And let's not talk about when the ride is over, because it's heartbreaking. For me! I have never, ever seen her sign "more" more frantically than yesterday, when her beloved panda gave out on its bounding circles. Derek was standing next to her, and I was at the sidelines taking pictures. The look on her face was disappointment the likes of which you may have seen, oh, in the Olympics. Maybe on a passionate- but losing- soccer team. A team who thought they had won-- but then had their medals stripped. For a technicality. Then multiply that by eleventy billion. That was the look on her face.
Open mouth crying, tears pouring down...this girl is a dedicated carousel connoisseur. Since March, she's ridden carousels:
- in a random mall on the drive to Santa Barbara. (Her first time ever. She was terrified at first, then cried when it was over.)
- Park in Santa Barbara near the beach (it was historic)
- Tilden Park, Berkeley (another historic one)
- Kennedy Park, Hayward
- Oakland Zoo
Not bad!

