Terry and I were super excited when Jill asked us if Levi could spend a few days of his fall break with us. We couldn’t wait. She did have one caveat however. Would we mind also hosting his friend Flat Stanley as well? For the uninitiated, Flat Stanley is a project that was created by educators to facilitate an interest in reading, writing and discovering new places and people. The project is based on the 1964 children’s book “Flat Stanley” whose main character, Stanley, was accidentally flattened by a bulletin board and then rolled up and shipped to a friend in California. Students receive a cut out which they color and then send him along to friends and family who then take photos of Stanley in different places and then recount his grand tales and adventures. Levi decided to turn his Stanley into the captain of the Nashville Predators hockey team, Mike Fisher but for ease of communication, we’ll refer to him as Stanley.
So, while Flat Stanley was staying with us, we were to take photos of our activities with him so that Levi could create a scrapbook for his school project. It wasn’t until after Levi’s visit, that Jill called to ask if I would mind doing one little thing. The scrapbook required a letter from Stanley’s host family recapping his stay. I explained to Jill that I had already completed the 3rd grade but would be more than happy to comply.
Here is our host letter:
October 1, 2017
My husband I were thrilled to host Flat Stanley in our home in Franklin, TN over his fall break. The afternoon he arrived was so beautiful that we decided to have dinner at one of our favorite places, El Pueblo Real. We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the last hurrah of summer. Back at home, Stanley enjoyed watching the animated movie, “Bunyan and Babe” before falling fast asleep.
After a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon, we spent our first fun-filled day together in Nashville. As we arrived at our first destination, we rocked out to Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration” which set the celebratory tone for the day.
Our first stop was TopGolf which is an experience best described as a cross between darts and bowling. You ascend a multi-tiered, partially open-air facility to discover a high tech driving range with individual climate controlled bays, hi-def TV’s for digital scoring, and table side food service.
Flat Stanley arrives at TopGolf. Levi and Stanley teeing up. Awesome lunch for hungry golfers.
After two, laughter filled rounds of golf and a yummy lunch, we headed to downtown Nashville where we took photo-op moments with Stanley in front of historical and cultural landmarks. Stanley posed in front of the rotating Hard Rock Cafe guitar on Broadway, the red twisty, sculpture, “Ghost Ballet” on the Cumberland River, Nissan Stadium, the home of the Tennessee Titans, historic Fort Nashborough which was a stockaded fort which would one day become the settlement of Nashville, the neo-classical Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the iconic honky-tonk bar, Tootsies Orchid Lounge, the Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators hockey team, the CMA Awards as well as concerts and other sporting events, the historic Ryman Auditorium, the Tennessee State Capitol and the Bicentennial Mall at the base of the Capitol.
While at the Mall, we walked around the 200 foot, granite map of Tennessee and pinpointed Stanley’s home in Gallatin, his home away from home in Franklin and the capital of our fair state, Nashville. Stanley also thought it would be fantastic to run through the Rivers of Tennessee Fountains which represents the many waterways of Tennessee. He was soaked to the bone and freezing by the time we got back to the car.
We also took Stanley by First Tennessee Park, the new ballpark for the minor league baseball team, the Nashville Sounds and by the historic, Victorian era Union Station hotel which was formally a train station and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts which originally served as the main post office for Nashville.
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Since we spent a lot of time in the car today, we decided we needed a little fresh air and exercise so we headed to the tennis courts and did a little volleying and then headed home to a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. For our movie night, Stanley picked the Pixar movie, “Up” after which we all couldn’t wait to crawl into bed.
Stanley and Levi hanging out at the tennis courts.
October 2, 2017
Stanley was up early and ready to see what the day held. Our first stop was to Pedego where we rented electric bicycles. We pedaled our bikes down Margin Street to the entrance of Bicentennial Park and explored the trail along the Harpeth River all the way to Judge Fulton Greer Park and back again. It was a gorgeous fall day and we all had a ton of fun. By the time we returned our bikes to Pedego we were starving so we decided to have lunch at Merridee’s Breadbasket, an eatery in a renovated hardware store in downtown Franklin.
Renting electric bikes, Stanley grabs a bike and then poses by the Bicentennial Mall sign, taking a break on the trail and grabbing lunch at Merridee’s.
Vroom, vroom!!!!
After a relaxing lunch al fresco style on the sidewalk, we walked down main street to the Visitors Center and then onto the square where Stanley posed in front of the Civil War cannons that flank the town’s monument. For the cherry on top of our day, we walked to Kilwin’s, a confectionery and ice creamery, for an afternoon treat. Stanley decided on a luscious Granny Smith apple, draped in buttery caramel which he consumed with glee.
Franklin Visitor Center, Civil War cannon and Kilwin’s ice creamery.
Stanley was the perfect house guest and we were thrilled to have him in our home. He was kind and thoughtful, polite and considerate and just all out fun to be around. We would love for Stanley to come to visit and stay with us any time.
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