Travel Adventures with Flat Stanley, Part 1

Our niece, Justina, sent us a letter in October as a class project for Mrs. Petsche’s third grade in Harlan, Iowa. 

The class read Flat StanleyFlat Stanley (picture book edition), a book by Jeff Brown. In the book, Stanley is flattened by a falling bulletin board, allowing him to travel by mail (and in our carry-on bag.)

Mrs. Petsche’s third grade used Flat Stanley to learn how to write letters. In her letter to us, Justina enclosed a flattened “Stanley“.  We were asked to show Flat Stanley interesting places, and take pictures of him.  Then we were to send a letter back, with photos of our adventures with Flat Stanley.

We have kept Flat Stanley long past the two week deadline.  We thought he would want to accompany us on our November and early December travels from Canada to South America, and to visit another third grader in Odessa, Texas.  

In late December, Justina called.  Flat Stanley must be returned soon.  “Okay,” we said.  But then, we were sailing on the New Year’s cruise aboard Holland America’s newest ship – the Nieuw Amsterdam.  And we couldn’t leave Stanley at home.

Tomorrow, Stanley will be taking one last trip, this time in an envelope, to Harlan, Iowa.  He will be mailed back to Justina’s third grade class.

And since we’ve kept the guy so long, we thought a photo recap of where he’s been might help mitigate Flat Stanley’s late return to Mrs. Petsche’s third grade.  We hear the class is tracing Stanley’s travels on a map, and computing the miles he traveled.

A Connection through Toronto

First stop for Flat Stanley was Toronto’s Pearson airport, where he down a couple of maple cremes and tried to say “Eh” like a Canadian.  This was a connection point for a flight to Santiago, Chile.

Flat Stanley Loves Seeing His Route

On the Air Canada flight, video monitors trace the plane’s route from Toronto to Santiago. Flat Stanley liked watching the flight’s progress.

A Room with a View

While he did not like the glare, Flat Stanley loved the view of the Andes Mountains from his room on the 23rd floor of the Santiago Marriott.

A city view of Santiago

Cerro San Cristíbal is a hill in Santiago, Chile nearly 1,000 feet above the rest of the city.  After riding up a step tram, Flat Stanley got great views of the city, and rested in an outdoor church with an amphitheater.

Click here to continue to Part 2 of Flat Stanley’s Travel Adventures.

Have you ever taken Flat Stanley along on your travels? 

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