Julia - I'm Back from Canada!

Hi Julia!

Alec and Ashley took me to Whistler this weekend on a ski trip with some of their friends.   I got to go on an airplane, visit the cockpit and meet the pilot! 

Can you believe it?!?!  I'm in the cockpit of an airplane!

I even got to meet the pilot of the airplane!  Look at the wings on the jacket!  

Look at those Olympic rings!
Did you know the Olympics were held here in British Columbia, Canada in 2010?

I went skiing, Julia!  It was so much fun!  

Aidan - Flat Stanley Visits USCGC Seneca in Boston!

Flat Stanley had the privilege of spending some time on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca out of Boston, Massachusetts.  Aidan's dad works on the ship.  The ship patrols the waters along the Eastern seaboard, and even travels to South America.  The USCGC Seneca's homeport is Boston, located in the historic North End.  You can see the Boston skyline from the ship.  The TD Bank Garden isn't far away either.  That is where the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins play.  

Flat Stanley on USCGC Seneca.  Can you see the Boston skyline in the distance?

Can you see the Boston sign on the right?  That is the Sector Boston office.  Notice the mast on top of the building?

I wasn't far away from the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument.  Can you see it?  Nicknamed "Old Ironsides" the USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. The Bunker Hill Monument was built to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major conflict between British and Patriot forces in the American Revolutionary War, fought there June 17, 1775.

USCGC SENECA was built in Newport, Rhode Island. The keel was laid on September 16, 1982 and the vessel was launched June 16, 1984. She was commissioned active on August 4, 1986 and formally commissioned on May 9, 1987.  

SENECA is the sixth of thirteen 270' Famous Class Cutters in the Coast Guard. The primary mission of the Seneca is Search and Rescue (SAR), Maritime Law Enforcement (MLE) and Counter Drug. Since 2000, SENECA has intercepted over 100 millions dollars worth of narcotics, saved over 1.5 million dollars worth of property, and saved over 200 lives.  How cool is that?!?! 

Flat Stanley is at the helm of the Seneca.  This is where the ship controlled.  Look at all those levers and buttons!

Captain for a day!  Woo hoo!

Julia - Crab is so Good!

Hi Julia!

Alec and Ashley took me to a crab feed this weekend and it was delicious!   I was scared I might be allergic to shellfish but luckily I am not.   It was hard to pick the meat out of the shells with my flat little hands but I got lots of help from my many new friends.

Everyone is so nice in Oakland!

This weekend we are headed to Canada for some skiing.   I can't wait to get on an airplane!!!

Love you,
Flat Stanley

No one told me crab was this good!  

Julia - California is Awesome!

Hi Julia!  

I wanted to let you know that I arrived safe and sound in Oakland, California this past weekend.  Alec and Ashley had never heard about Flat Stanley before - isn't that hilarious? They have an adorable dog named Dave and we are already great buddies. Their cats I'm not so sure about . . .

Miss you!
Flat Stanley

Safe and sound in Oakland, California!

Dave and Flat Stanley are already best buddies!

Elizabeth - Flat Stanley travels down to Long Beach, California!

Dear Class,

I live in a city called Long Beach, it's 45 minutes south of Los Angeles and has so much to do and see! I was happy to get Flat Stanley in the mail so I could show him around some of my favorite spots. We drove down to the ocean to see the Queen Mary, which is a big ocean liner that operated over 50 years ago and now sits at the dock in Long Beach permanently. It was one of the most beautiful and popular ships of its day. We even went on and got to tour all the cool parts of the ship! Next door to the Queen Mary there is the Long Beach Aquarium. Flat Stanley and I had fun looking at all the cool fish. There is a whole section for Tropical fish from the Pacific Ocean, which is the ocean that California boarders. We got to see Sea Dragons, Lionfish, Sea Turtle, and did you know there was something called a Clownfish? Flat Stanley and I thought that was funny. Oh, and there is also a shark lagoon, which has sharks and sting rays. You can actually touch the sting rays! That was pretty cool and Flat Stanley and I really liked it.

After we did that, I had to go to work and I brought Flat Stanley along. I am a police officer and I work at night. I drive around, make sure everyone is safe and obeying the rules. Flat Stanley was a great partner! He helped me look for people that may be in trouble or need help. This is a picture of us together at the police department that I work out of. 

Best,
Marc

Spending time at the Police Department was so much fun!

Elizabeth - Flat Stanley arrived in Hollywood, California!

Dear Elizabeth,

I am so excited that Flat Stanley came to visit! We had such a great time. I live just north of Los Angeles, in an area nicknamed "The Valley." There is a big mountain range that separates where I live from Los Angeles, I took Flat Stanley to that mountain for a hike and to see the beautiful downtown city. The lights at night are fabulous! Flat Stanley liked seeing the famous "Hollywood" sign (see our picture!). He was very surprised that it is warm here, even in the winter. But you know, it was the warmest that it has been in 100 years when Flat Stanley arrived!!! We took advantage and drove down Rodeo Drive, which has lots of fancy stores. It was fun to see. Did you know that street has been featured in a lot of movies? Afterward, we went to the beach. Flat Stanley really liked the Santa Monica Pier. there was so much to see and do! We went on some carnival rides (he enjoyed the carousel), listened to some music playing, watched people fish and stuck our toes in the sand.

I wish Flat Stanley could have stayed longer, but he has a busy schedule and is on to the next destination...

Love you!
Aunt Kim

Hollywood, California!  I'm famous!

Aidan - Flat Stanley visited Cape Cod, Massachusetts!

We do not have many family members so when Aidan's teacher told us about the Flat Stanley project I got nervous.  I was worried that his Flat Stanley would not have the opportunity to visit many places.  I decided to post the project on my Facebook page, as well as the Coast Guard Spouse page I belong to (Aidan's dad is in the Coast Guard).  I was so overwhelmed with the responses!  I am truly thankful to our friends and family.  Most importantly, I'm so grateful to our Coast Guard family for coming forward and volunteering their time to help with this project.  

Flat Stanley in Mashpee, Massachusetts spending time with the Macintire Family. 

Flat Stanley visited Mashapee, Massachusetts and spent time with the Macintire Family. Mashpee is one of only 15 towns on beautiful Cape Cod, about 60 miles from Boston, the capital of Massachusetts.

Cape Cod is a cape jutting out in the eastern part of Massachusetts in the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Cod is an island separated from the mainland by the Cape Cod Canal. To get to the cape you have to go over one of three bridges, the Bourne Bridge, the Sagamore Bridge or the Cape Cod Railroad Bridge. The cape is a peninsula with two smaller islands in it's region, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The only way to get to those islands are by ferry or plane. The Macintire Family has been to both and they are very pretty and have some of the most beautiful beaches.

We cannot thank the Macintire Family enough for their time and hospitality! What an amazing family!  

This is the Bourne Bridge, one of the three bridges that connect Cape Cod to the mainland of Massachusetts. It was built in 1933 and was opened to traffic in 1935. It is 2,384 feet long and is always open unless the the winds are 70 miles and hour then it may be closed for safety reasons. The water under the bridge is the Cape Cod Canal. Lost of boats and ships use the canal everyday.  He couldn't believe how big it was!

This is one of the Macintire Family's favorite beach, Old Silver Beach in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
If you ever come to Cape Cod you need to come to this beach!  In the summer the water is really warm and there are great waves!

Flat Stanley had a great time at Old Silver Beach!

Flat Stanley visited the Woods Hole Science Aquarium, the Macintire Family's granddaughters favorite place to go to when she visits. There are about 140 species of marine animals that are found in the Northeast and Atlantic Ocean. 

This fish looked kind of cool and I think he was checking out Flat Stanley to see if he could eat him. Luckily, Flat Stanley was on the out side of the tank.

This rock Flat Stanley is sanding in front of is at the finish line of one of most popular road races in Massachusetts, The Falmouth Road Race. It is a 7 mile race that starts in Woods Hole by the aquarium and ends in Falmouth at the Falmouth Heights Beach. The race started in 1972 by a couple of friends and has grown over 41 years to one of the most popular races. Now over 10,000 runners run in it every summer in August. The Macintire Family has participated in this race twice.  Over the years some of the best American and international runners, including past and future Olympic athletes have run this race. 

Flat Stanley enjoyed Falmouth Heights Beach!

If you look way out in the ocean you can see Martha's Vineyard.

It wouldn't be a trip to Cape Cod without stopping by a lighthouse . This is Nobska Lighthouse, in Woods Hole.  It was built in 1876. The Commander of the US Coast Guard Sector of Southeastern New England lives in the lighthouse keepers house. How cool is that!

Flat Stanley looks really small in front of the lighthouse!

The Macintire Family is so fantastic!  Not only did they show Flat Stanley all around Cape Cod, they put a Patriots shirt on him and took him to Gillette Stadium! It was the playoff day and even though the Patriots didn't win they thought they would bring Flat Stanley and show him the stadium. Flat Stanley thought the stadium was pretty cool and was happy to see where Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots played. 

Foxboro is about an hour ride from Mashpee. Gillette stadium has 68,756 seats for football games. The New England Revolution soccer team also play their home games at Gillette Stadium. 

Flat Stanley had so much fun at Gillette Stadium!

Aidan - Flat Stanley has arrived in San Diego, California!

Flat Stanley arrived in San Diego, California, earlier this week.  The weather was beautiful and warm.  A far cry from the cold and snow going on at home in Maine.  

A very special thank you to Grandma & Grandpa Munsell for taking such good care of Stanley!

Flat Stanley visited Point Loma, known for its tuna fishing fleet.

Point Loma is also home to several military installations.  You can see Stanley in front of the USS Midway, along with a Japanese Cherry Blossom tree (a gift from the Japanese to the residents of San Diego).  

Flat Stanley in front of the "Unconditional Surrender" statue in Point Loma,  resembling the infamous photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, V–J day in Times Square. The kissing was a bit much for Flat Stanley but he was amazed at how big the statue was!  Wow!

Stanley also had time to stop in front of the "National Salute to Bob Hope & the Military" statues in Point Loma.  He thought they were so cool!   

Flat Stanley had to stop and take in the gorgeous view across San Diego Bay!  He can't believe how different the West Coast is compared to the East Coast!  Where is the cold and snow?!