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01/15/2006
Life in the city
The schuss of the blades on ice; the laughter and excited jabbering of kids and parents; the pounding of the jackhammer. Jackhammer? What's that doing here? Read on, o guest, to learn more.
One of the advantages of living in the city is the wide variety of activities available. Like most people, we probably under-use the ammenities around us. When we do take time to smell the roses, it is an exciting adventure. Friday's adventure took us to the Ice Terrace at Crown Center, Hallmark's downtown shopping mall.
So, with a lot of excitement that I left work early on Friday. Parked out front was our red Saturn, encapsulating my family world. As I walked out the front door from work, the blue sky and stiff breezes told me this was going to be fun.
Pushing off to the north, the car almost found its way to the parking garage by itself. A left, a right, another left, and we were looking for a parallel set of yellow lines with no vehicular transportation device wedged between them. The girls were incredibly excited and were ready to start on our adventure. But first, we had to refuel, so we headed to Fritz's. Some might call the blend of Americana and model railroads kitsch, but the kids don't care. When you pick up the phone to order your lunch (hamburgers, too small; chicken nuggets, rather like cardboard) or watch the model train deliver your meal via hydraulic tray lift, they are all eyeballs and chatter.
Lunch over, we headed across the street. The afforementioned jackhammer and company had taken over the courtyard area between Crown Center and the Ice Terrace, so we were following the plywood signs touting "This way ot the Ice Terrace >". Unfortunately, the high winds had knocked several of the diminutive guides flatter than the Kansas prairie. Fortunately, we were close enough to pick our way from marker to marker to our destination.
And so it was that we spent two plus hours in the chill air. The kids had a blast, I didn't break anything, and we all had a good time. My only regret is that you can't ice skate when it's warm.
Then, home (okay, we stopped to wash the car on the way, since Youngest dropped off to sleep almost as soon as the car started moving) for dinner. Later, we watched Go Figure on the Disney Channel. A kid's girl's movie with all the standard features - fish out of water, sibling rivalries, cliques and youthful dreams. It was a fun ending to a day of skating.
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