Visiting Brooklyn, New York: A Kaleidoscope of Languages and Cultures

Your friend, Flat Stanley-Whitman, came to visit me. I met him in Northport Village, across Long Island Sound from Norwalk, Connecticut. Did he sail across or did he row across the Sound? Either way he was tired after such a long journey – it was about 20 miles!


Northport Village is located in Suffolk County Long Island. Did you know that Long Island is the longest and largest island in the contiguous United States? It is 118 miles long and 23 miles wide at its widest point.


The next day Stanley and I drove to Brooklyn where I work. Technically, Brooklyn is considered to be part of Long Island, but today it is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. We drove through many different neighborhoods, a kaleidoscope of languages and cultures: Caribbean, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Chinese and Orthodox Jewish; each with their own style of dress and customs! Stanley was surprised to see so many different people living close together. How different this was from his home in Farmington, Connecticut!


I work near the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. It was completed in 1883 and has a pedestrian walkway that allows people to walk or cycle across the bridge, high above the East River, from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Walking along the Promenade, we marveled at the Statue of Liberty and the tall buildings on the other side of the river that makeup the beautiful Manhattan skyline. We also sadly remembered the Twin Towers that no longer rise majestically across the way.


Soon it was time to return home. On the way back to East Northport, we stopped by to visit the home of another Whitman: Walt Whitman, the famous American poet who was born on Long Island and wrote poems about the beauty of nature. I wonder if they are somehow related? Perhaps a distant cousin decided to seek his fortune in New York and settled in the west hills of Suffolk County Long Island? Walt Whitman also traveled to Brooklyn and settled there. In fact, he was living in Brooklyn when the Brooklyn Bridge was built! Brooklyn was very different then, mostly farms and orchards.


Stanley was amazed at how the world has changed. And yet, some of the simple pleasures that Stanley, and then Walt Whitman, enjoyed we also enjoy: walking in the woods, listening to the birds, watching the waves along the shore. These are life’s simple pleasures that give us peace and joy. Walt Whitman captured these images beautifully.


Stanley is on his way home now. I hope he enjoyed his visit. I certainly enjoyed showing him where I live and work!
Submitted by Mimi, friend of Adria

Finding Finance and Fun in Chicago!

Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes wholly within the borders of the United States; the others are shared with Canada. The city’s lakefront allure and socially-active arena attracts residents and tourists alike.


Chicago is also a major world financial center, with the second largest central business district in the United States. Manufacturing, printing, publishing and food processing also plays major roles in the city’s economy.


Chicago city lies within the humid continental climate zone, and experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are warm and humid with average daytime high temperatures of 80 to 85 degrees Farenheit and nighttime lows of 61 to 66 degrees Farenheit. Winters are cold, snowy, and windy, with some sunny days, and with temperatures (particularly at night) below freezing. Spring and fall are mild seasons with low humidity.


When Chicago was incorporated in 1837, it chose the motto "Urbs in Horto," a Latin phrase which translates into English as "City in a Garden." Today, the Chicago Park District consists of 552 parks with over 7,300 acres of municipal parkland. There are 33 sand Chicago beaches, a plethora of museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons, and 10 bird and wildlife gardens.


Karthi Narayanaswami & Kalpana Muthusamy, friends of Afzal A.

Vacationing in San Diego from Tampa

Flat Stanley-Whitman joined the Monteiro family (Jack P's aunts and cousins) on a fun trip from Tampa to San Diego. From the pictures you will see that he visited Petco Park (home of the San Diego Padres) where he saw a great baseball game, the San Diego Zoo, home to hundreds of plants and animals, and the Maritime Museum, where he learned about ships and submarines!

The zoo was a lot of fun - the pandas, the koalas and the elephants were the highlights. San Diego Zoo is a "retirement home" for elephants - they have nine elephants ranging in ages from 33 to 56.
The Padres lost to the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park, but it was fun visiting another baseball field - the Tampa Bay Rays indoor, domed stadium - where it was nice to be outside in the sunshine for a game.

The Maritime Museum was also very interesting. We toured ships that had crossed the Atlantic, along with two submarines, one Russian sub and one American sub. I don't think that any of us would have liked living in those cramped quarters.

San Diego has wonderful weather, with an average temperature of 71 degrees, and less then 10 inches of rainfall a year, making it a desert climate. The sun was out (after a little morning fog) every day we were in San Diego, but with a strong breeze from the water, it was a bit chilly every day. We tried to go in the ocean, but the water temperature was only about 62 degrees, which was WAY too cold. We are used to a water temperature of closer to 80 degrees at home at the beaches along Tampa Bay!

We hope that you have enjoyed Flat Stanley Whitman's journey with us.

Aunt Barbara, Aunt Laurie, Nick and Kayla

Spending a Day at the Beach in San Diego, California

San Diego is the 2nd largest city in California and the 8th largest in the United States. It has a citywide population of nearly 1.3 million residents and more than 3 million residents countywide. Its area is 4200 sq. miles.

San Diego is known for its wonderful climate which averages 70 degrees. It has a great variety of geography. It has 70 miles of beautiful beaches on the west coast. 
 
In San Diego’s East County, the terrain varies from gentle foothills to mile-high mountains. About 2 hours from the city is the Anzo Borrego Desert State Park. Some of the most popular tourist attractions are the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and Legoland.