Skating in Hamptons (NY)?

[rd350]

There's a rink in Southampton but anyone know of any others close to Water Mill (that's between Southampton and Bridgehampton.)  Southampton isn't sure if they'll be open every day I plan to be there.

[twinskaters]

You're ahead of me knowing there's one in southampton! I know there was an outdoor rink in Riverhead last winter. And one in Greenport, which is the wrong fork for you. I don't know any indoor rinks east of The Rinx in Hauppauge, though I could be missing something. The weather over the next few days. seems lousy for outdoor skating, unfortunately.

[twinskaters]

Hey! Not closer, but here's another! http://www.buckskillwinterclub.com/public_skating_schedule.html

[rd350]

Thanks Twinskaters!  I saw the Buckskill one but couldn't figure out if it's public or membership only.  Yeah Southampton is going to be iffy.  I'm bringing my new skates because I really need to continue breaking them in (although fitter advised against wearing them outdoors - said the cold and wind is like taking sandpaper to the blades).  I will limit the outdoor.  I definitely won't have time to go an hour away.  It's a work/play....

I'll ask about Riverhead while I'm out there.  Not as bad a distance.

[twinskaters]

Well, it doesn't look like it's going to be very cold so maybe it'll work. Though the ice may be pretty wet and puddly after all this rain and warm temperatures. Maybe you should just stick to western suffolk. We will be at dix hills in a couple of hours. :-D

[rd350]

I passed Southampton on the way in and it didn't look open.  Of course it's raining so hard.  Maybe Friday or Saturday.  It's supposed to get colder again tomorrow night.

Have fun in Dix Hills!

[twinskaters]

I ended up not skating. Just the kids had their lesson and I chatted with friends. It was definitely too warm and wet for an outdoor rink. My car said 57 degrees tonight!

[rd350]

Wow!  What rink is in Dix Hills?  Where do you usually skate?  Twin Rinks?  I used to skate in the old one when I was younger.

[twinskaters]

The rink in Dix hills is the town of Huntington rink in Dix hills park. That's where we skate almost all the time. There are two rinks there but it's not the old twin rinks, which I think closed? And now there's a new Twin Rinks in east meadow at Eisenhower park which is really really nice. The girls just did an ice show there over the weekend. It's just a little far for us. 25 minutes of parkway driving vs 12 on side roads for Dix hills.

[rd350]

Oh cool I'll check it out sometime.  Very far for me though from Manhattan.

The old Twin Rinks was in Roslyn.

How was the show?

[twinskaters]

Yeah I wouldn't necessarily make a special trip, but if you're out this way, weekday 10am publics are nice and quiet.

The show was awesome. My kids had kind of a crappy part, being too advanced for what they were given to do but not advanced enough for the next step up. But the experience was great. Samantha Cesario and Madison Chock and Evan Bates performed, as well as Alexey Bychenko, who I had never seen but is the Israeli national champ. And one of the Skyliners synchro teams. They were amazing! It was on the outdoor rink and there were fireworks at the end. It was a great show, but soooooo cold!! It was last Saturday night when it was like 30 degrees.

[rd350]

Oh nice!  I know Alexey Bychenko.  Well I don't "know" him, but I've met him a few times and watched him skate in Hackensack where I had my skate fittings.  He trains there.  He's awesome.  Nice lineup!

I think the experience is still great to have for your girls.  I skated in the show at SkyRink and we all basically skated at the same level as well but it was still fun.  I took my cousin's daughter skating a couple of days later when we got off the ice my cousin said I was a much better skater than she saw in the show, LOL.

[twinskaters]

He seemed nice and I really enjoyed his skating.

That's funny about your cousin! And a little annoying, I'm sure. The thing with the girls was they were skating with a lot of kids who could really barely skate. Some were in rentals and had only been out there once or twice before. So they pretty much shuffled out on the ice, joined up into little groups and did  pinwheels, and then skated back to the edge and bounced around on their toepicks. My kids and a few others threw in a couple bunny hops on the trip back to the side. But the next-most advanced kids were doing camel spins and jumps, so they definitely could not have been part of that group. It probably wouldn't have been so bad had they not just done the dix hills show where they did a really fun synchro number with a group in which they were the least advanced, so there was lots of challenge. The good thing is they both came away with the realization that they would rather be the least advanced and have to push themselves than be the "best" in a group that doesn't do much. That seems like a valuable piece of knowledge! And they did love the whole atmosphere of the show, and seeing the elite skaters ten feet away, and getting pictures taken with them. So overall it was a win. Just not necessarily in the actual skating sense.

[rd350]

Yeah sounds good and they learned some valuable stuff!  The atmosphere is definitely fun and you had some amazing skaters at your show!  Nice experience for them.

I went to the Southampton rink after calling them and eagerly saying I'll be right over and boogieing there after they said the ice is great.  I was on the ice less than 10 minutes and thought I must be ruining my new blades.  It was like a mini-slalom!  The ice was completely rippled.  I felt bad and they didn't want to give me my $15 back but then the did.  They were very nice, they just didn't get it about the ice.  Really disappointed and I really want to skate while out here.  I heard East Hampton has a good rep.  Will see.

That said I got a steroid injection in my foot 2 days ago and I feel it after that 10 minutes - now anyway, not while I was there (in the new skates).  Maybe too soon.  I'll find out about East Hampton tomorrow or I'll just take a rest from skating....

[twinskaters]

Oy, that sounds pretty lousy--both the foot and the ice situation! Was it very puddly? It feels more like Easter here than Christmas! How long are you going to be out east?

[rd350]

A bit puddly but looked it more than was.  I'll try and post a picture.  You'll see the support lines under the ice creating those crazy ridges.

$27 for Buckskill East Hampton!!!!!  That's like Rockefeller Center!  Insane.  I may need to give my foot a rest.  Staying probably until Monday.  I have a lot of work to do.  Hmm, did this work?  Try this link?  file:///Users/annette/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Masters/2014/12/25/20141225-141046/IMG_5280.JPG

[rd350]

Try this.  I made it public.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204074339073541&set=a.1066658701484.2011718.1076527049&type=1&theater

[twinskaters]

OMG! That's pretty atrocious! I'm glad they gave you your money back, even if it was with a fight. I didn't realize buckskill was that expensive. I thought I saw a more reasonable rate on there. :'( Considering conditions will probably only be marginally better, I think rest sounds really good!

I haven't skated in almost two weeks. Coach had to miss last lesson before the holiday for a doctor's appointment. I think we will go either tomorrow or Saturday, but it's entirely possible it won't happen with all the holiday recovery. I got two new pairs of skating pants today, though! The CN from my husband and my SIL bought the Nordic print nikepro leggings I put on my amazon wish list! Extra excited about that because she usually managed to pick the one weird random item I put on there without thinking it through, and I end up returning it. Not this year! I'm wearing them now while sitting around drinking one of these http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2014/12/fairytale-of-new-york/#more-13714 and waiting for my parents and brother to invade for round 2 of spoil-my-kidsmas.

[rd350]

Haha spoil-my-kidsmas - that sounds about right from the looks of my Facebook newsfeed!

Congrats on the score for skating pants.  I am getting an Edea spinner - on it's way.  Excited.

That's too long to go without skating!  Get to the rink!  Honestly probably uber crowded.  I was so excited to see only 2 people on the rink in Southampton until I got to the ice.

[twinskaters]

And then you realized why...

We skated in Atlanta last Christmas Day, at the rink at Olympic park. Actually, I didn't end up skating because it was so crowded. It was horrible. Freezing cold but that was doable. But the ice was tiny, and crowded, and basically like pond ice. They didn't cut it--just swept off the snow between sessions. My kids had to wear rentals with no toe picks and they pretty much melted down. Baaaad scene!  And there's the doorbell. Wish me luck finding room for everything being carried in here right now.

[rd350]

Haha good luck!  Yeah that sounds about right.  Some guy came on and swept some water over.  I don't know that they have a zamboni.

[twinskaters]

Ooh, water! That's an upgrade!

The damage wasn't too bad. And I got a check in an envelope that said "For the family skaters." It'll pay for a good amount of ice time. Hooray!

[rd350]

Wow!  Nice!  Enjoy that one!!