Thursday, July 17, 2008

Too few rinks in NYC!!

No - I didn't bring my skates. I thought about it but decided against it because 1) Chelsea Piers is having "summer skating camp" and the only sessions I could go to were early morning Dance practice sessions (hey, I'm on vacation) PLUS it was so expensive!! ($29??? Forget it!).

I am in touch with skaters from other skating boards and one NYC-skater offered to pick me up in Brooklyn and bring me to her rink (Aviator - looks like a nice facility and good prices and ice-times... but getting to Brooklyn and all of that just seemed like too much and she ended up being too busy - it was a nice offer...

And of course the famous outdoor rinks - Rockefeller Center and Wolman Rink in Central park are closed for the long, hot summer and so those were out. I did manage to walk by Rockefeller Center Plaza and look down on what would have been the ice - it is a restaurant in the summer and so that was fun. But there are no other rinks on the island - Hackensack would have been nice, but too far and I'm sure there are other rinks on LI but again... a hassle for what has essentially been a 4-day trip...

I did meet with a friend who is a skater and also a veterinarian - you better believe we have a lot to talk about - got some good tips about where to get used blades and also a little just general skating tip which I will use when I get home - it's always fun to talk about skating with people from around the country because you never know what will come up and what you can use. Plus she told me about the Hackensack Adult camp and how awesome it was working with John Zimmerman (yes, he is just as good-looking in person she assured me) and his wife Sylvia Fontana - she got some good advice from her, which was great hearing about... we went to the Natural History Museum (being essentially vets and scientists I figured this was a good choice) and had a great time walking aruond talking skating and vet med and looking at dinosaurs and dioramas...

Also glad I didn't bring my skates because after 2 days of walking in NYC (and walking, and walking and walking...) I have ginormous blisters on my foot and would not have been able to get my foot into the boot anyway... so the whole thing would have been a waste of time and energy.

I hope someday to broaden the PDX rink report to include ice rinks from all over the country (and perhaps, the world) but for now I can just dream of coming back to sweet Portland and it's abundance (compared to NYC in the summer) of sweet summer ice...

And yes, I've seen other famous people - Colin Firth anyone? (he is REALLY skinny!) And Kathleen Turner looks just as good as she does onscreen!! But no other skater sightings... sigh...

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