It was an ordinary day. Just finished printing a summary of "Flat Stanley's" adventures in St. Martin and printing photos to go with the summary. About a month ago my granddaughter Camille, who lives in Urbana, Maryland, asked her Amah and Tampah if we would take Flat Stanley on vacation with us. Seems her first grade class was studying maps and globes and during the unit they read Flat Stanley and how Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. In the story, Stanley is folded up, put in an envelope andmailed to visit a friend in California. In our case, Stanley, who Camille cut out of paper and colored, was mailed to us to take on our vacation. After we documented his journey, we will take the photos and a short summary of the trip, and mail it back to the school so the teacher can help Camille's class record his trip on a big map in the hallway. They will display the notes with the photos. Well, Flat Stanley had one heck of an adventure. He first had to show his passport as he went through security at the airport. Bring so skinny and small he didn't have to pay for his flight and did get to sit by a window in the plane to St. Martin. Didn't even get motion sickness. First full day on the island he got to have breakfast with Amah and Tampah and friends Barry and Karen at Bon Appetit Restaurant. Even managed to drink a glass of orange juice. Then it was off to Pinel island on the ferry. The ferry driver told us he didn't have to pay for the ride if he could sit on somebody's lap. No problem! While there we played on the beach with him and buried him in the sand. He also got to sit in a tree in the gift shop and watch the sugar birds as they ate sugar from the feeders. The next day he had his photo taken at the monument that divides the French side from the Dutch side of St. Martin before heading to the Butterfly Farm. Stanley got to sit in the hatching box at the Butterfly Farm and watch the butterflies emerge from the cocoons. His favorite butterfly was the one that had orange and black on it's wings. As we were leaving the farm, Stanley had a small mishap. A coconut fell from a tree and rolled toward him. Lucky for him that he is so flat that the coconut rolled right over him. A final trip to Friar's Beach gave Flat Stanley a chance to work on his tan. He didget to swim in the Caribbean Sea, but preferred laying under his blue umbrella for most of the day. Flat Stanley is home now and preparing for his return to Camille's classroom. He looks pretty much the same as when he left except for the sand that he still has on his feet. Should be a fun time for Camille and her classmates when he arrives at Centerville Elementary School in Frederick, Maryland and her teacher reads about his adventuresand looks at all the photos of Stanley and his fantastic time with Amah and Tampah. We enjoyed Stanley immensely and he was very well behaved the entire trip. Camille did a wonderful job of creating Flat Stanley. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - below are photos for Flat Stanley as he visited St. Martin/Sint Maarten
Flat Stanley is showing his passport to the security guards
Flat Stanley got to ride with me on the plane to St. Martin and look out the window
Flat Stanley had a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast
Flat Stanley's friends help him on the ferry ride to Pinel Island
Flat Stanley enjoyed being buried in the sand on Pinel Island
Flat Stanley climbed the Sea grape tree to get a better view of the Sugar Birds
Flat Stanley at the border between the French and Dutch sides of St. Martin
Flat Stanley waiting for a cocoon to open at the Butterfly Farm
Flat Stanley admiring one of his favorite colored butterflies
Stanley becoming a little flatter after the coconut rolled over him
Flat Stanley catching some rays on Friar's Beach
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