Skating rink

Today I went for a walk in the neighborhood where I grew up as a kid. When you move away and then come back you see how some things change and some things stay the same. It seemed like winter lasted forever back when I was a kid. I remember it being dark and grey and my feet were always wet from walking in slush.

There was a skating rink down by the river next to a sawmill within walking distance from my house. Here is a photo I took of the rink today. Now it's a fishing pond and they don't allow skating. I think that's sad. It was too warm for skating today however. There was one kid down there throwing rocks out onto the ice. The sawmill used to be just beyond that hill which is actually a raised railroad track. Some kids would use the railroad to get to and from the rink from both sides of the river. We would play crack the whip and that sort of thing. The rink had a few lights on it and a warming hut with a wood stove inside. There used to be a different bridge going out to the island that was tall enough to skate under.