By Sally Schedel & Erica Johnson
Every year around the middle of November, a plain grass area in Liberty Station gets renovated for the holidays. The winter seasonal ice rink comes accompanied with colorful Christmas lights and holiday music, attracting herds of PL students.
With the early sunsets of winter, ice skating is perfect thing to get into the holiday spirit. Some students make the ice rink a routine activity during this season, taking full advantage of its easy accessibility.
“We like ice skating a lot. We skate every week,” Freshmen Peyton, Ian, and Sarah said.
Before the PL location located opened in 2016, the closest rinks in San Diego were located at Horton Plaza, Coronado, and UTC.
Many students take a seasonal job with Fantasy On Ice. Christian Terzoli, a senior, said of his job, “I get paid to go ice skating. It’s awesome.”
Whether just stopping by once for a short skate, coming every night, or working there, the Liberty Station Ice Rink has become a holiday tradition for PL students.
Jason Phan speaks of the wide
versatility of the activity: “Ice skating: a sport both manly and not so manly. Because hockey is manly, but figure skating is not... apparently. But I disagree, because figure skating is very manly” (not pictured: Jason performing figure eights).
On December 1st, Pointers got in the holiday spirit and celebrated the 39th annual Ocean Beach Holiday Parade. For nearly 40 years, Newport Avenue has filled its street with lights, floats, classic cars, and community organizations. Point Loma students came out to support a variety of their high school’s sports teams and clubs as well as watch one of Southern California's best parades.
Among the many students who enjoyed the parade, senior soccer players Shane Ybarra and Seth Guentner said, “It was a great experience getting to walk in the parade with my teammates and see everyone in the Point Loma and Ocean Beach community.”
This year’s parade followed the theme of It’s a Wonderful Life. Students rode on floats completely decorated in holiday lights. Megan Rodi and friends sat under the “Happy OB Holidays” sign and reflected on “the last Christmas parade before college,” says Rodi. The group agrees, “It was a fun night with friends. Very nostalgic!”
The Ocean Beach Holiday Parade brings friends and families together. Juniors Eloise Lubsen and Sierra Pennell celebrate the festivities together by watching the Point Loma Marching Band, Surf Team, and Baseball crew walk by. Eloise said, “the OB parade is one of my favorite things about Christmas. I’m so lucky to have spent it this year with some of my closest friends.”
Wanting to be in the parade, seniors Landen Saunders and Wesley Peterson rode Lime Scooters down Newport Avenue as well. This was definitely a parade to remember.
The vivacious and festive lights of Garrison Street have forever been a holiday staple for
the Ocean Beach/Point Loma community. Every night in December, drive down the one block that intersects Chatsworth up the street from PLHS and you will find dozens of pedestrians in jackets and Uggs, drinking hot chocolate and admiring the ornate displays of Christmas lights. Walking through the driveways to see the nativity scenes and giant blow-up snow globes every year brings back memories of my childhood.
As I turned onto Garrison this year, ready to feel the same warmth and nostalgia, I saw a very different scene. Few of the houses were decorated and some that did have lights were not in the usual excessive form. This could be due to the house that is for sale and another that was recently sold. Maybe the houses are just late in setting up this year (I visited December 2nd)? Or maybe this is the beginning of the end of the Garrison street light tradition? I hope that it’s the former.
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