DESCRIPTION:
Flat Stanley arrived at our home from Nebraska safely on 30 November here in Huntsville, Alabama. Alabama is located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west.

• state flower: Camellia
• state wild flower: Oak-leaf Hydrangea
• state fruit: Blackberry
• state bird: Yellowhammer

Huntsville is about ten miles south of the Alabama-Tennessee state line.

Though the southern part of the state is on the Gulf of Mexico and has white sandy beaches we are in the northern part, 370 miles from the gulf, with mountains. We have four seasons and sometimes we even get a little snow (but not a lot and it doesn't last long).

Huntsville served as the first capital of Alabama from 1819 to 1820.

We live with our cat Peachy. Peachy and Flat Stanley are already good friends.

The part of Alabama that we live in is at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains which runs all the way from New York to Alabama.

We both play a three stringed musical instrument that sits on your lap to strum called an Appalachian Dulcimer (also called a Mountain Dulcimer). We have taught Flat Stanley how to play and have given her her very own Mountain Dulcimer. The song Flat Stanley liked to play the most is "Boil Them Cabbage Down" and we are sending along a short video clip of David and Flat Stanley playing this song together.

Flat Stanley arrived in Alabama in time to help Karen and David decorate their home for Christmas; she especially liked the Nativity Scene.

We took Flat Stanley to many interesting places in Alabama. The first place was Athens State University, which is Alabama's oldest college and was founded in 1822, originally an all girls college. The four large pillars in front of Founder's Hall are named Mathew, Mark, Luke & John.

While we were in Athens we saw the Limestone County Court House and on the lawn a statue commemorating the Southern soldiers who fought in the Civil War. We saw the old home of George Houston who was a two term Alabama governor after the Civil War. His home is now a library and the location for the local historical society.

Next we took Flat Stanley to the lodge and marina at Joe Wheeler State Park near Rogersville, Alabama. Joe Wheeler (1836--1906) was a general for the Confederacy during the Civil War. In 1880, Joe Wheeler served in the United States House of Representatives. In 1898, during the Spanish-American war, Joe Wheeler was appointed as a two-star general by U.S. President William McKinley. The Joe Wheeler lodge was decorated for Christmas. In addition to getting her picture taken with some of the Christmas decorations in the lodge Flat Stanley enjoyed seeing all the boats in the marina.

Next we took Flat Stanley to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville which is called "Earth's largest space museum". It is also the home of Space Camp, a camp for school age children to stay at for a week and learn all about space exploration. Huntsville is the headquarters for NASA.

Also while we were in Huntsville we stopped at Redstone Arsenal where David works for Army Aviation and saw some of the Army helicopters that he works on.

Then we went to Mooresville, Alabama, a small, old town that was founded about 1818 before Alabama was a state and was just a territory. Among the many very old homes Mooresville also has the oldest continuously operating Post Office in Alabama. The entire town, a picturesque early 19th century village, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

One of the crops that farmers grow in Alabama is cotton. Flat Stanley had her picture taken with some cotton that we grew a couple years ago in our back yard.

Flat Stanley was an excellent guest and a good traveler who asked many interesting questions about Alabama. As much fun as Flat Stanley had visiting us, she was excited to go back to Nebraska to spend Christmas with Ellen.

We enjoyed having Flat Stanley visit us and hope that she comes back sometime soon, and maybe go to Space Camp!
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