Finally the ice rink downtown froze

November 2021 has been the second warmest November on record here in Tucson and when the Holiday on Ice people flooded their outdoor rink a few days ago, it didn’t freeze. Well, you can’t ice skate on water so the opening day was delayed. Finally, the daytime high temperature fell below 80F and…

There was ice! And there was skating!

There was also a brisk wind and a couple of the Christmas trees around the rink had blown down, but it didn’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the beginner skaters. And almost everyone was a beginner skater. Unlike outdoor ice skating rinks in Los Angeles where at least a few experienced skaters were there to show off. In Tucson people were just having fun.

It was a little disappointing to see that the ice skating “helpers” this year were plain blue dolphins–or are they seals?–instead of the cute penguins used in Los Angeles. The rink was much smaller than LA, too and even smaller than in 2019 in Tucson.

This year it wasn’t only children who were benefiting from the blue helpers., as you can see below. Those dolphins are sturdy enough for adults to ride.

By the time I left the rink was filling up with people watching the other skaters as well as skating themselves. And I’m sure that after morning Mass was over at the Cathedral across the street , the crowd at the ice rink would be larger.

This year the outdoor ice rink is located next to the Tucson Convention Center where the Roadrunners, a professional hockey team, play. It’s a better location for parking than 2019 when it was in the busy area near the Hotel Congress.