I saw a frozen pond for the first time in Wash DC as a senior in high school. It was little reflecting pool for a statue. Stepped right in it and broke right through - only up to my knees thank goodness. Looked like black pavement to me. Learned all I needed to know about ice right then and there.

They ought to warn Florida kids before they send up north on trips for the winter.

As a ps- tried to order grits for breakfast in some famous diner near Broadway in NYC on the same trip. Got a laugh from the locals on that one. (They sounded just like Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny - "what's a grit. Buhahaha".) Also made the mistake of talking to people on the Subway. Oops.