Cold Weather Commandos
ATE
Story and photos by Sean Cronan
9
THE
BLO
SCHO
THIS IS THE DEAL:
Eight of us decided to drive across
the county and hit as many skate spots
as possible for three weeks in February.
Since none of us had a vehicle, we rent-
ed a green Plymouth mini-van, which had
seven seats, dubbed the space pickle.
The eight inhabitants are: Scott Amore,
Lou Cox, Nos, Todd Luciere (Shark), Oz,
Jimmy Greco, Mother and myself. Plans
always look better on paper.
ENTRY ONE - 2/1/96
After leaving New
Haven, CT, at 1:00
am, we begin to head
south on I-95. Nos
and Shark drank a
case of beer before
leaving, and some-
where in Delaware,
Shark pukes in his
bag. A nice touch to
the beginning of our
foolish adventure.
The first stop of
the tour is the
Landsdowne
Skatepark in
Landsdowne,
Maryland, at 7:35 am.
We carve the bowls of
this ancient park as
the sun rises and
roosters crow at us.
Due to the cold, we
quit after an hour and
are back on the road
towards our second
destination: Eastern
Skate Supply in
Wilmington, North
Carolina. Eight hours
later, we arrive to a
somber mood as we
meet the employees
and find out that a
close friend of every
one's had died the day
before in a car acci-
dent. Soon after,
told him our business, he replied in a
thick southern accent, "Get the hell out
of South Carolina!" We obliged. We
ended up getting a hotel on the border of
South Carolina and Georgia so that we
could rest and wait out a rain storm.
After Jimmy taught some of us dice and
other casino games, as well as having
been bitten by the dog and the cobra, we
decided to head to New Orleans and to
scrap the Hanger Bowl and Atlanta due
to rain.
TOPLESS
DANCERS
Left: Shark soul carves at the sun came up at Landsdown
Skatepark in Maryland.
46: Wanna Dance?
street and vert ses-
sions were underway on Eastern's ramps
and lasted until darkness fell. We were
then given directions to the Middle
School Skatepark which was just up the
road. After an hour of driving through
back woods and dirt roads, we finally
discovered the addressless Middle
School Skatepark. Very friendly locals
put up with us and we barged and snaked
to no end. The set up is very nice with a
six-foot mini ramp, a three-foot peanut
shaped bowl, and an ample street area
with many flat-banked ramps. Locals
Kenny Hughes and Mark Hart ripped the
hell out of the place.
ENTRY TWO - 2/2/96
Last night we found out what happens
when you sleep on the side of the road in
South Carolina. At 5:00 am we awoke to
the sound of a hillbilly sheriff banging
his flashlight on our window. After we
ENTRY THREE-2/3/96
We arrive in New Orleans at 8:30
am and call John Fallen (a friend from
Connecticut) so that we can hook up and
go skating. After an unsuccessful pool
hunt, we make it to John's, and he takes
us downtown to skate. After twenty min-
utes, we call it quits for skating due to
the -10 degree temperature and gate
force winds. So, we head to Bourbon
Street to see what the deal is there. We
come to find out it is two weeks prior to
Mardi Gras, so everyone is quietly gear-
ing up. It felt like the calm before the
storm. Lou and Nos decide to take a
homeless person for a ride, while the
rest of us are eating dinner, and are
thanked by their new found friend's blad-
der in the form of a pee-filled seat. We
all argue for a bit and then decide to go
straight to Houston.
53
52