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
Not too long ago Doug and Emu were chatting it up with a woman on a park bench. That was when Emu scurried away and Doug’s bird calls brought in all sorts of crazy birds. More on that ad here. Now the duo is back, but in fact it’s a trio because Emu is getting married! Take a look at the ceremony with Emu and his fiancé Linda…
The officiant (Doug, played by actor David Hoffman), the bride, and groom are all wearing sunglasses. No one else at the wedding is, although some have on regular reading glasses.
I particularly like some of the wardrobe choices for the cast of this commercial. Kevin, who self-assuredly objects to the wedding, is wearing a Kenny Chesney style puka shell necklace.
My favorite part, though, happens after Kevin objects to the nuptuals. Doug rebukes Kevin and while he’s doing that, Emu lets out a tiny chirp and it just makes me laugh every time.
Is Linda, the bride, the same emu seen in the Liberty Mutual cookout commercial from a few years back? Or did Limu Emu find another girlfriend since then? Based on the hairstyle and sunglasses, I’d say it’s the same female emu, and their relationship developed into a marriage.
Do you like the random ad from Liberty Mutual? Did they tie in their messaging well, or not?
I wrote yesterday about camping at Florida Caverns State Park and if I must say, c’était une chose magnifique! *chef’s kiss*
Today’s post is all about the photos. If you haven’t visited the park yet, here’s what you’re missing. When you get to the bottom, click the link to make a reservation at this cool park.
Hello! My name is Ben and in 2022 I’ve set out to camp in my travel trailer as much as possible. I’ve already done a few tours around the Florida/south Georgia area so check out my Camping Stories for more of those reviews and pictures. Can you guess in which park I took this picture? *Answer is at the bottom of this post*
Today’s post is about Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna, Florida. It’s in the panhandle about an hour west of Tallahassee and I camped here in the last few days of April. One of my favorite things to see and/or photograph is wildlife, so when I took off for this 4-day trip, I didn’t know what to expect since the park is known for its cave tours. Another reason I was a little anxious is that I found out they don’t do tours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I only had Thursday to get a tour in, I was leaving on Friday.
The good news is that I booked a tour for 10:45am (central, yes the park is officially on central time) and it did NOT disappoint! I’ll preface these pictures with a warning: There are a few tight spaces that had me feeling a little claustrophobic. Another few folks I talked to mentioned that the ups and downs inside the caves were hard on their knees. So… fair warning about that! Here are a few of my favorite pics from the caverns.
I took a lot more photos, some were terrible, but the less terrible ones might be posted on a cave specific blog. As far as the rest of the park goes, I’ll admit that when I drove up to the camp sites, I was underwhelmed. Would this be boring? What is there to do besides the cave? It also didn’t help that the “blue hole” was brown.
If you’ve done research on the park, you know that it was hit hard by Hurricane Michael a few years back. So in the park you’ll notice lots of newly planted trees and such. They’re marked with little flags (to keep from getting mowed over?), as you’ll see in the first picture below. The second and third pictures in the set below are examples of the stripped (and dead) trees in the area. Hauntingly beautiful, and the birds seem to like perching on them.
And here’s a picture of a cool little cardinal. He was enjoying the not-dead trees.
They’ve really done a great job rebuilding the area. Point #1, I especially loved having a sewer hookup right at my site. I was told a few spots had them before the hurricane, but now they all have sewer.
*you have 15 seconds to get your poop jokes in here*
Moving right along to point number 2 (get it?) and much to my delight, there was plenty of wildlife in the form of birds and alligators. Actually, I posted about the alligators recently. Would you believe I stumbled (metaphorically speaking) upon 8 baby alligators that couldn’t have been more than 2 weeks old? I didn’t stumble upon their mother, which is how I’m able to write this post today. Of course I got some pictures of the adorable little things, you can see them here. And not pictured in that post is this alligator below, sunning on a fallen tree.
The caverns area is a couple miles from the campground so be prepared to bike or drive when you need to get up to the parking lot there. A few campers have those electric bikes, which are darn cool. The more I see them, the more I want one. But I definitely love my 1970s era Free Spirit 10-speed pictured below…
I’ve camped a lot so far this year and met great people along the way. For some reason, though, the folks camping the few days I was at this park were my favori—–
*ahem* I’m obligated to say my parents are my top favorite neighbors because 1. we camped together at East Bank Campground in Bainbridge, GA and 2. They read this blog…
–But outside of family, the people at Florida Caverns were great. It was fun having personable neighbors! Plus, the day before I left, the family who set up their class C camper at the site next to mine were French, so you better believed I eavesdropped as much as I could. I’m sorry, it’s a beautiful language! For all I know they were making fun of the guy next to them and how he wears the same clothes a lot. Hey, it’s how I’ve always been you lovely French family…
Peu importe je t’aime!
If you have the chance, I definitely recommend this park! The caverns are really great and interesting. The guide was knowledgable about the history and info of the caves. Keep your eyes open for gators in the surrounding ponds and river. And don’t forget to look up! There was such a variety of birds. When I get back to the park again, I’m determined to photograph the owls. I heard them a lot but they wouldn’t hang around long enough for a picture.
arrête de me traiter de cette façon les hiboux!
The park pictured at the beginning of the post is Juniper Springs Recreation Area in the Ocala National Forest.
American Express has a solution for sports ball fans. The problem? Your favorite player gets traded and now the jersey you have with the player’s last name isn’t quite as accurate. The solution? Well, here it is (then scroll down for more info)…
The Music. The heartbreak/country song playing in the background is “I’d Trade All Of My Tomorrows” by Merle Haggard. The full track is below…
The Teams. The NBA teams (although I’m assuming AmEx would extend this benefit it other sports as well?) listed are as follows: Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, LA Lakers, and the Boston Celtics.
Country Connection. Using this Merle Haggard song reminded me of another favorite basketball commercial featuring the country legend Waylon Jennings. His song “Just the Good Ol Boys” was the perfect song to highlight Jason Williams and Randy Moss, who went to high school together. Click here for a quick synopsis of their history, and here’s the commercial.
Yet another first for my camping excursions, this time setting up at Florida Caverns State Park in the panhandle of the sunshine state. Obviously, the big draw is the caverns (which are beautiful and worth the price of admission), but in the few days I camped, I sort of had the hankering to take pics of wildlife less photographed. I guess I always have that hankering, come to think of it. Well, this park didn’t disappoint! In just one day I saw a lot of birds, a couple of owls, dogs, a cat, and 10 alligators!
Scary, for sure, but before you go on thinking I’m a brave soul, I’ll share a little secret. Eight of the ten were babies. The other two were bigger but not nearly full grown. Now that I’ve clearly brushed off the idea that I’m a tough guy for photographing these tiny (but still wild, yeah I’m tough) creatures, here are the pics. It’s fascinating how the babies can be so cute and yet look so frightening and YES, I WANT ONE!! When they get bigger, you can have ’em, mmmk?
Out of the Wilderness 