Goodbye Ice House

So, I know that I am not alone on feeling sad that there will be no more Ice House. I can remember just moving here last September...and finding out in October about an outdoor ice skating rink. I couldn't believe in West Texas that they'd have such a thing. I was ecstatic to check it out. And luckily, I ended up getting to do the LIVE shot on the opening night of the Ice House this past season. I did the LIVE shot in ice skates on the ice (almost fell on LIVE television; but luckily didn't quite make a fool of myself). After the LIVE shot you can bet that I hung around for awhile after and skated with friends.

I loved that you could get away with just jeans and a light jacket, and how for most of the time it was warm while you were skating on ice. I have been ice skating indoors and outdoors, but any time outdoors, it was in the Northeast and it was very cold. I thought it was so neat for a community like Abilene to be able to have something like the Ice House available.

I went several times after that LIVE shot with friends, and co-workers. I have included some pictures of the KRBC and KTAB crew on ice skates.

Next winter definitely won't be the same without the Ice House. It's unfortunate that Habitat for Humanity and the Dyess We Care team weren't able to raise much money for projects...both groups work extremely hard to help others in the community.

While, I know that the electricity bill alone was ridiculous to put on the Ice House (somewhere near $15,000)...I have to wonder, that maybe if the Ice House rink was not open for so many months, that it could cut the costs and even get more skaters to visit in a shorter amount of time. With the Ice House being open from October all the way through February...that's a long time to keep the place up and running. Maybe if the Ice House were to only be open for a month, more people would come...knowing that the opportunity to ice skate was limited to a certain amount of time...and they could maybe raise money and cover the costs of the rink. Of course, this is me living in a "perfect world" mentality...

Nevertheless, I am glad that I was able to lace up some ice skates a few times at the Ice House and to have that unique outdoor ice skating experience in a West Texas City.