The first time I went to the zoo will be forever engrained in my mind, for reasons both good and bad! At that time, I was only 8 years old, with black hair and a train of thought like lightning, brightly flashing around but never concentrating on the same point twice. When I heard that I was going to the zoo, I thought it was a dream come true. My friend’s dad picked me up at my house, and then we drove there. The car ride felt long and tenuous, and I almost burst with anxiety. Every car on the highway seemed to me an obstruction perfectly designed to block me from my final destination. Inside, I cursed every traffic light that my small head, poking out of the window, could see. When we finally got there I remember screaming with pure delight, then immediately getting reprimanded by my dad for yelling. My eyes opened wide when I spotted the large display of bright colors. We waited along a huge line, and finally bought tickets. I was almost overcome with excitement to be at the zoo. No sooner than just taking a few glances at one exhibit, I would immediately feel the urge to dash to the next one! We ate lunch there and continued our experience at the zoo.

At about this time, disaster suddenly struck! At the center of the zoo is an enormous lake filled with different species of fish. Located conveniently, a long series of stepping stones can be utilized to cross the lake. The stones actually became quite slippery due to the large amount of feet trodding on them, and to make matters more precarious, there are no hand-rails. I think you can now guess what happened next. As I commenced crossing the lake, I stopped at mid-point because I grew tired. When I tried to continue again, I stumbled and fell into the murky waters! I was confused and wet as I splashed around. Though to be honest, if I felt confused and scared, imagine what the fish felt like! Luckily, my dad leaned over and hauled me out of the water and onto dry land. I was half laughing, half terrified to death. My shoes were so wet, they were rendered unwearable, so I had to walk around there bare-footed. Even worse, the day I went to the zoo was a hot summer day, and the concrete was burning! Every step I took caused me more agony. With my feet on fire, I desperately wanted to go home already. Luckily, we headed home 30 minutes later. On the drive back, my clothes dried out and I could finally relax.

When I went home, my mom was certainly surprised when she saw me! She first scolded me about carelessness, and then sent me to go take a shower. Even though the zoo seemed completely awesome, that will still go down as one of my worst -and funniest -moments ever!