Puddles in Chicago
I shlepped my skates through 4 airports on my week-long business trip -- Portland, OR; Chicago; Portland, ME; and Philadelphia -- with high hopes of skating in all of those places. An unfortunate heat wave in Chicago reduced the outdoor rinks to puddles (as seen in the photo above on the right). Had I been in town just a week earlier I would have been able to skate there.
In Maine, the indoor rink had just closed the week before as well. Philadelphia, my last hope, was open for business.
I skated the adult session at the venerable Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society, the oldest skating club in America. The ice was my favorite kind, gray, on sand, and there was a mirror at the end of the rink which was great fun. The ice was uncrowded. Unfortunately I didn't get to skate much because the locals wanted to chat me up, but when I did get to skate I had the ice to myself. There are no barriers at PSCHS, so it's a bit disconcerting to do certain steps near the edge of the rink. I didn't step off the ice onto the mats but came close on a TR twizzle!
2 comments:
Looks like you struck gold at the best venue. Isn't that rink Dick Button's and Scott Hamilton's "home" ice? It's hard to believe that indoor skating in Maine gives up the ghost so early--maybe everyone's busy painting the family lobster boat!
Beautiful rink! Glad you were able to do this. I used to love bringing my bike with me on travel to fun places. :)
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