ABINGDON, Md. —While driving an ice resurfacer isn't the most sought-after skill, those who have it on their bucket list can learn how to operate one at a rink in Harford County that said it has people flying in from across the country to do so. 11 News reporter Jennifer Franciotti got a chance to take one for a spin Friday at Ice World in Abingdon, where they said it's just like driving a car, and any adult can sign up to take a class. 

"People just want to try it. Sometimes it's a hockey parent or figure skating dad who's here all the time with his kid and thinks, 'You know, it looks like so much fun that I'm going to try it out,'" said plant manager Mark Shuette.

He said he and the owner of Ice World started offering classes 12 years ago. It's become so popular that they hold two sessions a year, and people come from all over the country to learn.

"From Maine to Florida. We've had people from California fly in just to do this. It's been pretty interesting. We even give away a long-distance award every year," Shuette said.

The classes start with parking lot lessons, but after that, participants get to hit the ice and learn what it takes to make a smooth surface.

"Basically, it's a big vacuum cleaner-snow blower," Shuette said.

The first thing Franciotti learned was that the ice resurfacer she was on, an Olympia, holds 210 gallons of 135-degree water, and while she drove, a blade shaved the ice and an auger collected the snow, all while dropping water.

By the end of a three-hour class, Shuette said all of his students have it down, but to do it for real is a different story.

"It takes about a month and a half to get somebody who you can leave by themselves, meaning they can run the whole building. They know how to cut the ice and all that," he said.

Participants can then watch the snow get dumped into a machine that turns it back into water.

The next class runs from 8-11:30 a.m. Sunday. There's only room for 30 drivers, so the classes are first-come, first-served.