hittin the ice

This summer we enjoyed so many outdoor activities in Vancouver, that didn’t cost a thing except maybe bus fare if we wanted to venture a little further from home [miss604]. As the rain rolled in for fall and winter in the city, our beach time came to an end, walks are less frequent and we spend most of our free time watching hockey indoors.

Today, we discovered something (for under 10 dollars) that’s a GREAT way to spend a rainy day inside and get a workout. Ice skating [metblogs]

We’ve been meaning to go for a while and since I had the day off work and it was a Twonie skate at the West End Community Centre, we jumped at the chance. Lacing up the skates and getting out on the ice felt SO good. It took us a lap to get our skating legs into gear and we were off. 45 minutes later I was out of breath and just listening to the sounds around me. Ashlee Simpson on the loudspeaker, crunching snow and ice beneath the skates of school kids, tourists and old couples alike. Echos of young girls giggling when their friend would trip, the crunching of snow under the skates of the hockey star in the middle of the rink practicing his turns and stops. Man it felt good to get out there.

I was surprised that John did so well, although I shouldn’t be really. He comes from a climate where outdoor rinks would flourish in the winter time much more than they would here. He’s also got a lil hockey background. I felt empowered, being one of maybe two girls on the ice wearing “boy” skates although I think I lost my ability to hockey-stop. Regardless, we had such a wicked time.

On the way out of the rink, there was a display case mounted on the wall, just outside of the doors on Haro Street [view Flickr pics]. They were photos of Coal Harbour and the old Denman Arena. For those who don’t know – that’s the last place that the Canucks won the Stanley Cup in 1915 [read my metblogs post].

We’re set on going skating again, probably tomorrow. And I’m thinking of starting a new series of blog posts (since we’re kinda cheapskates) about things to do in Vancouver that are uber fun AND under 10 bucks. So let this be the first, and we’ll see how our season goes.

*View the YouTube video John took at the rink & my Flickr photo set.

The Vancouver Park Board Rinks: Britannia, Kerrisdale, Killarney, Kitsilano, Riley Park, Sunset, Trout Lake and West End Community Centres [VPB].

PDF schedule for all rinks in Vancouver.