Samantha's friend Flat Stanley arrived here in Sammamish (Sa-Mam'-Ish) Washington safe and sound, and just as flat as ever. Sammamish is located near Lake Sammamish, which is east of Seattle. Sammamish is a Native American name. Click here  for a map of the area. Lake Sammamish is the small lake at the right side of the map and our city is named after the lake.

It's not a large city,  perhaps about 35,000 people. It's not even an old city, just barely five years old. This is what is known as a bedroom community; the people who live here work in other cities nearby.

Samantha's Uncle Rick, Aunt Betty, and cousins Janis (14, 9th grade) and Dana (11, 5th grade) live here. Dana goes to Margaret Mead Elementary School,  which is about a mile from our house. Janis goes to Inglewood Junior High, about three miles from our house.

We've got some great plans for Stanley while he's here. We'll have to get him a raincoat and a jacket for his visit; it's colder here than it is in Rancho Santa Fe. It also rains a lot here.

	Today Stanley visited Dana's school. We visited the library,  and Dana's after-school art class. Later that day, Dana made him a coat so he could stay warm and dry. During the month of April, we drove to Boise, Idaho, to visit Aunt Betty's sister Ava and her family. Boise  is the capitol of Idaho. It's about a 10-hour drive from Sammamish. We stayed in Boise for about four days. While we were there, we visited
The World Center for Birds of Prey,	The Boise Zoo,	and went ice skating.
Flat Stanley got to go to Seattle's historic Paramount Theater for a product demonstration (that's an infomercial that you get to see in person). He thought he might get to play the piano there, but had trouble reaching the keys. Links: History  About the Paramount
Another time we took him to Uwajimaya,  an Asian variety store that is a bit like Ranch 99. He had a great time there looking at Manga books and sampling different kinds of food. A few weeks ago, Samantha's aunt Pam and her husband John visited us in Sammamish. They drove from their ranch in eastern Washington to pick up Wolfie,  a retired racehorse. We had to drive to Enumclaw, a small town near Mount Rainier  to get him.		Flat Stanley at Uwajimaya
Mount Rainier	One Saturday, Janis and Dana (Samantha's cousins) took Flat Stanley with them to Sakura-Con,  a large anime convention that was held at a hotel near the airport. He got to wait in line with them for about 2 hours before they could get inside.	Anime
The Space Needle	We took Stanley to see the Space Needle before he went home to Rancho Santa Fe. The Space Needle is something that many people associate with Seattle. The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair, which was held in Seattle. The theme of the Fair was living in the 21st Century; after the year 2000. There were displays telling how we might live then and showing things as they might be 38 years later.
Some of those things came to be part of our lives, and others have either come and gone or are still waiting to be perfected. Then again, there are things that they never even dreamed of, like the Game Boy. Things that Never Happened Things that Sort-of Happened Things that Happened Things they Never Dreamed Of The city of the future. Personal aircraft replaces your car. Working fewer hours. NOT! The school of tomorrow. Exploration of other planets Man living beyond earth Control a computer by talking to it. Monorail as public transportation - only in Seattle and at Disneyland TV Telephone New foods - unless you count junk food Supersonic air travel for you and me. Rocket Belts - only if you're an astronaut. Home automation. Man walks on the Moon: 1969 Wireless Telephones Computers Microwave Ovens Pushbutton telephones Personal Computers Change machines for paper money Sticky Notes Home video recording the CD the DVD the Internet $3.00 Gasoline Pocket-sized personal calculators Video Games Computers in everyday things. Car Stereo Computer Viruses Starbucks Links: The Space Needle  2002 looking backwards at 1962  Looking back at the 1962 World's Fair  Another look at the Fair  The Century 21 Exposition  Photos
There are more pictures of Stanley's visit to all of these places. They're now part of a large filmstrip. Scroll the filmstrip to the left to see them. More Pictures  Samamtha's Uncle Rick

Last modified 5/25/2005.