Yesterday we went to the Children’s Zoo we used to go to when I was a kid. It was so much smaller than I remembered. The prairie dogs (my favorite) are still there, but their enclosure used to look like it really was the whole prairie. Now, somehow, it would fit into Dad’s garage, with room to spare. The p.d.’s don’t seem to mind, though, and they were just as cute as ever. Poppy was enthralled with them, too, so all is well.

I was a little conflicted to find that the zoo no longer has the same snake exhibit. It used to be on a little red boat in the middle of a lake, and you had to cross a neverending bridge to get to it. I hated the snake boat. It gave me nightmares. But I forced myself to cross that darn bridge and step into that little red boat every time.

Dopey kid.

I’m glad they’re updating things at the zoo, but I was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to say, “Hey Snake Boat! You’re not so scary! Your bridge is short, and your paint is peeling!” Now it will be forever terrifying to me.