Skating In The Park

From the moment I heard that you could ice skate at the Frog Pond I wanted to go.  Everyone I spoke to about it encouraged me to do it, saying it was a lot of fun.  But they also suggested going when it was warm.   Since I was unable to go last year, I made a point to strap on ice skates and take a few laps around the rink this year.  For the record, I would suggest wearing heavy socks when skating to avoid blisters ouch!

I managed to make it out to the pond during the gorgeous weather last weekend.  I knew I wanted to go during the day, one so I could get these pictures and two to give myself some time to recover if I fell.  I am not an ice skater by any stretch of the imagination - I have to run into a wall to stop - and figured I would plan for the worst.  Luckily I didn't fall.  By the way, if you are like me and need walls to stop, the Frog Pond walls are about 4 ft. high so be careful when you stop so you don't fall out of the rink yikes! (Alas, this is something I could see myself doing, hence the warning.)

Anyway, skating on the Frog Pond was amazing!  Just being outside, knowing I was skating in the middle of Boston, Boston Common was really cool.  It was also great people watching.  One of my friends joined me, but did not skate.  She had a blast watching the little kids, they were really cute - especially when they would fall (don't worry no one was hurt), struggle to get back up, and then skate away with a smile.  

I was pleased that I followed the advice I was given - go when it is warm.  It was fun being on the ice, but not freezing my butt off.  However, I think it might have been a little too warm when I went.  The ice was melting and rink employees were shoveling the water into the middle.  It was interesting to watch and skate through the water, but the ice was a little slick because of it.  The water also made me even wearier about falling - I didn't want to leave the rink soaked!

The ice rink closed for the season today, but I would definitely recommend you go skating when it reopens - it is a blast!.  The Frog Pond is located in Boston Common, just a short walk from the Park Street T station.  Check out the Frog Pond's website for more information about skating.

P.S. if you like skating outside you should know that there are other rinks in the area.  The rinks at Charles Hotel in Harvard Square in Cambridge and Larz Anderson Skating Rink in Brookline are two that I learned about this year.  While I didn't get a chance to visit them this year, they are definitely on my list for next year, along with a return visit to the Frog Pond