Corner to Corner Ice Skating

After venturing from Seattle, to Key West, to New England, my friend Denise and I decided that we might as well go to San Diego so we could hit all corners of the lower 48 this autumn. Granted, we did not make it up to Maine, but Boston is pretty close, right?Denise and I had several “themes” on this road trip. We had to eat a lot of desserts, we had to tour old baseball stadiums, we had to run a race every weekend, and we had to ice skate outside. Having grown up in the Kristi Yamaguchi era, we ice skated a lot as kids. We were obsessed over the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan debacle during those Lillehammer Olympics, and we routinely thought that WE were going to be famous ice skaters.We’re not.As it turns out, holiday outdoor ice skating around the US is a little harder than you would think. Lots of rinks weren’t open in early November and prices were ridiculous. We missed the rink in Syracuse, (I know! Syracuse! Isn’t it always winter there?), the Frog Pond in the Boston Commons, and the rink in Chicago’s Millennium Park. According to Denise who skated in Chicago last year, the Millennium Park rink was the biggest and most fun due to its location within the city. But we did make it to a couple places.Rockefeller CenterI seriously think we would have stayed in Manhattan until this rink opened up. This was a must for us. Yes, there was also skating in Central Park, but we’d dreamed of Rockefeller skating since we were, like, five. Luckily for our itinerary, the rink at Rockefeller Center opened in mid-October.    It didn’t disappoint. We got to the touristy place at five, but waited until the zamboni machine had done its job so we could have clean ice. Our wait turned out to be entertaining as the crowd got to witness one man's proposal to his girlfriend turned fianceé. Our semi-single selves restrained from gagging, but really? It was cute. Once the couple finished their obligatory public make-out session we were allowed on the ice, and it stayed smooth for about an hour.The rink was on the small and crowded side, but it was possible to glide in and out of people with relative ease. There were the usual host of characters at the rink: the little girl in the tutu who was attempting double axels in the middle of the rink, the overgrown hockey player who was purposefully dodging in and out of crowds, and the groups of pre-teens were clumped against the railing, giggling instead of skating. We couldn’t make fun of them because that was us some years ago. This was New York, so there were some more eccentric skaters out enjoying the ice as well. I especially liked the Michael Jackson look alike (post surgery) who was clearly skating to his own tunes.To skate at Rockefeller, be ready to shell out some cash. Skate rentals are $10 and admission to the ice was $21 for adults. Rink hours are generally Monday thru Thursday 9am – 10:30pm, Friday thru Saturday 8:30am – midnight, and Sunday from 8:30am until 10pm. Rockefeller Center is on 5^th Ave between 49^th and 50^th. Give the rink a call at 212-332-7654, as hours change weekly. The rink often closes due to private rentals, so really: call that number and double check.Skating by the Sea: The rink at Hotel Del CoronadoDenise and I were home for less than a month before we went stir crazy in Seattle and decided to head to San Diego. Thus we found ourselves in the adjacent corner of the US, at an ice rink by the sea. Hotel Del Coronado set up its rink between their red turrets and the Pacific Ocean on November 23^rd and the ice will remain there until January 8^th. We had hoped that it would be cheaper than Rockefeller, which it kind of was. Evening skating for adults is $25, which includes admission and skate rental. “Matinee” skating is $20. There was no discount if you have your own skates, but it would have been very easy to sneak onto the rink. Each skater is given a wristband, but nobody appeared to be monitoring that situation very well.The rink was smaller, more crowded, the ice wasn’t as clear, and it was generally not as cool as Rockefeller. Yeah, the sea breeze and lighted palm trees were cool, but you kind of forgot about the ocean being next to you.  As for the other two corners of the US, I definitely won’t be back in Miami anytime this winter, and Denise and I were there during bikini season, so I’m not sure about ice rinks in Florida. As for Seattle, we like the outdoor rink in Bellevue Park, but for a WAY better list of outdoor rinks in the west, check out this Sunset Magazine article, which features an impressive list of ten cool places to skate in the West.