Flat James in Arkansas

Flat James with his cousins, Jake and Sam Myers, at their lake house on Beaver Lake (Arkansas).  Flat James spent his days there jumping off the dock, water skiing and tubing.  He discovered that being flat led to a whole lot of belly flop landings!












Flat James at his grandmother, Jacqueline’s, house.  She surprised him with his very own new pillow, which was a great place to lay his flat  head.

While in Arkansas, Flat James also played baseball with his cousins.

Also in Arkansas, Flat James rode his cousin's bike. It was pretty fun, but it sure was harder to pedal with flat legs!

Flat Emma in Los Angeles, California

 Hi. It’s me, Flat Emma! I spent this week in San Clemente, California with my cousins, the O’Brien family. San Clemente is best known for its beautiful weather (it’s sunny here 310 days a year!*), the Western White House where former President Richard Nixon lived when not in DC, and of course, surfing! San Clemente catches swells all year long making it a surfing mecca. Going from South to North, surf spots include Trestles, Lowers, Middles, Uppers, Calafia, Riviera, Lost Winds, The Hole, T-Street, The Pier, Linda Lane, 204s, North Beach and Poche. 

San Clemente is also the surfing media capital of the world; its home to Surfing Magazine, The Surfer's Journal, Longboard Magazine, Stand Up! and Surfer Magazine. San Clemente also has loads of surfboard shapers and manufacturers including Noll, Lost, Stewart, Cole, Timmy Patterson, Dev, Terry Senate and Dewey Weber. I can’t even name all of the surf clothing industry giants in town. 

With all this epic surf it’s no surprise that San Clemente High School won 6 out of 7 most recent NSSA national surfing titles. One title was won by Connections Academy – a private school in San Clemente. Pretty much everyone here surfs and you bump into professional surfers all over town; my cousins’ favorite surfer, Bethany Hamilton, was here surfing last weekend! Because of all this water, our first line of business was to get me laminated to keep me dry. Everyone at Office Depot knows who Flat Stanley is. Here is a pic of me going through the machine. It was kind of hot and smashy but it was worth it. 

Flat Emma Arrives in Newbury Park, California

Flat Emma in Wisconsin

Hi everyone, I’m Flat Emma. This weekend I am visiting my Aunt Maggie, Uncle Dave and Cousin Sarah in Racine,Wisconsin, USA.  

On October 10, 1699, a fleet of eight canoes bearing a party of French explorers entered the mouth of Root River. These were the first Europeans known to visit what is now Racine County.They established a trading post in the area that eventually became a small settlement on Lake Michigan near where theRoot River empties into Lake Michigan. Racine is French for "root". I had to look this up because I wasn’t sure when Racine was first established – now we all know.

Last night we went to the motorcycles dirt track races, but Aunt Maggie forgot her camera.  Today, we have to work off some of the ice cream we ate last night at the dirt track races. So this morning Uncle Dave is driving us to the local gym they belong to.

They made me work this machine. It was very hard to do because I’m flat.

They live near lots of small family farms. So we stopped here to take a picture of the milk cows. The cows were pretty friendly.  I am here with my Aunt Maggie. She had to hold my hand because it was a wee bit breezy. Wisconsin has some terrific storms but today is warm and pretty.

After working out, we went to visit my cousin Sarah. Here is a picture of Uncle Dave, me and Sarah. She lives in Greenfield, Wisconsin

This is Jesse and Sarah in their apartment with me. I do not get to see Sarah very often because it is many miles from where I live in San Carlos, Ca. They told me they love me and miss me much, and were so happy to have me stop by for a visit.

Heading Home to Uncle Dave and Aunt Maggie's

My Uncle Dave and Aunt Maggie are driving me back home. We are on the freeway on our way to Racine, Wisconsin. I do not like driving on the freeway, it can be boring. We are on our way home to eat lunch and then a surprise – Yeah, can’t wait!!

We’re now home with Uncle Dave and Aunt Maggie – phew~ long drive. I’m hungry now after working out this morning.  

Uncle Dave likes to cook, so he cooked up some Elk Italian sausage. It was excellent. My Uncle Kip hunted and prepared the sausage and gave it to Aunt Maggie, so she is sharing it with me. She knows I love Uncle Kip’s Elk sausages.

Surprise Motorcycle Ride

Now for the surprise!  Uncle Dave and Aunt Maggie wanted to take me for a motorcycle ride to Lake Michigan. I tried to ride on the backseat of Aunt Maggie’s Harley-Davidson motorcycle but I kept flying off. Here are some pictures of us backing out of the garage.

I had to ride in the saddlebag, along with the camera. But that was okay because I am flat – I fit fine.  Here is a picture of me riding in the saddlebag. I was only a little crunched up.

We rode about four miles and here we are at the Racine, Wisconsin lakefront. That is a lot of fresh water.





Here are some quick facts about Lake Michigan  (Source>swmidirectory.org/History_of_Lake_Michigan)

“Lake Michigan is one of the group of five lakes that comprise the Great Lakes. It is the third largest of the Great Lakes and is the only one of the lakes which is contained entirely inside U.S. borders -- making Lake Michigan the largest body of fresh water in the United States and is the sixth largest lake in the world.

Lake Michigan is approximately 300 miles long and averages 75 miles across, covering 22,300 square miles -- which is equal to the combined areas of the states of Maryland, Massachusetts and Delaware! It is 335 feet above Lake Ontario and 577 feet above sea level. The deepest point in the lake is 925 feet.

Lake Michigan boasts excellent salmon and trout fishing. Species include Chinook, Coho, and Atlantic Salmon and Rainbow, Brown, and Lake Trout.”

Auntie Maggie told me the water temperature is very cold which makes swimming in it very uncomfortable mostly.

And another picture of me and Aunt Maggie - It was windy at the lakefront, I almost blew away.

A nice man offered to take our picture, so here are a few more pictures of the Racine harbor and us.

While we were riding around the lakefront, we stumbled upon a yearly festival which takes place here in Racine Wi., Salmon-O-Rama. It is a fishing contest. Those that catch the biggest fish get prizes, such as boats, trailers, motors, and fishing gear. Fishermen come from other States to take part in this contest.  It was fun to see the huge salmon – It is not real… see the pictures below.

The picture below shows you how big this lake is - It looks like it goes on forever.  

Below is a picture of boats that are in the harbor, with me and Uncle Dave.

I hope you enjoyed this trip as much as I did. Aunt Maggie and Uncle Dave said they will visit me next summer. My visit to South Eastern Wisconsin is over and I am on my way to Los Angeles.