Tree shrews are scary.

Some things that frighten Skipper:

• elevators
• dark places
• tunnels
• loud noises
• orangutans
• new experiences
• tree shrews

Skipper and I went to the zoo today, for the first time - we have a family membership now that we are all excited about. We took the train, which goes into a tunnel and stops at a station very deep underground.

Did we have fun? I'll leave that up to you to guess. Here are some photos, with captions. (I brought the camera with the vague expectation of capturing a few pictures of Skipper looking at animals, maybe with an appealing expression of childish wonder, or perhaps just romping around happily ignoring the animals...)

(On the train, just as we entered the tunnel) "Me not like dis tunnel!"

(At the station) "Me don't like dis tunnel! Dis dark! Me want to go home!"

(Eating a snack and glaring balefully at everybody, after about 30 minutes at the zoo) "Me not like the zoo. Me want to go home."

I am reminded not to have preconceived notions about how my child-accompanied outings will go, and to consider the problems that might arise, given my previous experiences with said child (see: Disneyland). I enjoyed the zoo, though. I'm sure Skipper will enjoy it when we take her again. However, next time I go, I'm taking Dutch, who is at exactly the perfect age for the zoo, and is not afraid of very small rodents.