Flat Stanley

Saying goodbye

So, I had to say goodbye to Uncle Chris and Auntie Robin today.  Auntie Robin put me back in an envelope and mailed me back to Katie....it is a lot more compact than when we flew to Seattle, but I guess they are just trying to save some money to get me home.  I had a really nice visit and really had a great time in Charlotte and Seattle. I hope I can come back soon to Charlotte and bring Katie with me and show her all the fun things that I did.

P.S. - It is really hard to write this last entry in the blog from inside the envelope, but the good thing is that Uncle Chris taught me how to type, so I could do it!!!!!  He says I have mad skills!!!!!

Hiking in Washington Park

We are still enjoying Seattle. Today we went hiking in Washington Park. It was so beautiful and didn't even rain at all! Robin says it is 98 degrees at home in Charlotte right now, and that we came to Seattle to enjoy the rain and cold, but I thought it was perfect! We hiked along the seashore and saw many tidepools filled with amazing creatures. We also hiked through the forest, where we saw many madrona trees and sword ferns.

For part of the hike, we walked on this trail, which was easy. But for another part of the hike, we climbed over boulders along the shore, covered with moss and kelp, which was very slippery and scary.

We had this lovely view of Mt. Baker, which still has snow on it! In June! We didn't hike to it, but I think even Robin would get cold on that mountain!

We found many amazing creatures in the tidepools, including this little tiny starfish.

We also found a baby eel in this tidepool. Can you find him?

Doug is holding a hermit crab, here. These crabs use shells they find as houses, and carry them on their backs until they outgrow them. Then they have to find new shells for protection.

Laura found a banana slug in the forest. Banana slugs are great big yellow slugs found in the Pacific Northwest forests. When Laura went to school at University of California, at Santa Cruz, her school mascot was a banana slug, so she was very excited to find one. 

The girls climbed this tree for a photo. But the boys played it safe, on the forest floor. On the top is Doug's niece, Issa. Then Laura and Robin.

When we finished our hike, we had to go to a grocery store to get lots of drinks and snacks, since everyone was so hungry and thirsty. Then we drove back to Doug and Laura's house to meet Doug's parents, who were very nice. Finally, we got a proper dinner at a beautiful little cafe near the house, called "Urban Market." I got a chicken salad sandwich, with curry sauce and cranberries! Yum! 

Tomorrow morning, we are flying all the way back from Seattle to Charlotte, then Auntie Robin says my visit is nearly over, and she will send me back to you, in Massachusetts! She looked sad, but its okay. I am having so much fun, but I am missing you and ready to come back home, now. I will see you soon!!!

The Mariner's Game

When we arrived in Seattle, we got some dinner, then drove to Laura and Doug's house in north western Seattle. Laura is Robin's sister, who lives there. Auntie Robin said you would remember Laura from the wedding last year.

We've been doing many fun things on our visit. We went to a play called "Brownie Points" and ate weird flavors of ice cream (I chose honey lavender! It was delicious!) I went with Uncle Chris to a baseball card show (he bought 22 baseball cards for his collection. This made Auntie Robin roll her eyes.)

But today was the best thing yet! Today Uncle Chris, Auntie Robin, Laura and Doug (Laura's boyfriend) and I all went to a Mariner's Game! The Mariner's are the Seattle baseball team. The Mariners lost to Tampa Bay, but it was still so much fun. We ate garlic french fries! Can you believe that? Actual garlic covered the french fries! I also ate a hot dog, and Uncle Chris got himself another plastic baseball cup, which made Robin sigh, but he seemed pretty pleased with himself.

Uncle Chris let me ride on his shoulders the whole way to the game, after we parked the car! Here I am with him and Laura. I bet he got tired of holding me on his shoulders the whole way!

Here we are in front of the field! We are almost there!

This is my seat. Doug got us really close seats, that were right behind home plate, and about 8 rows off of the field! I thought they were great but Auntie Robin kept ducking each time a fly ball came our way.

This is what I'd look like if I were a Mariner player on the field.

I was almost as famous as some of the players, because many people at the game knew exactly who I was! I made friends with the people behind us, who seemed to know a cousin of mine.

Nobody is as famous as the Mariner's Moose. I couldn't believe my luck when I got to meet him after the game!

Flying Across the United States

Today I flew across the entire United States of America! We took Dallas to a boarding kennel, where they let her play with other dogs and feed her, while we were gone. Then we drove to the airport parking lot. There we took a shuttle to the airport. Then we flew from Charlotte, North Carolina all the way to Seattle, Washington. Can you find these places on a map? Because I did, and they are FAR. We sat on the airplane FOREVER. I fell asleep. But when I woke up, we were high above the clouds, and I loved watching those clouds below us. They looked like cotton candy you could just step out onto. But I didn't try that.

We always bucked up our seat belts on the airplane.

Here I am looking out the window at 35,000 feet above the ground.....that is really high up in the air.

Memorial Day Boating

Did you know that there is a lake in Auntie Robin's and Uncle Chris' backyard? For Memorial Day Weekend, we took a boat out onto it! It was great fun! We were joined by their neighbors, and everyone went swimming and just had a grand time! We ate appetizers and drank juice.

Look at me driving the boat!

Can you see me right in the middle of the group?

Just chilling on the boat.

Ed was driving and sometimes he went fast! Uncle Chris had to hold on to me tight, to make sure I didn't fly out of the boat!

Here we are swimming, but you can't see me, because I just dove underwater!

Golfing Stanley

What a great weekend I had with Uncle Chris and all of his friends out at the golf club.  Uncle Chris took me to play in the Memorial Day Golf Tournament (3 days long with a lot of Gatorade and sunshine).  Uncle Chris was supposed to be a good golfer (he has a 10 handicap), but honestly, he didn't play very well.  I shot 5 strokes better than him each day and he hit a lot of golf balls into the sand bunkers all over the course.  We ended up coming in last place in the Tournament, but we still had a really good time.  I really look forward to coming back to Charlotte and playing more golf with Uncle Chris and his friends (but maybe later after Uncle Chris has more time to practice and get better).

Here is a picture of me and Uncle Chris on the practice putting green right before the 18 holes we played in the Memorial Day Tournament.  We didn't do really well (we came in last) and Uncle Chris said we should have spent more time on the practice green.

Here is a picture of me right next to the hole.  I was so tired of all the practice, I had to ask Uncle Chris to hold my golf clubs.

Here is a picture of me and Uncle Chris with the driving range in the background....again, we should have practiced more, based on how we actually played.

Here we are just after hitting a shot out of the sand bunker.....needless to say, we spent a lot of time in the sand this weekend.....Uncle Chris said something about seeing less sand at the Jersey Shore than he did playing golf this weekend....I am not totally sure I know what he was talking about!!!!!!

Finally, a picture of us finishing on the 18th hole and coming in last place in the tournament...between you and me, I played a lot better than Uncle Chris.  But the tournament was still a lot of fun with Uncle Chris and the weather was great!!!!!

Here is a picture of me with the club house of Uncle Chris' golf club (Carolina Golf Club).  It is really nice and more importantly, air conditioned......it was really hot out on the golf course, that is why I wore my hawaiian shirt for the tournament.

Here is a picture of Uncle Chris and I looking over the golf course from the back porch at the golf club.  It is a beautiful course and has a great view of Uptown Charlotte.

Here was the best part of the weekend, having a nice cold soda and sitting in the rocking chair looking out over the golf course after a long day of golf.

Visiting Uncle Chris at Work

Uncle Chris took me to work with him today.  I had no idea that he worked in such a tall building.  But it is so cool, Uncle Chris has an office to work in.  It is not as big as Greg's, but it is still nice.  The really cool part is that he is close to a bunch of windows that you can stare out of all day.......and I kind of think that is what Uncle Chris does most of the time.  Beyond that, he has some really nice friends and they were all very nice to me.  I was able to watch Antonia work....she is a very hard worker and can type really fast.  She was the person that helped Uncle Chris and Aunt Robin find their puppy, Dallas.  I have to tell you, Uncle Chris spends a lot of time at work - it turned out to be a really long day.   We had to get up at 6:00 am to take Dallas for a walk and by 7:30 am we were out the door and on the way to work.  We arrived at 8:00 am and didn't leave until about 6:30 pm and we only stopped for lunch at 12:00 noon.  The good news is that Uncle Chris bought me a hamburger and soda. 

Here is me next to the picture of the Notre Dame football stadium in Uncle Chris' office

So, I had to watch Antonia (the one that types really fast) to learn how to type.  Uncle Chris said I was going to have to earn my keep and do his typing for him today.

As you can see, Antonia and I became close friends.

So after I learned to type, Uncle Chris made me type up all of his emails and his documents for the day.  As you can see, he gave me a small snack of an apple to keep me full of energy.

These are the windows that I was telling you about....Uncle Chris often talks about jumping out of them, but I think he is just joking!!!!!

Here is a picture with me and all of Uncle Chris' friends at work.  I am standing right in front of Uncle Chris' boss.  It was a really fun meeting, but they were all so serious and talking about banking the whole time.

Here is a picture I took of Uncle Chris when I snuck across to the Ritz Carlton and took a quick nap....and when I woke up, I saw Uncle Chris standing at the window calling my cell phone wondering where I was...oops!!!!!