Travelog for: Bear Me to U

Hello!! My name is Bear Me to U. I live with Oksana in Novosibirsk. I've always been dreaming about traveling! And today my dream will come true! Oksana says that I'm going to the USA, Miami (in Florida) I feel so-o excited! I've never traveled so far! I feel scared a bit But Oksana says that everything will be fine and that I will like being with Carlissa in Miami.
Wish me a nice journey!

I arrived in Miami, Florida today!  I was met by Carlissa at the Post Office and she took me home with her.  I spent the afternoon chatting with Prince Charming the bear and Henry the Adventure Hound.  Prince Charming lives with Carlissa and Henry is visiting, just like me!

Here is a picture of us together:

This morning Carlissa told me that she would take us (Prince Charming, Henry the Adventure Hound & me) to the beach today!  She and her daughter had some errands to run in the morning, so we chatted quietly in the back seat while they released some Bookcrossing books around town.  Then we stopped for lunch at Wendy's.  After lunch, Carlissa took her daughter home, and we went to Matheson Hammock County Park. 

We were all thirsty after all the talking we did in the car, so we shared a cup of bo bo tea:


After we finished our tea, we went to see the lake:


And we saw a big lizard while we were at the lake!


We went to the beach next.

Here I am playing in the sand:


And here I am sitting on some boulders with Biscayne Bay and the city of Miami in the background:

Today, we went downtown to a book sale at the library.  While Carlissa and her daughter browsed the books for sale, Henry the Adventure Hound and I played together and we saw a very cool picture that was on the art museum which is next to the library.



After that, we went to have lunch.  When lunch was over, we went for a drive through Coral Gables where we found a sculpture of some very large shoes in the middle of Cartegena Circle.  The shoes must have been for a giant!

Here I am climbing up the shoelaces:

Today I went to Emerald Acres stables where my host's daughter keeps her horse.  I saw lots of horses, dogs, and a pig named Spencer.

Here is Spencer, the pig:


Here is Lucky, the horse:

Today we got up very early and went to the horse show at Tropical Park.  We got there about 5 am.  When we got there, we found out that 4 horses had escaped from their stalls and were wandering around!  We had to call the show manager's daughter to let her know that the horses were loose.  When she got there, I helped to round up the horses and get them back into their stalls.  Such excitement so early in the morning, and the show hasn't even started yet! 

After that, Carlissa's daughter had to get her horse ready for the grooming class, so I went to check out the lake.


After that, I joined Henry the Adventure Hound at the arena to see the riders warming up.


Then we went back to the barn and chatted:

Today was a sad day as I had to say goodbye to Henry the Adventure Hound.  We had lots of fun together!  Henry is continuing his travels around the USA.


I hope we will meet again, my friend!

Tonight my host took me for a drive to see the Christmas lights that are starting to go up around town.  We stopped at one house that had a very big display of Christmas lights and decorations in their yard!

Here is a display of an all animal band with some singing cats:


and the manager:




and here's the camel:

I woke up this morning to a very delicious smell in the air.  My host told me she made banana pancakes, and she made a plate just for me!



Then, tonight there was another smell in the air.  My host told me she brought home the Christmas tree!

I helped to decorate the Christmas tree tonight!  My host put the lights on the tree while I looked through all the ornaments to put on the tree.  I found a drum that I couldn't resist playing:


After the lights were put on the tree, we put the decorations on the tree.  Doesn't it look pretty?

This morning I hung out with a bunch of Santas, Rudolph and his girlfriend and some gingerbread people.


I told Santa I have been a good little bear and I told him what I wanted for Christmas.


Rudolph took me for a ride!


And I hung up my stocking!

It's Christmas and Santa left me a present in my stocking!  I told Santa that I wanted a journal to record my travels in, and that's what I got!


This afternoon, my host was going to the barn to take her horse some carrots for Christmas, but since it was raining, I decided to stay home and take a nap.  All the excitement this morning, opening presents and all, made me tired.

Tonight, I had dinner with Picado.  He arrived yesterday and I invited him to eat Christmas dinner with me.  We had roast pork, sweet potato casserole, baked grits, broccoli au gratin, and egg nog.

Today we went to a Miccosukee festival at their village in the Everglades!  First, we went to a hear a storyteller named Diamond.  He told us that he is an educator and a storyteller.  He told us many facts about the Miccosukee Indians.  Did you know that the Miccosukee are not Indians at all - they are some of the native people of this continent and were here long before Chistopher Columbus sailed here.

Then we walked around to see what was at the festival.  There were many outdoor shops selling things made by the Miccosukee and other Indian tribes.  Since the village is in the Everglades, I also saw some of the wildlife that live here.

Here are some alligators and turtles:


This alligator wanted to eat me, but I wouldn't let him!


Then we went to the museum and saw lots of interesting things.  Here's a mural of village life:


and here I am with a Florida panther:


Back outside, we saw lots of totem poles:




We were getting hungry, so I joined Picado  for lunch.  We had frog legs, alligator, cole slaw and french fries.  I wasn't sure if I would like the frog legs or alligator, but they were very good - they tasted a lot like chicken.


After lunch, we enjoyed watching the dancers and musicians.  Many were in native costumes:

Today we went to the King Mango Strut parade!

We got to the parade early, so Picado and I decided to share some kiwi ice cream.


Yay! The parade is starting!


I enjoyed watching the juggler:

It's New Year's Eve!  Our host said we could stay up until midnight to greet the new year.  We were afraid that we would not be able to stay awake that long, so our host said we could watch a movie to keep us awake.  We decided to watch Life Is Beautiful.  The movie was in Italian, but it had English subtitles.


Here I am with Prince Charming and Picado with the movie we picked out.