Spring Sk8 Jam Sacramento

Oh my goodness! Last weekend was amazing! There aren’t even words to express the amount of fun that I had.

It was great that I brought Thing #1 instead of (pretty much) anyone else. We had such a good time, I can barely figure out what to write!!

Rather than going over the minute and pesky travel details with you (because everything went so smoothly), I’ll just get to the good part.

Thursday night we drove to Stockton to a place called Residence Rink. When we got to the address on the directions, it seemed strange: it was a house in the middle of a residential area. As we drove by the first time, both Thing #1 and I thought, This seems more like a house party. There appeared to be bouncers in the parking lot, and the ‘parking lot’ really wasn’t much more than a drive-through driveway. We doubled-back when we saw the DJ’s bus stopped at a gas station and decided to follow them.

The bus drove back to the exact place where we had just been. We parked on the street (because that was the only parking available) and discussed it for a minute. We even called 411 to call the place and talk to a person. 411 had no record of a roller skating rink in Stockton, CA.

So, because the scene seemed kinda fishy and both of us are too shy for our own good, we decided just to return to the hotel…

It turns out that it’s a legitimate rink.

Friday night at the warm-up roll, I talked to one of the hosts. Someone converted their upstairs into a roller skating rink. It’s small, but it has a great wooden floor and people go there all the time. I mentioned that I wished we had known that – if we had, we would have know better and gone in and skated…

Friday we woke up and got groceries. Then, in the afternoon we took a country drive, sat in the shade by the hotel pool and rested to get ready for 5 hours of roller skating that night from Midnight to 5AM.

Thing #1 tried to keep up. She really did! But, after her first 3 hours, she was totally beat. Regardless, she endured until 4AM the first night. I am so proud of her!!

We got back to the hotel and fell into our beds around 5AM Saturday morning. I was only able to sleep for a couple of hours (that’s how I get on these sk8ventures) but I didn’t wake up Thing #1 until about an hour before it was time to leave for the picnic.

The food was amazing and the music rocked! TwoRaw Skate Club knows how to host a party!!
(BTW – If you ever want a really hoppin’ picnic, make sure you hire a DJ, yo!)

Saturday night skating was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! There were a couple of groups that drove up from Los Angeles and I got to see some friends I met in Phoenix back in February who I wasn’t expecting to get to see…

And…

I am so proud of myself!! Normally I wouldn’t put myself out there and talk to new people. Normally I am a wallflower who just observes quietly. But last weekend I went around introducing myself to strangers and meeting Facebook friends I had never met in person… It totally paid off. I met some great new people who are practically famous in the Skate Community and I got to add them onto my ever-growing skate family!

Sunday afternoon there was bowling, but we decided not to go.

Thing #1 was so sore and tired. I let her sleep late into the afternoon and the she took a hot bath to relax.

When it came time for the cool-down skate at 10PM Sunday night she simply couldn’t find the energy to go. And her body hurt so bad…

But *I* went! (Of course! Did you expect anything less?!)

Most of the out-of-towners had left; there were only a few stragglers from Los Angeles. None of my Skate Family… 😦

Because of that, it was interesting skating the final night. The only people who even acknowledged that I was there were the skate hosts (who were wondering where my partner went) and the out-of-towners. No matter, though. It was a really peaceful and quiet night. I skated the entire 3 hours.

The floor was so smooth, I didn’t want to stop rolling…

And now, here’s a video of the picnic and Saturday Night’s Main Event made by my friend Jamal!

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