It was full of icy slush, awful music, and way too many people, but was nonetheless an enjoyable time. This is the world of the Icehouse of Greensboro, located at 6119 Landmark Center Blvd.
With an admission price of $6.50 and skate rentals of $1, Icehouse offers an afternoon of fun, ice, games and hot chocolate. We arrived around 2:30, just in time to see the Zamboni machine resurfacing the scarred and pitted ice rink. All around us kids were in awe of the large vehicle shining the ice with a new layer of water.
After a few minutes, we tightened our skates and boldly stepped onto the slick ice. It took a few clumsy laps to get our balance, but when we got a feel for the ice we were unstoppable – except for tripping over small children who appeared out of nowhere and glided past us. Unfortunately for us, the rink was populated with miniature hockey stars who could move faster than our skating legs could match.
Soon it became second nature to dodge the massive amounts of traffic. Our second obstacle was drowning out the annoying pop music. But, with loud speakers turned to the max, it was very difficult to refrain from singing along. The music gradually became a part of the experience, and eventually we weren’t even bothered by it.
About 45 minutes of straight skating later, we were ready for a break. Naturally we decided to hit the concession stands. As with any ice rink, Icehouse provides phenomenal hot chocolate. It isn’t your average watery hot chocolate; this stuff is like drinking liquid fudge. Not only was the hot chocolate a hit, but the prices on the food and drinks were reasonable. The most expensive item that we saw was nachos for $2, or a whole pizza for $16. Beverages were almost all $1.
If you are tired of skating, there are several other opportunities for entertainment. There are many video games: mostly fighting games, some sport games (basketball, football), and just your average arcade games. For those of you non-video game players, there are air hockey and foosball tables.
The Icehouse is a great way to spend Sunday afternoon unwinding from the night before. It’s a fun place for a party, and if we had the money we would certainly go back for more. One thing’s for sure: you should definitely give this hockey-sized rink a shot some weekend.