Ponce Inlet, Florida – Beagles at the Beach

Hello there! I’ve been writing about a mini camping tour around central Florida and so far, it’s been everything I was hoping. Check out more on my camping stories page and keep coming back as I’ll be posting about RV parks, Alexander Springs State Park, and more in the coming days and weeks.

With that said, and with me and my dogs being in central Florida, I took drove us over to Ponce Inlet, a dog friendly shoreline near Daytona Beach.

Did it all go perfectly? Of course not. In fact, and in my defense the boardwalk sign read “dog friendly crossover” (whatever that means?), I stepped on the the beach with my two beagles and within a few minutes, a lifeguard went all Mitch Buchannon on me.

I wish it had been CJ scolding me but “Baywatch” references aside, I was spoken to through a megaphone regarding the dogs being on the wrong beach. So I went to the wrong part of the beach, does that make me a horrible person?

OK, yes I’m a terrible dog owner. *shrug* We finally made it to the “dog friendly” part of the coast and it was pretty fantastic. I loved the sand and the sea, the dogs loved the sand (the sea, not so much).

It was relatively clean (I didn’t see any poop in the sand until my dogs changed that). As you can tell by the name of this area, Ponce Inlet, it’s is not on the real wavy, rough side of the beach. It’s on the backside, and that’s kind of cool. The water is more calm, with sandy and grassy areas to explore.

The dogs seemed to enjoy themselves for the most part. I think they would both rather be in the trees and brush, sniffing out squirrels and other wildlife. Actually, I love wildlife, too, and if you know me, you know I can’t resist an opportunity to get my Sony A6600 camera out to snap some photos of nature and skylines, especially when there are views like this.

I often feel like there are moments just waiting to be photographed. So after the dogs were pooped (figuratively, come on don’t be gross), I set them up in their bed in the back of the truck and went out for a bit to snap some photos. I’m so happy I did! There were unique moments I tried to capture, so check back tomorrow for a whole bunch of my favorite photos from this “Ponce Inlet Beach Photo Session.”

Thanks for dropping in!

-Out of the Wilderness

She married the right guy

Hello! Every once in a while I have these personal and possibly life-changing thoughts and I can’t not share them. This is one of those thoughts.

I was thinking the other day about a woman I dated many years ago. Our relationship was somewhat rocky, if I’m being honest, but when it was good it was real good. I always wondered how I’d feel when I found out she was engaged, and in fact, I never found that out. What I DID find out is that she has been married for a few years. I wasn’t as hurt as I thought I might be. In fact, I was happy.

At least for a month or two.

Then I started to have the nagging feeling that maybe she married the wrong guy. Could it be that I was the right guy for her, but because of my immaturity I left the door open for her to marry a guy that is good, but not great?

Well, the other day I realized something that is even more radical and a lot less arrogant-sounding, and it’s this:

I’m going to be married one day. How harmful would it be for any woman I date or become engaged to learn that I think I was the right guy for someone else. That would mean this woman is the wrong one for me. I envision that relationship ending very quickly, as it should! Who would stay with someone who believes someone else is the right one?

So this really crazy, yet simple idea was good for me. It’s like this message was delivered from a therapist even though I don’t go to therapy. Maybe it was a free session from the Lord, I don’t know. The idea that I would be in a relationship, still thinking an ex is with the wrong guy, thereby implying the woman I’m with must be wrong because I’m the right guy for someone else. Gosh, that would just be terrible.

I’ve graduated up to the idea that whoever I marry will be the right one. This means my ex was right all along! Just not for me. She actually married the right guy. What a relief!

Has this happened to you? Do you think an ex ended up with the wrong partner? What is there to learn from this?

Comment below, I look forward to hearing about your story.

-Out of the Wilderness

Beautiful Juniper Springs – a Mini Tour Around Central Florida

Hello and welcome back! This is my second post about Juniper Springs. To catch up, click here for yesterday’s recap of my arrival and a few of my favorite pictures.

OK, can I just say this real quick: I am not familiar with camping in state parks and the first night, it was very dark. You might think, “Yeah, it was night time.” No, no, I mean it was like Adam and Eve’s first night in the garden dark. That’s because there were only a few campers along with myself. No street lights, no city lights within dozens of miles, not even the moon was on.

One thought I had about me and the other campers: “I guess we’re all just gonna trust each other in this pitch blackness, huh?” I’ll be honest, it was a bit scary. It was just so, SO dark.

But anyway, nothing murdery happened the first night so that was good. If anything did happen, would I call it, “Only Murders in the Park”? OK, that’s a decent reference to the Hulu show I’ve started watching starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez.

There I go again in a direction I didn’t plan on going!

OK, so let’s get to the beauty of this park. There are two main springs within the park. Yesterday I tried to build up for you the anticipation for what I saw that first day. It wasn’t anything I remember seeing in my entire whole life, and here it is:

Technically these are called “boils.” Crazy, aren’t they?

Being in nature, tucked away from city lights and city noise, barely any internet and no TV… I could really get used to this. As I explored the area, I found the springs the area is known for – Juniper Springs.

I loved getting to this “swimmable” spring early in the morning to see the steam coming off the 72-degree water.

I camped here for four days and I’d say that was just about enough. I had time to check out everything I wanted to, take the dogs on a million walks (and pick up all their poop, and yes, they pooped near a few campsite entrances :/ ), and ride my bike around the entire area.

The drawbacks. There are only two drawbacks I can think of… 1. On the third night, in the middle of the night, I got up to pee and when I flushed, the camper started beeping and the water pump wouldn’t shut off. No pun intended, I thought, “Oh crap.” I knew it was because the battery was really low but with it being the middle of the night, I felt terrible about what I was about to do. I had to turn on the generator to get full power to the trailer. It was only for a few minutes and I really hope I didn’t disturb the two campsites that were sorta near me. I’m thankful I have a quiet generator, and also thankful this resolved the water pump issue. I also just went ahead and shut off the refrigerator, but turned it back on in the morning, with the generator support. Yikes! The second draw back was that, unfortunately, the canoe run was closed off so if you come out to stay, that might still be the case. I think taking a canoe down the nearby river would be interesting too, once they open it back up.

Entrance to the canoe launch

Next stop on my mini-tour is near Daytona Beach, Florida. I’m really excited to get coastal for a few days. Check back soon for my experience at an RV park and how it differs from a state park. I will also answer these questions: Did my dogs poop on a beach? Did a lifeguard use a megaphone to get my attention? What kind of bird has bright yellow feet?

-Out of the Wilderness

Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Commercial – The Music and More!

This ad makes it clear Microsoft is going for the hip and cool crowd, from the way it’s edited, the cast, and the music. Check it out.

The Music. The song featured in this ad is “Don’t Lose Sight” by Lawrence. Follow them on Instagram and listen to more on Spotify. Check out the clever music video below.

Featured Artist. The commercial (once it’s past the “boring” Apple computers) features Daisuke Okamoto, a Japanese artist living in Los Angeles at the moment. Check out more about Daisuke on Instagram or the artist’s main website.

How do you feel about the ad? Do you like the music? Does the commercial compel you to buy a Surface Pro 8 (currently around $900).

Thanks for dropping by…

-Out of the Wilderness

Mini-Tour of Central Florida – Juniper Springs State Park

Like I said recently, this mini-tour camping around central Florida started with a pit stop in Gainesville to visit an old friend, but then I was off to the first state park.

Juniper Springs Recreational Area, to be exact.

I booked this trip about a month in advance so the anticipation was killing me, especially as I drove in to find my campsite.

Site 011, to be exact.

I felt like such a newby. A lot like the time I took a Suzuki cruiser for a test ride on a real road. Like this: Does anyone know I have no idea what I’m doing? I ended up buying the motorcycle and I feel just as fresh now, camping alone in my own travel trailer for the first time. Such a newby.

If the guard at the gate could tell I was brand new to camping, at least he didn’t show it. He probably knew after I asked about 17 questions. He gave me the rundown of what to do, where to go, all that jazz. They’re very particular about parking on the blacktop. As in, not the soft ground. Also as in, not pavement. I said, “OK, I need to park on the pavement.” He said, “Park on the blacktop.” Very interesting how much they like using the term: blacktop.

I arrived at site 011 and parked… guess where? On the grass. Kidding, I’m not that much of a rebel. Here I am… on the blacktop.

I was just about to bust with excitement, knowing I’d be seeing the springs as soon as I got settled and got the dogs situated. At this campground, there are two main springs… one where people can swim, and one where people can get eaten by gators (so…. no swimming).

I was curious about both but went with the “no swimming” location first. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and you might not believe it either. I won’t spoil the surprise but just to not freak anyone out unnecessarily, it WASN’T a swimmer getting eaten by an alligator.

It was just as natural, though, but beautiful (I threw a “but” in there because while someone becoming a gator snack IS natural, it’s not beautiful (unless you’re the gator, I guess?). Ok, this is going a direction I didn’t plan.

For this naturally occurring beautiful thing I saw, come back soon. I post every day at 1pm Central. I hope I’m building up the anticipation because you won’t be disappointed. Until then, here are a few photos of the springs.

-Out of the Wilderness