Tis the season! I love skating. Isn't it like the thing you (have to) do with your family and friends during this time of year? I went to elementary school in Toronto, Canada so I am used to the whole skating thing. There are rinks pretty much everywhere, and everybody's there. And not many people besides kids not know how to skate. I also played ice hockey, but I hadn't been skating for a long time. The last time I skated was almost three years ago, and before that was probably three years before that. So, I got very excited.\n\nThe tickets were on Groupon so I had already bought my tickets. The NASCAR Hall of Fame was a great backdrop for the ice rink. Parking was easy with plenty of space. As I approached the outdoor ice rink, I noticed one thing - that there was only one line. Single file. A long, single file. I still assumed people with already purchased tickets can get access a bit quicker than those who didn't bother to get them. No dice. You will have to wait in line for about or over one half hour to get to the admissions desk. The skate rental is in the same booth as the ticketing desk so no luck going straight to get your skates either.\n\nAfter probably a good 35 to 40 minutes of just standing in the cold, our turn came to get our skates and jump right in! Or so we thought... For this and that reasons, we had to stand in another line and finally got onto the ice rink. Yes!\n\nNow, it gets a little brighter after this point. It was a lot of fun! It took me a bit to warm up and get loose but I still had some of the old moves. But most importantly skating with my wife by my side and laughing at people falling down around us was a lot of fun. Just kidding. (But some are really funny.) Naturally, you might wonder if it's safe if everybody's just sliding around here and there. Yes, they have a small circle in the middle with cones around it to stop and rest, and there is a lifeguard (?), or whatever you want to call it, all the time. Lastly, it is a very small ice rink so I don't think there's that much room for anyone to go crazy and cause serious injury. I saw a couple of people who obviously had played hockey before skate around and show off. But they also seem to understand that the majority are there to have fun whether they're good or not. So after a few circles they stop doing stunts too.\n\nHey, I almost forgot. Getting in is $10. skate rental is $3, and hot chocolate is $4!
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