Dear Elizabeth,

Flat Stanley is here with me this evening. He road in my car from CT to Yonkers, New York. We drove on I84 in CT to Danbury and then to the Saw Mill Parkway in New York to a city called Yonkers. (you have been there!)

The Saw Mill Parkway is a road that follows the Hudson River. Stanley got to see the barges and tugboats going up the river to deliver items such as coal or to take garbage. There are lots of small villages along the river with sailboats, motorboats and water skiers. 

Since this is only April, Stanley did not get to see the water skiers. He did get to see towns like Dobbs Ferry and Tarrytown – places where, in the days before automobiles, boats came from all over the world to sell food and other things to the people who lived in those towns. 

When you look at the map, you will be able to see that the Hudson River goes all the way down to New York City and the Atlantic Ocean – and from there to many places in the world.

Your grandfather told you a story about Harry Hudson who lived in the river. It was one of your "imagination" times. You can share the story with your classmates.

Across the river are the Palisades in New Jersey, another state. Stanley could see those as we drove along. The Palisades are steep cliffs along the river – as if a giant carved a path. Really the water did it! In the spring they look wonderful with new green plants appearing. If Stanley was a mountain climber, he might want to try to go up some of these cliffs.

Stanley ended up in Yonkers. This is a large town north of New York City. When it first became a city it was "the country." That means that the people in New York City came there for their weekends or vacations. It was really the country – cows, pigs, farms. Now it is a city. Grandmother lives in an apartment there and works in New York City. Stanley got to take that ride too, but that’s another story.

I hope you like this for your class.

Love, Grandmother

Sincerely