Last week we told you about the fantastic ice skating venue being constructed in Discovery Green. Well, brothers and sisters, we got our skate on last night. Here's what you need to know before you skate your heart out and release your inner Chazz Michael Michaels.
Wear tall socks, kid, or bring them with you. The rental skates are in great shape, but they'll still chap your cankles if you're planning to rely on your fishnets for protection. Fortunately, our skate coach reminded us to ditch the fishnets before we arrived. Don't forget to lace up your skates as tight as possible for better stability on the rink.
Skating lessons are available if you can't bring your own coach (they better have lived outside the loop for a more than a few years - preferably on the north side). Lessons are $20 for 20 minutes of tutelage by Lena Gottschall of Ice Rink Events. Gottschall, a lifetime ice skater, also offers group lessons for kids and parents. However, there is no guarantee that you will glide across the ice as gracefully as she does upon completion.
In fact, you will fall. So, remove your cell phone, camera, car keys and anything else not made out of Nerf from your pockets. You don't want anything but your jeans between your butt and the ice when you slam into it. Wait for the skate guards (life guards on skates, duh) to come to your aid before attempting get up.
No, you will not be allowed to drive the Zamboni no matter how many times you ask. It's not because you lack the skill, but Ice Rink Events is trying to keep the operation as green as possible, which means limiting the use of petrol-powered equipment. The Ice at Discovery Green is relying "natural resurfacing" according to Gottschall. Essentially the ice will be refreshed, i.e. smoothed by the natural precipitation. In addition, the remaining portion of Kinder Lake - the rink sits in the drained sailboat pond - actually serves as a condenser for the cooling coils that run under the ice. Using the lake in this way allows IRE to remove a generator powered cooling tower from cooling cycling yet still cools the ice enough to create a rink with a core temperature of 22 degrees.
What would Brian Boitano do? "He'd make a plan, and he'd follow through. That's what Brian Boitano'd do." He may also schedule a preemptive foot massage for post skating relief from sore arches.
The Ice at Discovery Green
$10 per person
Open daily through January 19, 2009
713-434-7465
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Photo by Flickr user KitAy
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Did you just write "cankles" - OMG! I am busting up!
The second I saw "cankles," I thought...Yeah, Bargas wrote this one.
I also was very amused at the use of cankles. Yikes. I guess this would be something to check out. Even being from the frozen north I have never tried ice skating for fear of killing myself. But I have good insurance right now, so any damage will cost me a minimal amount of money.
yeah i walked by the rink on my way to the rockets game the other night... it really is nice having in the park as opposed to over in the theater district... after the rain the other night it was a lake, though!