Fun Date Ideas You've Never Considered

Author: Our Time

restaurant-dinner

√ Movie

√ Dinner

√ Walk in park

Been there. Done that. Now what?

You hope this online dating thing will be a grand new experience—a chance to taste the big gooey ice cream cone of life. But now that you’ve been doing it for a while, you’re starting to see a disturbing pattern. Sure, your profile mentioned that you like movies, nice restaurants and walks on the beach (who doesn’t?) and – guess what – that’s exactly what you ended up doing.

It’s beginning to seem like the only flavor of the ice cream cone is vanilla.

Energizing your dating doesn’t have to be daring (zip lines, skydiving or bungee jumping) adventurous (river rafting, mountain climbing) or even all that time consuming. But at the very least it needs at least be interesting and fun.

If you’re getting bored with your dating regimen, you can be pretty sure it shows, and whomever you’re with is getting bored too.

So let’s liven things up. Here are some safe, easy ideas for dates that you can enjoy locally and that you don’t have to spend a whole day doing.

1. Be a tourist in your own town.

Don’t be a snob. Take advantage of services set up primarily for visitors. These businesses know how to show the city in its best light, dazzling folks with interesting facts (many of which you didn’t know already) and sights (many of which you’ve passed by hundreds of times and never seen).

Check the Internet for visitor services. Many cities offer fun stuff such as:

segway-riding

• Segway tours. They look kind of dorky, but that’s just part of the charm. They’re really fun and a great choice for covering a lot of ground without your legs and knees rebelling.

• Architectural tours. If you live in or near a major city, check for the availability of walking tours that explore the history and lore behind the prominent (and often, seemingly hidden) architecture.

• Water tours. If you live in a city with a big lake or bay, there’s sure to be a concession set up to give you a view from the water. Unless you own your own boat, this is a great way to get an entirely new perspective on things.

• Air tours. Check with the local airport or simply go online. You’ll find a pilot to take you up in a Cessna to see the area from on high.

2. Travel to exotic foreign lands, right in town.

Nearly every town over a certain size has organizations formed to provide a communal touch point for people who have come here from other countries. Lots of times, they’re called simply, the (Polish; Swedish; Russian; Lithuanian; etc.) Community Center. Go online and look for opportunities to visit these places. Lots of them will have weekly or monthly breakfasts, lunches or dinner, where, for very little money, you can sample their nation’s native cuisine, hear native music and see native costumes.

In addition, these community centers usually have annual festivals, where they pull out all the stops. These are not to be missed.

3. Take a cooking class.

Many kitchen supply stores and restaurants offer amazingly affordable cooking classes that not only show you how to prepare a meal, but include its subsequent consumption as the final lesson. Yum.

Other ideas that may or may not suit your interest or pleasure (but you should still consider, because the best way to fight boredom is to challenge yourself by trying new things):

couple-skeet-shooting

• Shoot a gun. Firearms dealers can direct you to indoor and outdoor ranges where you can learn firearm safety and try target practice with rented pistols, shotguns and rifles.

• Fly a kite. There’s something unexpectedly intuitive about flying a kite, and the feeling inspires simple joy and contentment. It’s beautiful, easy and inexpensive

• Rent a boat. “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame.

When you’re done spending the afternoon soaking in the new, maybe take in a movie and then have a nice candlelit dinner.

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