Before moving to Florida, I had visited the state a handful of times. On one of my first trips to the state I made my way down to the Sarasota area on the gulf side and went to the Sarasota Jungle Gardens. This was the first time in my life I ever got to see a flamingo in person. I was so excited! And then when I learned that I could feed the flamingos and be right there with them my excitement just skyrocketed. While flamingos can be found all over Florida and for most people it would be no big deal to see one, for a girl from Utah this was the closest thing I had experienced to an exotic animal encounter. The gardens themselves are beautiful and a great way to spend a day. Listen to the parrots carry on their conversation and watch the turtles lazily drift around the water. It makes for a perfectly lovely day.