If at First You Don't Succeed....

For some (many), Spring Break means Florida, beaches, bikinis, and beer, and not necessarily in that order.  And, yeah, once upon a time, I might have thought of those things, too.  But in the interim years, before Sk8terdude and OlderBrother are old enough to appreciate that particular vacation fantasy, Spring break for us translates a little differently.

So while OlderBrother heads to the Baseball Hall of Fame with Skaterdad, I'm back in New Jersey for a mini-road trip to Shields Skatepark and GardenSk8, with a quick visit to Sk8tergrandma thrown in for good measure (and good karma).

You may recall our last visit to the Garden State was a little chilly...  I'm happy to report that it is a beautifully warm 76°F outside and a comfortable temperature inside Shields, where I am not so comfortably seated on one of those metal folding chairs I complained about last time.  But I digress...

It's a great day to be at Shields if, like Sk8terdude, you want to work on some new tricks.  Since it is NOT Spring Break in New Jersey, the skatepark was virtually empty when we arrived for the 2 p.m. opening and, three hours later, there are still only a handful of boys inside - mostly on scooters.  A few minutes ago, Sk8terdude asked me if I would film him.

It took me three tries to get the iPhone video to work properly (don't ask) and then it took him three tries to successfully land the wall push.  But land it he did.  A lesson for both of us to always "try, try again."

SkatePark of Tampa - Day 3

It's almost a wrap.

With one afternoon left before our flight home, we are back at SPoT for a final session, despite Sk8terdude's hacking cough, possible low fever, and probable ear infection.  ("No, really, Mom!  I swear I'm - hack, hack, cough, cough - just fine to skate.)

I'm sure Sk8terdude has a headache and I know I do.  After two days with the music turned down (thank you, thank you, Alex), today I am cursed not only with loud music but also with an interminable soundcheck.  (Dude, the speakers are working.  You can stop shouting "check, check, check, 1-2, check, check, check" into the microphone!)

We're only going to be here for two more hours.  Can't this wait?  (Okay, I know the world - especially the skateboarding world - doesn't revolve around me.  But wouldn't it be great for me if it did???)  Even the guy delivering Red Bull looked annoyed...

Admittedly, I'm a little cranky.  Not only was I up half the night thanks to Sk8terdude's coughing, just as he settled down, the guy in the NEXT room started snoring and, no joke, I couldn't sleep because it was so loud!  As a result, I've given up on getting any work done today, but I thought I would make an attempt at a wrap-up post about lessons we've learned in Tampa.

1.  When calling ahead to ask if there is a parent lounge, be specific.  I should have asked if there are actual CHAIRS, rather than a picnic table.  My back is killing me!  (Yeah, I'm getting old.)

2.  When calling ahead to ask if there is a parent lounge, ask if it's temperature controlled.  (You would think I had learned that lesson after freezing my *(Y&(*^ off in New Jersey, which I wrote about here, but apparently I didn't.)  Fortunately, the weather has been wonderful and the fans, noisy as they are, keep this room reasonably comfortable.  But if it were another 5° warmer, I would have been in trouble.

OMG - I JUST REMEMBERED THAT I HAVE A PAIR OF FLENTS (those little squishy purple earplugs) IN MY PURSE.  It's still really loud in here, but that's MUCH better!!!

3.  Always carry earplugs!

4.  Rely on sources other than the skatepark when looking for lodging.  SPoT has a great list of hotels in the area on their website.  And if I were a 20-something guy looking to spend a few days in the area, I might have been happy to stay in any of those hotels.  Fortunately, I logged into TripAdvisor and asked on the Tampa forum and was warned that this might not be the neighborhood to stay in as a mom travelling with a child.  I'm glad I listened.  We stayed out in Brandon, which was an easy 15 minute drive and a world away from SPoT:  lots of restaurants, shopping, and a Starbucks all around the corner from our hotel!

5.  Always ask about the ingredients in the sandwich bread before ordering lunch.  (Okay, that one might not help the rest of you.)

6.  Be prepared to spend money.  Sk8terdude is going home with a SPoT deck and hat to add to his collection:

Thanks for everything, Tampa!  We had a great trip.

Taking Care of Customers (and their parents) should be Second Nature

Saturday is skate day for Sk8terdude, at least whenever possible.  Today we are back at 2nd Nature which is now our "local" indoor skatepark, thanks to the demise of both Vertigo and Haven Skateparks in Connecticut.

By "local" I mean a delightful 50 minute drive if there's no traffic - not exactly a convenient "drop and go" location for me - so once I again I am hunkered down in the parent lounge.  I'm thankful for the small things they offer....like heat!  A big improvement over my recent sojourn to New Jersey, which I blogged about last week.

In addition to the heat (admittedly, it's close to 60 degrees outside - a rare January experience indeed - so maybe the heat isn't that critical), they also had the good sense to take care of parents with this lovely little setup:  a microwave, a keurig, and a selection of herbal teas and coffee.

Now if these guys managed to get it together long enough to think about the comfort and convenience of the parents (and maybe even the employees?), could it be that difficult for other skateparks to do the same?

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  It's good business to take care of the parents who drive the kids to the park and pay for the sessions (and the merchandise).  Seriously.

I'm So Blue (as in COLD...not sad!)

If you've been paying attention, you may have noticed that it's been several months, one hurricane, and one freak October snowstorm since I last posted on this blog.

There are several reasons for my absence.

First, the Streetleague Skateboarding competition was AWESOME!  So awesome, in fact, that I had tons I wanted to say about it and a gazillion photos to post.  But Hurricane Irene arrived and our power went out (along with most of the Northeast), and by the time our power was restored, I couldn't recreate the post I had been planning.  Then, after an unexpected one week delay, school began, and suddenly I was too busy (and too tired) to write.  And one thing led to another, and I fell out of the habit, and suddenly this blog was in serious need of updating...

And then Sk8terdude took a tumble on the last run of a beautiful blue sky morning at Jennings Beach and suddenly we were out of skating for a few weeks while he nursed a broken thumb...and before he could fully recover from the thumb, he fell going UP the stairs at our house...and broke a toe...and he broke it in such a way that he couldn't put weight on it, which meant yet another cast, and crutches, and by the time we were done (last week), he had been out of skating for three entire months.

So I haven't had much to say...until today.

It's holiday time and school is out of session and I promised Sk8terdude he could get back into the parks with some serious board time.  But with Vertigo and Haven both out of business, Connecticut in the cold weather is not exactly a skater's paradise.  So Sk8terdad took him over to 2nd Nature the other day for a few hours and then I packed up and made the trip to New Jersey for two days of indoor skating.  (Why New Jersey?  Free lodging courtesy of Sk8tergrandma!)

Yesterday I spent 3 1/2 hours at Shields Skatepark in Flemington, New Jersey.  With approximately 18,000 square feet of space, the park was a great place for an extended session - for Sk8terdude.  For me, not so much.

The "parent lounge" (and I use the term VERY loosely) consisted of a few tables and some metal folding chairs just outside the fence that keeps the skaters separated from the skateshop, hallway, bathrooms, etc.  Since the space isn't separated, it's maintained at the same temperature as the rest of the park which, yesterday, was just barely above 50 degrees fahrenheit.

If you've never spent a few hours sitting on a cold metal chair in that temperature, without a coat, hat, or gloves, well, I don't recommend you try it.  Even the mom who DID have a hat and gloves left to drive over to Wal-Mart (conveniently around the corner) so she could buy warmer socks.  For the first time in my life, I truly understood the phrase "catch a chill."

It took HOURS for me to thaw.  Seriously.  And that was after riding in a car for 45 minutes with the heat cranked all the way up to 75 and the heat seater on high and several more hours in the house with the heat at a normal temperature and at least an hour in bed under two blankets and a comforter.

And just when I thought I had finally defrosted, we arrived - today - at our second destination:  GardenSk8.

This is our second trip to GardenSk8, but our first since they expanded, adding a second section which Sk8terdude assures me is "sick!"  Last time we were here it was during a horrible ice storm, but we took refuge up the road, visiting Sk8tercousins who live nearby.  Today I thought I would just unpack the laptop, settle into the sofa, and get some work done.

Yeah, right.

Because once again I am freezing my you-know-what off...

My nose is running, I can no longer feel my toes (and I am wearing a thick pair of socks), and in between sentences I have to put on a pair of gloves and wait until my fingers are warm enough to keep typing.

I asked the guy (owner? manager?? dude hanging out in the office???) - only sort of joking - if they didn't have a space heater or something they could rent out to the frozen parents suffering on the sofas.  And he seriously thought I was out of my mind.

Okay, I understand that they can't afford to heat the entire warehouse to a comfortable temperature for sitting around and, even if they could, it would be too warm for the sweaty skaters.

But here's what I don't understand.  In order to survive, all skateparks have to hope that new generations of kids learn to skate.  And until those kids are old enough to drive, the skateparks have to depend on parents willing to drive them.  And for those of us who need to wait while our kids are skating (either because we live too far away or because our kids are too young to be dropped off and left on their own), we would appreciate just a little consideration!

I'd be much more likely to stay longer, visit more often, and spend more money at a park that at least pretended to care about my comfort.  A simple space heater would do the trick (and at this rate I might invest in my own and bring it with me in the future)...even a blanket would be nice....

Is it too much to ask?