Jenna - Flat Stanley Visits Texas!

Flat Stanley had a lot of fun visiting the great state of Texas!  

Scarlett thought we should put boots and a cowboy hat on Flat Stanley!

Flat Stanley helped Aunt Pennie garden.  Can you see the snap peas in this picture?

Flat Stanley visited Aunt Pennie at work and helped her with two projects.  The first project is called Our Daily Bread.  Panera Bread gives us all of their leftover bread from the weekend and we bag it up on Monday mornings.  We send it out to food pantries to help feed the hungry.  It was a lot of fun to help with this wonderful project!

Flat Stanley also helped with a snack project that goes to help feed hungry kids. 

Flat Stanley went to our City Hall.  

Flat Stanley in front of the statue of Stephen F. Austin and Uncle Tom. 

Flat Stanley went to the Skeeters Ball Park and took a picture in front of the official team car!

Flat Stanley went to Houston with us for dinner.  He met my blind friend Jessica who sings at the restaurant.  Her voice is beautiful!

Flat Stanley visited the Imperial Sugar Factory.  It was so sweet!

Aidan - Flat Stanley Visits Germany!

Flat Stanley had the most amazing time visiting Germany!  He got to see some really cool places!

Camryn - Flat Stanley Visits Florida!

Flat Stanley arrived from my sister's house in New Mexico.  The first place we had to go to was the beach!  This is the "Emerald Coast" because the water is so clear on sunny days.  The white sandy beaches also have what is called "singing sand" because it squeaks when you walk.  

Flat Stanley had a great time in Florida!

Hillary - Flat Stanley Visits Wolfe Neck State Park in Freeport, Maine!

Flat Stanley enjoyed a beautiful day at Wolfe Neck State Park in Freeport, Maine!

Camryn - Flat Stanley Visits Florida!

Hello from the panhandle of Florida!

I'm Elithe and my sister Marchell sent me Camryn's Flat Stanley for one last trip before he heads back to your classroom this week.

I live on the Panhandle of Florida in the town of Destin.  It's a small little fishing village that has grown to be a popular Spring Break destination due to the beautiful white sandy beaches and emerald green water.  That's actually a nickname for this area: Emerald Coast.  Destin was settled in 1845 by Captain Leonard Destin who is a fisherman from New London, Connecticut but had been home to area Native American tribes for years.  Additionally, a little know fact about this area of Florida is that this actually home to the earliest European settlement!  The town west of here, Pensacola was settled by the Spanish in 1559!

"In August 1559, Spanish explorer Tristán de Luna sailed into what would one day be known as Pensacola Bay. (A local tribe called the region Panzacola, perhaps meaning "long-haired people," as the indigenous inhabitants may have been known.) Spain's viceroy of Mexico, Luis de Velasco, had charged Luna with establishing a settlement on the bay, reconnoitered by Spanish navigators the previous year. Nearly a century later, Mexican scholar Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora would describe Pensacola's natural harbor as "the finest jewel possessed by His Majesty...not only here in America but in all his kingdom."

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/harboring-history-in-pensacola-125617869/#QEFUqKW6I9hUescS.99

That event was 6 years before St Augustine was settled on the east coast of Florida, and reason it didn't survive is because only weeks after settling in Pensacola Bay a hurricane blew through and destroyed all but 3 of Luna's ships!

I hope Flat Stanley had a great time while here and he's on his way back to Maine for your celebration!

Aidan - Flat Stanley Visits New Orleans, Louisiana!

Flat Stanley had a great time in New Orleans.  He was able to see a real Mardi Gras Parade.  Flat Stanley got to sit in a ladder especially for kids so that they can see all the floats as they go by.  The Coast Guard even had a float in the parade!

New Orleans is such a neat city.  The buildings have so much history and are so unique.  Flat Stanley rode in a street car, visited an old cemetery, visited St. Louis Cathedral (the oldest church in the U.S.), and Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans.  He even got to make a quick stop at the Coast Guard Station and see a helicopter!

Flat Stanley had a lot of fun visiting New Orleans!

Hillary - Flat Stanley Visits Florida!

Flat Stanley took a trip over to Universal Studios Park in Orlando.  Flat Stanley had a fun time there.  The weather was 80 degrees outside that day.  It was 10 degrees in Maine.  The weather is very different in Florida than it is in Maine.  

Flat Stanley met Scooby-Doo and Sponge Bob when visiting Universal Studios.  Scooby-Doo and Sponge Bob gave Flat Stanley treats from Universal Studios to share with the classroom.  

Flat Stanley went to play and visit Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida for his birthday.  Flat Stanley loved the Space Mountain Ride.  Flat Stanley is now thinking about being an astronaut when he grows up!

Flat Stanley got to visit a USSSA Fastpitch Tournament, training for the World Series.  Flat Stanley did a great job on the field.  He also trained with an all-star baseball team!  

During Flat Stanley's travels he also visited Key West and Daytona.  Key West has so many fun activities like jet skiing, surfing and fishing.  The water is so beautiful and really blue!  In Daytona Flat Stanley got to see the NASCAR Daytona 500 race.  There are beautiful palm trees near Daytona Beach.  You can even see the Goodyear Blimp high up in the sky over the Daytona International Speedway.