Atlanta Spinstering: Sparkles

I've made a new friend here in Atlanta over the past few months, and I think she's pretty cool. She asked me earlier this week if I wanted to hang out on Saturday, and of course I said yes. We had some discussion about what we would do, and as a result, I found out she's a talented archer, so I'm hoping she'll teach me that at some point. But, for yesterday, we settled on roller skating at Sparkles in Smyrna, GA.

Over the summer I purchased a pair of used roller skates at Play It Again Sports, thinking I would have a roller skating birthday party for my 30th birthday. I wanted to customize them and get glitter wheels. However, my roller skating party plans fell through, and I fell off my roller skates in the parking lot, so this purchase hadn't yet reached the cost-per-wear ratio I was hoping for.

So, Fran and I headed for Smyrna, and we stopped at Ebony and Ivory for lunch. Ebony and Ivory is a barbecue restaurant without seating. they offer pork bbq, chicken, catfish, tacos, and an array of sauces and sides. I ordered two catfish tacos, tater tots, baked beans, and a sweet tea, and Fran got a chicken taco, a catfish taco, sweet potato fries, collard greens, and a sweet tea. We popped the tailgate of my car and ate in the parking lot. Yesterday was a beautiful day.

Ebony and Ivory did not disappoint. I wish they did have seating because if the weather hadn't been nice, we'd have been stuck eating in the front seat of my car which isn't quite as charming as the tailgate. I'd like to go back again just because I'd like to try the actual barbecue and some of their sauces (the list included the old favorites but also peach bbq sauce and white bbq sauce).

I had some concerns about Sparkles. Sometimes skating rinks can be really dirty or full of unruly kids. However, Sparkles was clean and organized with plenty of adult supervision. The bathrooms were even pretty clean.

As Fran and I made our laps around the rink, there was ample opportunity for people watching. There were adults who were quite expert, even doing a few tricks here and there. There was the obstacle course of children falling unexpectedly right in our path. There were teenage girls dressed in crop tops who somehow managed to dance atop their wheels. And then, of course, there was a long-suffering rink supervisor who had to keep an eye out for all those beginners and their walkers-on-wheels, blowing her whistle whenever they strayed outside of their designated area in the center.

I am happy to report that neither Fran nor I was injured during our day of juvenile frolicking. I can only hope that more of my friends want to go roller skating again. I quite enjoyed it.