CarrieDaway

I’m ashamed to admit that this weekend was my first time ice skating at Campus Martius.  We’ve wanted to do it for years but never made it down during skate time.  It’s picturesque at night but the daytime date was fun.  It’s good to see families spending time downtown.  The rink was filled with lots of little kids and it’s nice to know that they’ll have these memories of time spent in Detroit. I think real memories are being made too because people were truly engaged in the activity.  Aside from parents taking a picture/video of their kids, I only saw one person with their nose in their phone.  In our technology addicted society I think that’s a testament to how great Campus Martius is.

A fun pop-up addition to the park during the winter season is the IKEA sponsored  daytime cafe tent and an evening bar tent for people interested in snacks or beverages.  Hot chocolate or a cocktail during an outdoor activity might seem a little risky to some but Campus Martius has you covered – restroom trailers are available to skaters!

Before Danny and I even hit the ice, the staff skater caught my attention.  His energy was impossible to ignore and exemplified the positive vibes in the city these days.  While we were skating, I noticed he was switching shifts and couldn’t resist asking him a couple questions.  I was surprised to learn that Jaron has only been skating since November!  He looks like a natural on the ice.

Yes. Regent Community [Eastside].

It’s starting to come together, I can say that. We’ve been down for a long time but we are starting to come back. They’re fixing the neighborhoods up – giving more job opportunities.  I really love it. I’ve been here all my life.

The violence. And tearing down the houses in the neighborhoods and making them look bad. I wish they would hurry and fix that because it’s bringing our economy down.  But everything else has been good pretty much.

Our sports to get better. Championships – especially them Lions.