LOL..Pachy~
I'm too aware the dangers of "skating on thin ice". Why I have to wait til next month for the ice to thicken to where it is safe.
Lake skating offers the atmosphere that rink skating doesn't, and the crackle is common to hear while sliding over it...much like walking in the snow. There is a drag to lake skating tho...If it freezes over while a wind is present, it maintains the lil ripples in the ice...hard to skate on smoothly...lol.

What's best is when skating on the open lake and there is a breeze present, to hold up a sheet of cardboard to form a sail and..whooooosh..away you go. FUN!

Shangrala