I suggested to Becky that Saturday might be a good day for her to try and teach me how to ice skate. There are numerous skating rinks in the North Shore area, but we decided it might be fun to drive in to Boston and skate at the ***Frog Pond|http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/frogpond_winter.asp***. We drove in, and after a few orbits around the Common, we found an incredibly nice parking space on Beacon Street, just above the intersection with Charles Street, and free to boot.

The Frog Pond was just a short walk away, so we headed over there, paid our admission, and rented skates. Apparently, the only thing they had in my size was hockey skates, so I was stuck with a big clunky pair of those while Becky got figure skates.

Now I have attempted to learn how to skate in the past, with disappointing results. But I tried to do my best. Really, I did. And Becky was a great and patient teacher. We spent maybe half an hour out on the ice, Becky calmly holding my hands as I slipped and slided. She gave me all of the advice and pointers that she could, and I did my best to follow them. And I know that she would have spent as long as was necessary, had I but the will to continue. I was simply too frustrated, however, so I gave up and sat out for a while as Becky had a few more turns around the ice.

Am I a quitter? Well, on Saturday I sure was. Maybe some day I will give it another go, but for now I will just leave it on the list of activities I’m content not to do.

The day wasn’t a total loss for me, however. After skating, we walked over to the ***Faneuil Hall|http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/*** area, where we had earlier spotted what might be a good photographic opportunity. I did indeed take ***that photo|http://gallery.prwdot.org/boston_228/IMG_3105***, as well as several others. We then had the brilliant idea that there might be good views from the top of the parking garage at Dock Square. We took the elevator up to the 7th level, and wham! There were some spectacular views to be had! And it was free! I took a bunch of photos up there from that fantastic viewpoint, including this nifty ***panoramic photo|http://gallery.prwdot.org/boston_228/boston_panoramic_smaller***. If for some reason that doesn’t load, you can try viewing the full sized image ***here|http://prwdot.org/img/boston_panoramic_smaller.jpg***. (Note – it’s large, so if you’re on a dial-up modem be prepared to wait a minute). There are also some cool shots of Boston’s old Central Artery being torn down. You can see the full photo gallery from the day ***here|http://gallery.prwdot.org/boston_228***.

Happy Leap Day!