The Good Times Keep On Rolling

So I finally got out on the skating rink again this weekend, accompanied by my very excellent Partner in Crime, Arielle! 

 

We tried a rink we'd never been to, in the little town of Franklin (outside of Elk Grove, South of Sacramento). It was so strangely situated that I almost didn't see it when I pulled up to the intersection-- in fact, I was just thinking I must have taken a wrong turn, because all I saw were fields and farms. Come to find out, this has been a roller rink for 60 years, but somehow mini-malls and housing developments never crowded around it!

 

The rink was small, and the floor slightly uneven, but the atmosphere was extra sweet and homey. They played songs by request, and you can bet there were New Country hits in there along with the Michael Jackson (seemingly a standard at roller rinks these days) and the Tweens Top Twenty. For the record, I love ALL music when I am rollerskating; all powers of discrimination are obliterated by the sensation of those eight wheels gliding beneath my feet. 

 

It was a girl's day out, and you know what that means? Pictures. I kind of feel bad for guys, who never got a lot of Photo Bonding with their dude friends when they were growing up (unless they were goths). It is so awesome to do weird poses and climb things you shouldn't while feeling somehow wrapped in a bubble of protection because your girlfriend is aiming a camera at you. Case in point: 

 

Yes I did wash my hair after doing this. Well, at least I did the next day. 

This is my beautiful and absurdly talented friend Arielle, whose camera is responsible for all the super-fly pics like the one below:
 
  
 

Arielle is a singer, guitar player, actress, photographer, aspiring clothing designer, and in general just one of the funniest and funnest (is that a word? sorry) people I have ever met. She lives a ways away from me, but we make a point of getting together whenever we can (the last time was the awesome Haunted House at Halloween, where we snuck off and started scaring the customers ourselves!). Sometimes our bands get to play together, which reminds me, we have to make that happen soon...

 

My big triumph of the day was that I learned to do a fancy twirl-to-stop move, even at full speed. I still can't figure out how to turn and keep skating backwards, so if you can explain it, please tell me! I want to master that one so badly.

 

Thanks to Arielle for making this adventure happen, and a big thanks to whoever invented the roller skate. I love you.

    

Comments

[Sarah Louise]

Man there are NO skating rinks anywhere near me. That bums me out. We used to do it in gym class for a week every year.

[Mousevox Vintage]

Fun! A friend of mine just had her 30th birthday at a roller rink. Total blast!

[heather]

i love the dreamy haze of these lovely photos. a girl i used to know was from the family that owned that skating rink; she basically grew up there. what a childhood, huh?! this makes me want to go skating BAD. i am such a weakling that it counts as a work out for me...the only kind i actually enjoy.

[nicole]

sounds like you two had so much fun, and the photos are excellent!