Hello from Sunny Florida!

Dear Mrs. Gutteridge,

I have been visiting in Sarasota, Florida with Carolyn's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Roy.

Aunt Marilyn took me to Selby Botanical Gardens where she is a volunteer in the research department.  The Gardens are special for the orchid flowers and the epiphytes—(these are plants that live on other plants but do not hurt them).

Uncle Roy cannot walk very well and he uses an electric scooter.  He took me for a ride on his scooter which was fun—I wasn’t even scared!

Their house is on the Braden River and I saw an alligator and limpkin water birds. Limpkins only live in Florida. Aunt Marilyn said it was not a good idea to have my picture taken with an alligator.

Sarasota is on the west coast of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico.  It is a beautiful city and the weather is wonderful.  It is very sunny and it was not easy for them to take pictures of me outside—too much sun—but we tried.

We drove past the stadium where the Baltimore Orioles baseball team has its spring training.  We could not go inside since it is closed for the winter.

Sarasota has its own opera house, symphony orchestra, a repertory theater group (one of 3 in the country), performing arts center, the Ringling Art Museum, and many more things—I could see something everyday .

The schools are very good—there are several private schools and  New College which is very well known.

I hope that you have enjoyed hearing about my adventure. Bye for now!