ICE at Santa Monica lures tykes with Tot Spot

As I wrote in an earlier post, ice skating is in full effect here in L.A., and last week we gathered our cool-weather gear as well as our courage and headed to ICE at Santa Monica.

It was CC's first encounter with the sport -- a word I use almost ironically when it comes to us. We were a little shaky in our skates, but she loved it.

In addition to the large ice rink at the corner of 5th and Arizona, ICE also sports an adjacent mini ice rink called Tot Spot, which is for tykes 48" and under -- perfect for my little munchkin.

Ian and I laced her up in the most adorable baby skates and dove -- well, glided -- right in. We each took turns taking CC onto the ice, and each time she tried to lose us. Seriously. The fact that it was her first time out made no difference to her; she wanted to go it alone, often refusing to take Ian's or my hand.

Don't think so, kiddo.

At one point, when she said she wanted to exit the Tot Spot, I thought she just wanted to sit down and take a break. Not even. She grabbed my hand and instead led me over to the "big rink" and said she wanted to go on that one.

That's my little daredevil. "Maybe next time," I told her, wondering if I was lying.

My dad was also in town for a short visit, but he decided to hang on the sidelines. He said watching CC brought back memories of when I took ice-skating lessons at the Williams Center in Tulsa when I was about her age. Ah, the '70s.

It was adorable watching her go. She was even wearing the big baby skates -- ICE also offers metal strap-on skates with two blades instead of one for first-timers.

Yes, it might be Southern California, but as our toddler learned -- you don't have to have seen snow to get up close and personal with ice.