The annual opening of the Upper Valley’s ice rinks brings back a flood of memories.
I learned to ice skate on a frozen pond somewhere in New Jersey from a cousin I no longer keep in touch with. I remember being mesmerized by the thick sheet of ice and how just a little bit of a push off could send me gliding. Signs left over from the summer warned, “No diving.” Forget diving; ice skating was the closest thing my elementary-school-aged self ever felt to flying.
While I have plenty of memories more typically associated with suburban New Jersey — afternoons wandering aimlessly at the mall, day trips to the shore, late night diner visits for disco fries (regular fries topped with mozzarella and gravy; if you haven’t tried them, you don’t know what you’re missing) — there were plenty of Friday nights spent at the local ice skating rink.
There, under the neon lights and pounding top-40 hits of the day (OutKast’s Hey Ya was a particular favorite), my friends and I would simply skate. Sometimes, we’d link arms as we searched for open ice. When we got tired of that, we’d retire to the arcade for a couple rounds of Dance Dance Revolution and cheesy fries from the snackbar.
When I got my driver’s license, there were mornings I would go the rink alone to take advantage of open skates. With friends, it was exciting to race around the rink. But alone, provided the ice was open enough, I’d kick up my skates and run as fast I could before stopping and gliding.
Enthralled, I’d repeat this process until utter exhaustion.
Even after I learned to ski, went on huge roller coasters or questionable carnival rides, rode my bike down steep hills or rode the waves at the Jersey shore, there was nothing that quite replaced that feeling I got when I first learned to ice skate. It’s a joy that followed me to college where I’d skate for stress relief during finals week.
And I was delighted when I moved to the Upper Valley to find that I could continue to ice skate to my heart’s content at three public rinks: Wendell A. Barwood Arena in White River Junction, James W. Campion III Rink in West Lebanon and Union Arena in Woodstock. Sometimes, I’ll skate with friends, but more often I’ll go alone. In a sense, it’s a form of meditation.
Activities abound in the Upper Valley, and I’ve had great fun learning to cross country ski, swim in rivers and climb fire towers. But every fall, I start checking for when open skates will restart. Nearly 20 years after I learned to ice skate, it’s still the closest I’ve ever felt to flying.
Editor’s note: Barwood Arena offers open skate on Saturdays from 4:15-5:30 p.m. and Sundays 4:30-6 p.m. from Oct. 21-March 10. For a breakdown of admission costs, visit http://www.hartford-vt.org/2323/Wendell-A-Barwood-Arena. Campion Rink offers open skate on Mondays from noon-1:30 p.m., Wednesdays from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and Thursdays from noon-1:30 p.m. Admission costs can be found at http://www.campionrink.org/programs/public-skating/. For Union Arena’s open skate schedule and costs, visit http://unionarena.org/. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
