Disneyland!

The very next day, at 7 a.m., Flat Stanley, April and Bob got into the car in San Francisco and started driving south. They drove past oil fields and wind farms. They drove past dairy farms, where black and white cows watched them pass. They were driving through the southern half of the huge central valley of California. The Central Valley is home to many crops that are grown and shipped to grocery stores all over the United States -- even as far as Boston. Crops such as tomatoes, grapes (fresh and for raisins), almonds, asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower, lettuce and radishes and strawberries and apricots. Also grown here is cotton. Dairy farms produce milk, cheese, ice cream, and more, and ranches raise cattle and pigs for meat. The Central Valley is 400 miles long, but fortunately Flat Stanley and his friends only had to travel through half of that.

After about four hours of driving, they saw the road winding upward, through the hills at the end of the huge valley, and after a while they arrived at the top. On the other side, the highway led them into the Los Angeles Basin, a flat-land area, or plain, on which sits the city of Los Angeles as well as nearby cities. As they drove past Los Angeles, traffic on the freeway grew thick, and the air was sooty from smog and recent wildfires. Wildfires are common in California, but the ones that were in the news recently are all out now. Stanley was happy he didn't see any flames. Besides, he was keeping his eyes peeled for the freeway signs that would say "Anaheim," and then "Disneyland." His patience soon paid off, because after five and a half hours, they were pulling into the parking lot of the Paradise Pier Hotel, just walking distance from Disneyland and California Adventure Park. They all were beside themselves with excitement. It didn't take long to check in, stow their bags in their comfy hotel room, catch their breath, and then head for Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, also called the Happiest Place on Earth!

Their short walk took them first to Disney Downtown, where they showed their tickets and boarded the Monorail for Tomorrowland, one of the areas in Disneyland. Flat Stanely watched as the scenery glided by, and soon they were walking down the Monorail station stairs and right into the park! April and Bob looked at each other, and Bob was the first to speak. "Matterhorn!" he said, and so they were off to ride the Matterhorn Bobsleds, a roller coaster that runs through a mountainous track, past looming snow monsters and tumbling waterfalls. They were lucky: Their wait in line was only 15 minutes! Flat Stanley was excited, but a little nervous. He had never been on a roller coaster before. But after he got buckled in, after his bobsled whizzed up and down the track, and after all three riders yelled "ROWWRRR!!" right back at the snow monsters, and their bobsled flew down the last water flume, Flat Stanley had to admit that he liked roller coasters just fine. Which was a good thing, because they had Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, and Indiana Jones Adventure still to come.