My First Trip to the City

By: Amber Cialone

I woke up in my bed all snug and warm. It was Saturday and I was happy because I got to sleep in. "Alex come down stairs!" I heard my mother yell from the kitchen.

I jerked my covers off and galloped down the stairs. The floor was really cold under my feet! When I reached the kitchen my mother told me to sit down at the table because breakfast was ready.

We had pancakes and bacon and eggs and bagels and cream cheese and orange juice. It was so yummy! Afterwards my tummy was really full, so full I thought it was going to explode! "Alex", my mommy said, " We are going to take a trip into the city today. We are going to take the train and eat lunch at Reading Terminal. Then we are visiting the Franklin Institute. Doesn't that sounds fun?"

"Yes." I replied. "Okay then we are going to leave around twelve o'clock so you have to start getting ready after I clean up from breakfast. We are going to leave in about two hours." said Mommy.

I heard the clinking and clashing of pots and pans and a while later my mother emerged from the kitchen and said, " Okay Alex it's time to go get ready." I climbed up the stairs and rushed to my room. I wanted to get ready as quickly as I could so we could leave.

I had never been to the city before. People at school talked about it all the time. They said there are giant buildings that go all the way up into the sky! They also say that there are a lot of people and crowds.

To tell you the truth I was kind of scared to go to the city, I thought that I might get trampled by the crowds or get lost in one of the buildings and never find my way out.

We left my house and went to the train station. When we got on the train Mommy got me a window seat and she sat next to me. I had lots of fun watching everything pass by my window and then all of a sudden we were surrounded by walls! Soon the train started to slow down. Mommy said that it was our stop so we got off and we were inside!

We went into Reading Terminal. There were so many people and places to eat. There was even music! Mommy and I ate at the Hershey's Deli. It was so yummy.

When we walked around I held Mommy's hand as tight as I could so I wouldn't get swept away by the giant groups of people. It was very frightening. After walking around my mom asked , "Are you ready to do to the Franklin Institute Alex?" I said, " Yes!"

I was hoping that outside it wouldn't be as crowded as it was in Reading Terminal, but it was even more crowded! I wondered how there could be so many people in one place. The buildings were SO gigantic, I could hardly believe my eyes! "What if they fall on us?" I thought.

"We have a bit to go to get to the Franklin Institute", said Mommy, " just stay right by my side please Alex." I did just what she said but when we were crossing one of the streets I let go of her hand for only a second to scratch my nose. When I went back to hold her hand there was a big man next to me. "Your not my mom!" I yelled.

There were so many people around me walking both ways and dodging in between each other. It felt like forever before I got to the other side of the street. People were pushing and shoving I nearly tripped once but the large man that was next to me caught me and hoisted me back to my feet. "Come with me, I'll help you." he said.

He brought me to the street corner and knelt down so we were at eye level. He was very nice, which made me feel safe. "Are you here with anyone?" he asked me. "Yes I'm here with my mommy." I replied. "Do you know where she is?" He asked. "Well, I was with her and the-" I was cut short by a frantic voice yelling. I heard my name.

I turned around to see my mommy, "Alex where are you?!" She yelled frantically. I turned back to the man, "She's right there." said pointing at my mom. He brought me to my mother and she thanked him over and over again.

"That was scary" my mommy said as the man walked away. "Are you ready to go to the science museum?" "Yes, but I thought it was fun." Mommy laughed, took my hand, and we continued on our walk to the Institute.

The Science Museum was gigantic! We walked in and bought our tickets. Then when we walked into the main part of the museum. There was a bike on a rope right above our heads and people were riding it!

We went and explored the rest of the museum. We came to this place with sport stuff for kids. It was awesome! I met some new kids and Mommy said that maybe we could have a play day together.

After that Mommy and I left to go to the train station. We had to walk for a long time and cross a lot of roads. Its true that all of the buildings are humongous and go all the way up to the sky! There are people with big dogs and playing music. There are so many cars and some of the buildings have giant paintings on them!

When we got on the train mommy got me a window seat again but I couldn't really see anything because it was so dark. There were not as many people on the train this time as there were in the morning. I was very tired. I had decided that I liked the city because, although it was crowded, it was crowded with nice people. People like the man that helped me.

When we got home Mommy made me take a bath and go to sleep "You've had a long day Alex it's time for bed."