Ice skating in Florida

The RDV Sportsplex in Maitland, Florida offers not only a huge pool for lap and recreational swimming, a massive gym, a coffee shop and hair salon, but also an ice skating rink called the Ice Den. Ice skating in Florida?! Yes, it is actually a thing! I found it while I was looking for places near me to lap swim, and couldn’t resist the delicious irony of going ice skating in Florida.

On a Saturday night, there were mostly family skaters. Kids whizzed around at great speed (looking a little scornful of more cautious adults). Groups of friends and couples teetered across the ice, grinning. One man made dancing on the ice look easy.

I rented my skates, ankle-high torture devices with old knotted laces, and laced them up as best I could. Falls were going to be inevitable because I hadn’t done this in years. I stepped out into the ice anyway.

It’s a truly counterintuitive activity, ice skating. When you’re roller skating, the floor beneath you is usually normal wood flooring despite the fact you’re on wheels. Going out on an unnatural walking surface like slippery ice with bladed booties on your feet is really awkward. Even when your muscles have memorized the motions, it takes your mind a minute to adjust and trust what your appendages are doing.

But I picked up speed with a few laps around the rink and enjoyed the feeling. After a while ice skating really is like flying. The fast glide gives you a feeling like runner’s high. My ankles and shins protested but the wind I was creating kept me going.

As we skaters took a break to re-freeze the ice, I wandered over to watch the hockey players on an adjacent rink. They were all covered in heavy gear and made everything look effortless. I admired their coordination and focus: so many factors went into staying upright on ice while holding a large stick, dribbling a puck, and taking shots at a relatively small goal. The missed shots sounded like rifle shots off the plexiglass surrounded the rink.

I only fell once, with five minutes remaining in public skate session time! Never fear: I only pulled a muscle in my abs. It was definitely worth the experience, fall or not.

As I left, the sun had only recently set.  The physical exertion had made me alert. Maybe there were more adventures to be had on a Saturday. I set my GPS for anywhere, hopped in my Ford Focus, and left all thoughts of ice behind in the heavy Florida night.

~ The Dauntless Princess ~

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