I happened upon the Elm Street Plaza BRAND NEW skating rink on the last day of their ice skating season, so I screwed up my courage to try skating for the first time in many decades. The facility is absolutely gorgeous and modern, with igloos, braziers to get warm, and a black rubberized coating to the ground which makes it easier to walk around with skates on. Trying to gather my courage, I walked to the skate rental window. I found it was only $12.00 for the day. However, when I got ready to pay, she wouldn't take it, giving it to me for free. She must have taken pity on my expression of stark fear. And she was right, as I was only good for 20 minutes or so. It took awhile to get the shoe size correct -- I'm a size 9, but took a size 7 shoe to get it snug enough to feel comfortable. These are modern skates -- much sleeker and easier to walk on than the version several decades ago. There's a convenient shack to leave your shoes & other belongings -- no one touches them -- and you hobble to the gate, and you're off!! I knew this would be a good group to skate with right off the bat, as there were a lot of new people with my (lack of) confidence level, a bunch of kids, and a family-friendly atmosphere. And the weather was perfect, as it was a balmy 45 degrees. I clung to the side of the ring, slowly trying to get my balance while skating the perimeter (but did more clinging than skating). Unfortunately, the side is where the ice was in the worst condition -- grainy rather than smooth. I finally tried one of the big blue carts -- you can hold onto them while skating. Then I could "skate" at a fairly good clip in the middle unimpeded, though it was low to the ground and I had to bend over to power it. I then spent the rest of my time alternating between cling-walking the sides of the rink and careening around in one of the blue carts. And on my third "clingy" go-around, I fell!! It was so spectacular that several people stopped to make sure I was okay. (I bruised my butt, but otherwise was okay, but sore enough to be done for the day). All together, I found the staff and fellow participants to be friendly and understanding, the accommodations to be clean and modern, and the skating to be fun -- even for people who aren't quite comfortable with skating yet. I would only have 2 suggestions: 1) invest in some adult carts -- large enough for us older people who are struggling to tool around in without having to bend; and 2) I know no one does this. But shouldn't skating rinks have a "lifeguard," i.e. someone on watch to make sure everyone's okay and cared for, and to check in on the occasional fall? read more