Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
Volkswagen put together a couple of ads that will remind everyone of two things: how some folks are just ANNOYING and how cool R2-D2 and C-3PO are so cool. First up, the annoying guy in this ad…
The Music in this ad is “It’s A Lovely Day Today” by Doris Day. Here’s the full track…
The Actor might very well be Jonathan Kite, best known for his role on the TV sitcom Two Broke Girls.
VW has another ad debuting a new van. The commercial also features a plug for Star Wars…
Cool van, man. A lot of people will like the van for it’s retro yet modern look, plus its all-electric. I couldn’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite commercials from VW with a Star Wars link. Quite possibly one of the best commercials in existence. Remember this one? It’s just stinkin’ adorable!
Camping comes in all shapes and sizes when you’re going to as many state parks as you can! My most recent adventure is Ruth B. Kirby Gilchrist State Park in Florida. This is the second of a double-header, if you will, after camping in Manatee Springs with my parents, sisters, brother-in-law, and four nieces. Manatee Springs was a sandy experience… sandy roads, sandy sites, and sand everywhere basically. So as I made my way 40 miles northeast to Gilchrist, I was trying to be positive and hoping this state park had gravel or asphalt.
Soooooooooo I’ll just stick with the positive! The spring is beautiful. It’s safe (lots of kids and families enjoying the cool waters), so not really any snakes or alligators to worry about unless you kayak out to the Santa Fe River. My summation of this park is that it would be great for a day visit, as many people do here. With only 17 (sandy, there I said it) sites, the entire RV camping area is smaller than the parking lot of the day visitors. In the back furthest away from the spring are the tent sites, which definitely offer more seclusion.
I also have great neighbors, so that has been a highlight of the trip! The staff members are attentive and helpful.
So just to briefly touch on a few areas that I don’t love– my hounds keep finding little snacks and chicken bones here and there (mostly in and around the picnic areas), bathrooms could use TLC (especially showers), the dishwashing station doesn’t have hot water (on purpose, which is weird to me). There aren’t sewer hookups which would be fine if they had a dump station (which they don’t). What I didn’t enjoy the most was the sand. Gosh doggit I was trying not to be negative. But if you like sand, it’s not a negative at all, I guess? If you visit this park with an overnight stay, bring a bucket or tray to dip your feet/flip flops in before entering your rig. I didn’t do that and I wish I had.
With all that said, I was able to take a few pictures that I like a lot! My top 3 favorites are the apple snail eggs, the woodpecker, and the intertwined trees. Something about those trees is just so loving, lovely, and heart-warming.
tent camping at the park
one big honking Cypress tree
tiny apple snail eggs on a cypress knee
hearts
Two inseparable trees
smaller than the picture makes it look
this is also smaller than the picture makes it look
dragonfly is bigger than the picture makes it look
I recently saw this commercial on TV and it got me to thinking. Who’s behind an ad like this? There’s no product being sold, no brand promotion, no celebrity endorsements. So what gives? First, check out the heartwarming ad below. Note that I can’t find the original on YouTube, so scroll down for the link of the one featuring a very well-known artist to be revealed further down the blog.
I mean, come on! Are there any other pets as loyal as dogs? I love the commercial because of its portrayal of a loyal pup. There aren’t many better ways to see loyalty on display. Here’s a link to the video on the advertiser’s website.
The Music. Chosen as the soundtrack for this ad is Bruno Mars with “Count On Me.” Touching, the perfect song to highlight a dog’s loyalty. For another ad featuring the music of Bruno Mars, check out this one from Apple.
I have a specific Spotify playlist titled “Night Bike Ride” for those warm nights I spent in Nashville riding my neon-lighted bicycle around the neighborhood. Isn’t it funny how certain songs are associated with a time or place in our lives? The songs on this list remind me of riding past my neighbors, music playing through my portable Sony speaker. Riding around the Kroger parking lot on the corner of Nolensville Rd. and Old Hickory Blvd. Circling the nearby streets, just as happy-go-lucky as could be.
I came across the playlist recently and all those good vibes came flooding back. It made me miss my neighborhood. Miss the night rides. My awesome old bike travels with me as I’m camping around the southeast, every once in a while flipping on the lights to brighten up the night in whichever campground I call home.
Do you have songs in your life that remind you of experiences and memories like this? How does hearing those songs make you feel?
Hello there and thanks for dropping in today for a quick read about Manatee Springs State Park near Chiefland, Florida. I’ve been camping around the southeastern states this year with blog posts to prove it, see Camping Stories for more about all that. Next up on the list is the first camping trip to include my parents (although I’d camped with them and my oldest sister in Georgia, recap here), two sisters, brother in law, and four nieces. Oh, plus, my hounds and one of my sister’s family’s pups, the one that isn’t spooked by literally everything (shout out to Quincy, though!). They figured she’d be better to bring along on a trip with a lot of unknowns.
We all arrived on the day we arrived and adventure was dead ahead. Actually, I definitely should not phrase it that way because a scuba diver died over the course of the four days we were at the park. Crazy stuff that I’ll write about more in the near future. But untimely pun aside, adventure was just around the corner and boy, did we have a great time together (even if the teenagers won’t admit it).
One of the highlights for me was all the wildlife. In fact, the amount and types of wildlife is the sole reason some of the family didn’t swim or kayak! But I can’t ever resist getting a closer look so I just had to swim and had to kayak. Before I get to the photos, I should say we also gathered for dinner each night. That was fun. OK, time for photos. Here are an assortment from Manatee Springs State Park. Oh, also, it was on the very last day that we were graced with a swim-by from a big manatee. For those of us who were swimming, it seemed to come out of nowhere, definitely catching us by surprise.
Out of the Wilderness 