Would you go back?

Hello there and thanks for taking a chance on reading a post here at Out of the Wilderness. Today’s post is a bit reflective, but I also write about lighthearted things like camping, dating, God and faith, and my dogs. Check those out when you have a chance. Ok, on to today’s thoughts…

Is there a period in your life you’d go back to, given the opportunity? It’s often the plot in movies, books, and TV shows and I think about it sometimes, especially with how things are in the world right now. I know I wouldn’t go back to childhood, middle, or high school. Those were fun times, don’t get me wrong. I *might* go back to college years. After that age, I wouldn’t go back to being in my 20s or 30s. Again, many great experiences but I love where I am now, in my 40s. I wouldn’t want to go through the hard things again, the awkward experiences, the loss of loved ones, embarrassing moments with peers, etc. Of course, I have regrets and there are things I would do differently, but I almost firmly believe I’m on the track I should be on.

One of my favorite Kenny Chesney songs is “A Lot of Things Different.” It was a single of his in the early 2000s (years before I worked in country music and then got laid off from that job). The song reflects on how people say they wouldn’t change their past at all, but he goes against the grain by saying he would change things. In fact, he would do a lot of things different. While I wouldn’t go back, there are things I would’ve, and probably should’ve, done differently. But that’s life, right? Remembering those *hesitates to call them mistakes* ought to help me make better decisions in the present and future. Otherwise, did I learn anything from the past? A few thoughts are now coming to mind…

  1. From the handful of regrets I have, most are not things I did. They’re things I didn’t do. So my advice to the younger me would be to try things. Live carefully of course, but most of the things you’ll regret will be what you didn’t do, not what you did.
  2. A Bible verse shared in church recently sort of fits this blog post. It’s from Romans… what fruit came from the things you’re now ashamed of? This is referring to sin more than the overall course of a person’s life, but I still find it applicable.
  3. We all should’ve put a few dollars into Bitcoin back in 2010/11. Sigh.

Cryptocurrency aside, I hope this post helps you reflect on your life, even for a moment. If you’re willing to share, leave a comment with a few thoughts about why you love where you are or why you don’t.

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

Things I did or didn’t do, what results came from them? What should I do different now so the fruit is sweet and not bitter?

-Out of the Wilderness

Liberty Bad Actor Commercial – Liberty Bibberty and more funny stuff

When any Liberty Mutual commercial comes on TV, am I the only one who almost always involuntarily says “Liberty bibberty”? As the classic quote from the 90s goes, I LEARNED IT BY WATCHING YOU! That is, I learned it by watching this ad from Liberty (and be sure to scroll down for the hilarious extended version)…

The Actor. The “bad actor” in this commercial is actually a professional actor named Tanner Novlan. You might recognize him the way my mom and sister did… from daytime soap opera The Bold & The Beautiful where he plays the part of doctor John Finnegan. Also, if you watch the clip below (from 2020), you’ll soon learn his mom (just like my mom) is a fan of this show going way back, so much so that she named her dog Thorne, after the character on the show, Thorne Forrester. I would’ve went with Ridge, but that’s just me.

Tanner’s been in quite a few ads, a few as a hockey player. Hey, he IS from Canada, so the hockey thing kind of makes sense. He’s married to actress Kayla Ewell who’s been cast on B&B before, and well-known for her role in The Vampire Diaries.

Back to the commercial, you MUST check out the extended ad here. It’s even more funny.

Thanks for dribbity dropping by…

-Out of the Wilderness

I STILL haven’t seen an alligator

In LeBron James style, I took my talents to north Florida late last year. I get that it was cooler and all, but over 4 months and I haven’t even seen ONE alligator. I guess that’s a blessing, actually. But still, after visiting a handful of state parks over the last couple of months, I thought I’d at least see one or two lying on a bank to warm themselves with the sun. But noooOOooOOoo. I mean, it’s not like I want to see one up close. I had vivid dreams as a child of one of these creatures chasing me. Even as an adult, alligators are pretty darn scary to me, especially since I sometimes have two 30-pound companions trotting around with me outside.

Like the Jonas Brothers ask, whatta man gotta do? I just want to see an alligator from a safe distance. Is that too much to ask? Until then, I guess I’ll have to be content seeing all sorts of birds, squirrels, dogs, and… oh yeah, humans.

-Out of the Wilderness

Allstate’s Wedding Cake Commercial – The Music and the Actress

Hello and thanks for stopping by. I know you are looking for the background info of the latest Allstate commercial but before we get to that, here’s the 30-sec ad.

The “Precious Cargo” ad features quirky music with an even quirkier title. It’s “Di-Gue-Ding-Ding” by Michel Legrand. Here’s the full track…

The Actress. Driving the unmarked car that happens to be a convertible Toyota Solara is multi-talented actress Quartay DeNaya. Along with acting, she’s a musician and a martial artist (according to the description on her Instagram, which you can find and follow here). Speaking of which, here’s one of Ms. DeNaya’s Instagram posts from the commercial shoot.

The commercial is mostly a hit with viewers, except for the idea of driving a cake around in a convertible. Bugs getting stuck in the cake is a real possibility. But real life aside, this is a cute ad with a great soundtrack!

Share your thoughts below…

-Out of the Wilderness

#4 on my favorite Florida camping list

I’ve been using my travel trailer around Florida since the beginning of January and to be totally honest, I LOVE IT. Check out more of my camping stories on my Camping Page but for now, I’ll spill the beans on a state park in the panhandle area of Florida.

This is Falling Waters State Park in Chipley, Florida. To keep this short, I’m going to list three things I liked about it, and three things I didn’t like.

#1 – I love that my dogs were allowed on the trails. There’s an area near the 2-acre lake that has a beach, they weren’t allowed there but letting them have access to the wooded-trails was a real nice treat for them and for me!

#2 – Quiet. This park has a small number of camping sites so that means less people who are noisy. I enjoyed the peace of all the folks here adhering to the idea that we’re all out here to enjoy nature, and respecting that for each other.

#3 – Not far from home base. I launch all my trips from Tallahassee, Florida and this park is under 2 hours away. Not to bad for a weekend getaway!

https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-5ppNr4k

https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-Wz9KqbS

https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-jfq6k7P

Now for the things I didn’t enjoy. I don’t really like being negative but for me, at this park, the negatives outweigh the positives. Here are the drawbacks I didn’t like.

#1 – Unlevel sites. I can’t recall any camper/trailer that wasn’t using leveling blocks (except for the paved sites, generally only for the handicapped campers). In fact, my site was so unlevel, it took me the better part of an hour and a half to find the right ground to maneuver my trailer. It was a headache, almost enough that I was going to drive back up to the entrance and ask for another site. I used all the leveling blocks I own, and still the trailer jack was extended to its limit.

#2 – One of the men’s showers. Thankfully I tried both showers during my stay because the one I used first couldn’t decide if it wanted to stay hot or not. I had the hot/cold handle all the way to the hottest side, yet the shower would intermittently turn cool, then hot, then cool again, then warm, then hot, etc. Talk about a shower almost not worth taking!

#3 – When I camp I need something to do or see. Something like the beaches and wildlife at St. Andrews (click here for a recap) or the beautiful water at Alexander Springs (click here for a few pics). Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, but Falling Waters was kind of boring. I walked my dogs, took some night time photos, so that was fun.

https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-PgGQ8r5

But the waterfall (at least in February) was basically a trickle. Underwhelming is the best way I can describe it. The butterfly garden was in disrepair, not to mention there weren’t any butterflies. The waterfall, like I said, was not something you’d write home about. It was just kind of… boring. Did I say that already?

https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-S2cD7FC

https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-gZnwdcd

https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-DPw6h2n

To sum up, Falling Waters State Park is a great place if you’re looking to get away for a few days and aren’t looking for major nature explorations. If you need just a quiet place to recharge, this would be a good spot for you. Otherwise, I can’t recommend it based on the rough sites and the only draw being the single, small waterfall. So far I’ve only been to two Florida state parks and two recreational areas. That’s why this park falls at #4 on the list.

If you have more input or something I may have missed at Falling Water State Park, please share in the comments below!

-Out of the Wilderness