Letter #258 from Florida

Letter #258 comes from Michelle in Florida.She says she just had a birthday in May...so did I,but we won't reveal our ages. ;) She's been living in Florida the past six years and lived in Illinois previously,in a suburb west (about 30 min) of Chicago.Chicago was one of our fave places to visit when we lived in Michigan,so we went quite a few times,it's a great city,but too much traffic,but you still gotta love it!She used to work at the Art Museum in downtown Chicago and told us about how the workers would eat lunch at the park and the squirrels would come and take food from your hand.She once even fed them a powdered donut...wonder how he liked all that sugar? :) Now she lives in a small town,right across the river from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.She could even see the shuttle and rocket launches from her backyard!That must have been pretty amazing to see and to not even have to leave home...prefect!Unfortunately,we have seen the last space shuttle launch so a lot of people in the area have lost their jobs.Michelle works as a guidance counselor for  a jr./sr. high school in the area and has seen the enrollment go down because of the loss of jobs.

Michelle's town is also near the ocean and is also about a 20 minute drive from Port Canaveral where the Disney Cruise ship and other ships go out to sea.Next to Port Canaveral is Cocoa Beach (reminds me of I Dream of Jeannie),where tourists like to visit.

Unfortunately her town was only busy during the space shuttle launches,people would line the streets along the river to watch the take-offs,like people waiting to see a parade.She also lives 40 minutes east of Walt Disney World,Sea World and Universal Studios.She recently went to Sea World during her summer break.She hoped to sit in the splash zone where Shamu splashes,but there was no room.She enjoys seeing the Florida Manatee and touching the sting rays and dolphins.

She also told us that the area she lives in doesn't usually get hit by hurricanes very often,so that is a good thing.She also says that are further from Orlando,so they don't get as much rain as they do there.

Michelle also has four dogs,two goldfish and one small turtle.She enjoys teen books and fishing.Sometimes at the beach,she catches small sharks,but they always throw them back.Thanks Michelle for your lovely letter,which can be seen below:

Letter #199 from Florida

Letter #199 comes from Carmen in Florida.Carmen is 19 years old and lives in Miami,but is from Honduras.She says that even though Miami isn't very big,there is so much to see.There are numerous different cultures living  in that one city.She said there are many Colombian carts and a lot of Cuban food.Even though everyone there loves the beach,she doesn't.

In Miami,it seems that everyone speaks Spanish.Carmen attends a church with many Brazilians.Of course,there are many Cubans there,too since Cuba is only 90 miles away from the lowest point in Florida,the Florida Keys.She says that you can actually see the island from there... I guess that is why so many people make the trek by boat since it is so close.I can't even begin to imagine being on the other side and seeing freedom so close and wanting your family to have a better life.She also noted that Disney is only 4 hours from where she lives.

Thanks Carmen for your lovely letter,which was written on an origami paper that gave directions on how to turn it into a heart. ♡ Her letter can be seen below:

Letter #191 from Florida

Letter #191 comes from Rhonda in Florida.Rhonda was born in Covington,Kentucky, but has lived in Florida since 1981.Her father was in the Marine Corps,so that's what led her family to move to Florida.She has a sister that is a forensic scientist with the FBI.Rhonda works in a nursing home as a nurse's aide.She says that it's a very hard job but she really loves her patients so it's worth it.She says that when you do something you love,the days go by faster.She also said that she still has no idea what she wants to be when she grows up,even though she's in her 30's....it seems like we had so many letters saying the same thing,maybe it's just that we don't have enough confidence in ourselves to just go for what we want since we feel that we have to be realistic and just take any job so we can pay the rent,etc.That's just one of my theories,I could be wrong. :)

Rhonda is a mother to two wonderful children,a son and a daughter.She also says that she loves where she lives because she is close to Disney,so she was able to bring her children to explore such a magical place with them.As she says,most kids never get to experience Disney,so her kids are quite fortunate.

She also mentioned that the part of Florida she lives in isn't like what you see on tv or in the movies.The beaches there are not filled with clear,blue water and white sand.They also have more pine trees than palm trees.The town she lives in is a very large military town.

She also told us that she is a huge fan of history,early American History,to be specific and would love to visit our state since it is rich in history.We live in the southwestern part of the state,but hope to explore out east and see all the historical places that our state has.Also,if you ever come to our state,you must see the Blue Ridge Parkway,we haven't been on it yet,but have seen pictures and it's a beautiful drive that one must take when in Virginia!

Thanks Rhonda for your lovely letter,which can be seen below:

Letter #125 from Florida

Letter #125 comes from Ethan in Florida.Ethan is a 9th grader and is on the school's swim team and tennis team.He is also in the marching band because of his love for music.It seems that Ethan is quite a busy guy.

He says that it is finally warming up enough that he can get out to the beach,which he says is a blast.On his last visit to the beach,he said he swam out to the sand bar and caught tons of sand dollars.He was also able to see a few dolphins while out.Unfortunately,he left with a sunburn,which in the end left him with a tanned chest and a white back. ;)

He also said that the weather has been quite crazy lately (here,too),with it raining one day,cool the next and then tornadoes and then hot weather.He never knows how to prepare for the weather because it's so different every day.But now the weather has been amazing and his math teacher even let them do their work outside,although Ethan was wishing he was at the beach,but at least he was outside.I loved when our teachers would rarely let us go outside to do our work,it was always nice to get some fresh air after being cooped up in the old classrooms.

Thanks Ethan for your lovely letter...hopefully you don't get anymore tornadoes or bad weather.You can see his letter below:

Letter #119 from Florida

Letter #119 comes from Erika in Florida,the "Sunshine State".Erika is a mother to three wonderful boys.She has lived in Tampa all of her life.She lives close to the original site of Fort Brooke.She also shared some facts with us about her area that I will list below:

•They are the thunderstorm capital of the world.
•Even though they are located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico,she says that they haven't seen any negative impacts from the BP oil spill.
•The population of the "Greater Tampa Bay Area" is close to 4 million people!
•Tampa grew to become the metropolitan area that it is today through exporting phosphate and cigars.Vicente Martinez Ybor moved his cigar factory there from Key West after Henry B. Plant expanded the railroad to inlcude Tampa.His legacy lives on today in Ybor City,which is a cultural center for Cuban-Americans.
•Henry B. Plant also built a luxury hotel there,which has been restored and converted to the University of Tampa.It is done in a Moorish style with silver minarets with crescent moons.She says it is very pretty.

Erika grew up on Davis Islands,which is a man-made archipelago of three islands that was created from back-filling two natural land masses.Today the islands have been reduced from three to two because the canal between the last two islands were filled in to make a runway for Peter O. Knight Municipa Airport.The islands were even featured on the show "Extreme Home Makeover" because an airplane crashed into the house of the popular pizzeria (Tates Brothers) owner's  house.

She has said that in the last ten years, the city has changed so much.It has gone from a small town vibe to a "fancy pants" area.

Thanks Erika for your lovely letter,which can be seen below:

Letter #63 from Florida

Letter #63 comes from Sarah in Florida.Sarah works as a librarian (yes,another librarian has written to us). :) The city she lives in in called Sarasota and is known for three things:tourism,banking and philanthropy.She says that Sarasota is popular with retirees who come down south during the winter from New England and the Midwest.They like to call them "snowbirds" since they arrive during the first snow of the season.A lot of people in her area also hold fundraisers and work for charities to raise money.

She is a librarian at the local college and says that her college educates artists and designers who will spend their careers making movies,doing photography and illustrating books.Some of their graduates work for Pixar and have helped make movies,such as Toy Story 3.

When Sarah is not working,she is reading books (why am I not surprised?).Her favorite book to read when she was younger was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We loved watching the old and new movie of it.She asked for our favorite books.I don't think I really had a favorite book,but when I was a teenager,I enjoyed reading Stephen King's books.I'll have to ask the girls if they have a favorite book,but I think they will have a hard time with coming up with just one book. :)

Thanks Sarah for your letter and she has also enclosed a paper featuring Ringling's College of Art and Design,which must be where Sarah works.You can see her letter and brochure below: