The Way We Were

While perusing Pinterest the other day, these skates caught my eye ~ I had a pair very similar to these, along with the skate key which I wore around my neck on my handmade gimp lanyard (here is a tutorial where you can make one for yourself!). I think my skates looked a little bit more like these:

When the weather got warm enough, I used to strap on my skates, leash up my dog, Gretel and skate down the hill on the sidewalk watching for the uneven cracks. It was the closest I could get to waterskiing ~ and probably more dangerous as back then no one believed in helmets or knee pads! Even though Gretel was not a large dog, she loved to go for a run and was pretty speedy, so we both had a good time as long as I didn't misjudge the sidewalk and wipe out.

Too bad these bicycle skates weren't available when I was a kid ~ these would certainly make you stand out in a crowd. The ones at bottom look like they could do serious damage if you happened to fall ~ yikes!

Aside from rollerskating outside, I remember going rollerskating at the rink as well ~ a dark, dingy place where you rented skates and took your pocket change to spend on all sorts of candy to eat during the couples skates. I wish I remembered the name of the rink ~ I do remember they had a giant mirrored disco ball that made skating extra exciting when all the lights were turned off. There was also a pinball machine area where all the unsavory guys that wore army jackets used to hang out. I never could figure out why my mom always suggested the skating rink as a good place to meet men ~ except she was probably remembering what they were like in the 50's ~ maybe they were more wholesome then?

I know I earned a girl scout badge for rollerskating, but that is a story for another time!

{click on each photo for source}