Cupcakes and a Brand New Key

 

Brand New Key sung by Melanie

Terry and I were invited to his grandson's 10th birthday party, held at the local roller-skating rink. I haven't been to a rink in many years, so it was nice to relive those weekend trips to Kreklaus Roller Rink. Kreklaus provided a bus to pick everyone up and take them out to the rink, in the hills of South Eugene. It has been closed for many years now and another rink in Springfield has also closed. Skating is always such a fun thing to do and keeps kids of all ages busy. 

We met with Terry's daughter and her grandmother, plus her son, the birthday boy. After a few moments of hugs and introductions, we headed inside to get the party started. There were about 10 children invited to the party. Happy memories of being in a rink, meeting up with friends, and roller skating in a large building with wooden floors came to mind. 

The rink was packed. There were parents walking around everywhere with their kids in tow. Older children were losing their parents as quickly as they could by gliding onto the floor to begin their skating session. Younger kids were skating along the carpeted area, where the tables and party rooms stood. Most of them were hanging onto walls, parents, tables, and anything else they could reach, to steady themselves on the wheels of their skates. 

Terry's daughter is full of smiles and laughter while chatting with the guests at her son's birthday party. 

Some kids stood chatting in the midst of it all. Older children talking with their friends and collaborating on a plan for the day. They had a couple of hours of fun and wanted to get the most out of it. With all of the chatter, people, and excitement, there was so much going on in every corner of the building. 

I watched as people skated around the rink, backward and forwards, all with smiles on their faces. Everyone appeared to be having fun. Those who could not skate well remained in the carpeted area still or rented a little walker-like assistant to help them skate. 

The rink associates had put together PVC pipe and added wheels, to provide skaters with a way to balance themselves until they learned to skate better. I thought it was a great idea and had never seen one before. 

The balance carts were awesome. I wish they had those when I had first learned to skate at about six years of age. It sure would have saved some wear and tear on the derriere. 

Soon the lights dimmed in the rink. Ah, the memories of the skating to music like dancing and the games played while wearing shoes with wheels on them came flooding back to me. I loved it all! The hokey pokey, the red light, green light game, and the other games played in roller rinks all over America. 

As the skaters kept rolling around in the dark, I noticed something we didn't have as children skating in a rink and that was the wheels of the skates lighting up. Each time the wheel rolled around; the lights flashed in rhythm to the skater's movement. I loved them. We had the glow in the dark bars that were somewhat entertaining and did look fairly cool, but wow. Skaters today have a much better way to light themselves up while skating in the dark. 

Everyone skated for a bit and then it was time for singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy. The employee announced over the loudspeaker that it was his birthday, and everyone sang happy birthday followed by a round of applause. We had fun watching his face light up as he was being celebrated. 

Cupcakes followed. The cupcakes were great. Nice and fluffy and topped with a sweet swirl of frosting. After Terry and I munched on those, we said our goodbyes and headed out the door. We aren't finished wishing Terry's grandson joy on his birthday. Tomorrow we are scheduled to meet up at Wildlife Safari where we will be taking his daughter and grandson to not only do the drive through at the park, but also have planned to take him to meet the ambassador cheetahs. 

During this event, we can hang out with the two ambassador cheetahs, take photos with them, and relax in the cool grass alongside the large cats. Once that event is complete, we are signed up for the giraffe visit. This consists of riding out to the giraffe area in an open "truck". We will stay inside the truck, but since we have open sides, the giraffes stick their heads into the vehicle to feast on the organic lettuce we are given to hand out. It should be a day full of fun. 

We kept the trip to Wildlife Safari a secret from Terry's daughter and her son. They will be told as we head into the safari area tomorrow. They are both animal lovers, so it should be a blast for us all. Terry has also unboxed his nice camera, so I would imagine the photos for the blog will be awesome!