140,000. In March, a lot sold for $480,000. A 2,300-sq.-ft. villa in Caliente was listed for sale in the classified section of a recent American Association for Nude Recreation news bulletin at $500,000. Foster says he has a nine-page waiting list for the 250 to 300 condo units he plans on 25 adjacent acres he acquired five years ago.

Paradise Lakes, meanwhile, is in the midst of its third major expansion, which will include revamping the main lobby, building 39 more condo units near the entrance and converting 56 pool-front motel rooms into condo-efficiencies. The property is now co-owned by Joe Lettelleir, former president of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, who bought it in 1999 along with two other investors.

Other builders have jumped into Pasco's unclothed market as well. Directly across the street from Caliente, Port Richey-based Lexington Homes is putting the finishing touches on several homes in a new gated subdivision called Magnolia Point. The community is already sold out, according to a sign. Property records show sales ranging from $330,000 to $680,000.

The blossoming of Pasco's nudist sector may not be exactly the public relations godsend that local economic developers wish for, but the traditional business community seems at peace with the birthday-suited among it. The local chamber of commerce, for instance, has even held dinners (clothed) in Caliente's clubhouse.

That may have a lot to do with nudism's economic impact in the county. Resort officials say Paradise Lakes is the second-largest generator of bed tax dollars in the county, behind Saddlebrook Resort. Community residents pay about $1 million a year in property taxes, and a conservative estimate for the assessed value of all residential property in Paradise Lakes, not including the privately owned clubhouse, is $64 million. Toby Caroline, director of sales for Paradise Lakes Realty, says, "banks just love us here. We have them banging on our doors."

"They pay great taxes and don't use the infrastructure," adds Lettelleir. "It doesn't get any better than that for the community."

'Clothing-optional' Paradise Lakes, which opened about 25 years ago, is undergoing its third major expansion.

NAKED RULES

? Nudists obviously travel light. Etiquette dictates, however, that they carry one accessory -- a small towel to sit on for sanitary reasons.

? Kids are welcome at many nudist resorts, including Lake Como, which, according to its website, is "strongly oriented towards couples and families."

? The lifestyle draws more men than women, but resorts aim for a balance so their female contingency does not feel uncomfortable.

? No gawking or staring. At the Caliente resort, cameras are outlawed, with signs posted throughout the resort as reminders. "We offer a real honest-to-goodness getaway. It's very private. We guarantee that, and that means a lot. That's why (the members) feel comfortable," says Deb Bowen, marketing director for Caliente.

? Most nudist clubs explicitly forbid overt sexual behavior in public. Nude recreation enthusiasts emphasize that their clothes-free lifestyle is focused on self-acceptance of one's own body and is not sexually oriented.