As the weather gets colder and colder up here in Buffalo, I find myself missing the beach more and more. I’m from Massachusetts, and every single summer in August, I go down to Cape Cod for a week with my family. This week consists of going to the beach: long walks on the beach, (attempting to) tan, and lots of boogie-boarding. I’m currently suffering from severe beach withdrawals up here in the tundra. The tan I worked so hard on is long gone, and so is my (kind of) beach bod. I find myself frustrated with the fact that Buffalo has no ocean anywhere near it. Yeah, the Great Lakes are cool and all, but it’s simply not the same when you grew up in New England. And to be fair, they actually do have beaches here; but again, they’re just not the same! I need warm sand, cascading dunes, and big waves on my beaches. I believe that beaches have the power to clear your mind and make you forget about your problems for an extended amount of time. I always feel like I’m in a completely different world at the beach. It feels like nothing else in the universe matters when I’m there. The only thing that matters is the chilly salt water surrounding my body, the soft sea breeze on my face, and the warm sun on my skin.
When I try to think of something about the beach that makes it so irresistible and special to me, I struggle to find one that one thing. I think part of it is that the beach has always been home to me. Another part of it is the fact that all my worries melt away when I'm there. Yet another part of it is the feeling of peace that it gives me in my mind. It's like when you go hiking, and it sort of releases all the stress you have and gives you a chance to just take in everything around you and only worry about the present. I believe that beaches give you a kind of bliss that can't be compared to any other place. Whenever I want to escape from this crazy world, the beach is where you can find me. When I have a real job and enough to move out of my parents’ house in Massachusetts, I don’t know where exactly I’ll be moving, but I can tell you that it will be somewhere near an ocean. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been loving doing all-things-Buffalo this semester, but it really has made me realize how much I miss the beach.
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This past Saturday, I finally made it to Canalside Buffalo for some ice skating. This is something I've wanted to do since first hearing about it my junior year at UB; and this time, it was really spontaneous! My friend Preston told me that he wanted to take me ice skating with his roommate, Andy and his roommate's girlfriend, Emma; so off we went! Before I get into the details of skating at Canalside, let me just say that I was not really dressed the best for this cold weather, outdoor activity. Yeah, I had my Burton ski jacket on, but I didn't bring a hat, gloves, a scarf, or anything else to keep me warm. I'm clearly still not a true Buffalonian after all this time in Western New York. After only about a 20 minute drive, we made it to Canalside where we parked nearby for $6 and walked across the street to the skating rink. Canalside was looking festive as hell, with white Christmas lights strung on the bridge, beautiful wreaths, decorated evergreen trees, and Christmas songs playing overhead. We got there right as people were getting off the rink for the Zamboni to clean the ice, so needless to say, it was quite busy in the walking areas. When we finally made our way to the skate rentals shack, we were then faced with the decision of what size skates to pick. I am usually a 7.5 and I mistakenly went with a 7, which were still too big unfortunately. I made the guys tie my laces really, really tight just so I wouldn't be as apt to fall. It was $5 to rent skates, and $6 to skate, so it was a pretty good deal!
Once we finally got on the ice, I immediately realized that this wasn't as easy as I remembered it to be. The last time I had gone ice skating was probably in high school, so I really wasn't in tune to it at all. As soon as I got on the ice, one kid with a metal cart to help him skate almost crashed right into me and took me out. Whoa, buddy! He clearly didn't need the cart to keep him from falling. As I clung to the sides with Andy and Emma, Preston whizzed around us trying to get one of us to be brave and start actually trying to skate. I was proud of myself for trying and getting the hang of it again. I only fell once during the about hour and a half that we were there, and that was because someone ahead of me was going very slow then just decided to stop, and I don't know how to do that on skates. Good thing Preston was there to kind of catch me or else I would've looked like a complete fool. Once you finally get the hang of it though, ice skating can be tons of fun. I can't wait til the day when I can skate backwards. I wish we had had more time to skate, as the skating rink at Canalside closes at 10pm. I definitely recommend this a very fun thing to do with friends or family before or after Christmastime though! |