Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

One of my most vivid childhood memories is when I was about eleven or twelve and my family and a friend of mine went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. This was one of my first times being able to be free and do what I wanted in public, and I think that why it’s so vivid to me.
The day started when we picked up my friend Tim, from his house and we went down the the boardwalk. My family and me and Tim split up immediately, so we were on our own. The first thing we did upon arriving was go on the pirate ship, just to warm up to some of the more intense rides. I had never been on most of the scary rides, so I was very nervous and scared. I can still remember how it felt on the pirate ship, facing the Double Shot, the scariest ride in the whole

I was just wondering whether or not I would throw up. Of course I wasn’t showing any of this, because I wanted to seem tough, but I definitely was very scared, and quite nervous. While I was in line, I noticed that a few seconds before the ride shot you in the air, rock music played. When we finally got to the front of the line, we weren’t able to a get a seat with a view like my friend wanted so much. The ride lifted us about ten feet in the air, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I was debating whether or not to scream, “Let me off,” but of course I didn’t. I saw the camera’s below me feet, as if they were asking me to look stupid for their photo. Then I heard the rock music start playing. My heart starting beating even faster and louder than it was before. I clenched my hands around the harness and waited. And waited. The rock music kept playing. I looked down at the boardwalk employees, and I saw that they were all looking over the control panel. I thought, “Thank god I can get off this ride,” and right as I thought that, we got shot into the air. At first I couldn’t even think, I was so shocked. And as we reached the top, I had two thoughts. One was, when I saw a mattress on top of a building, “I