Whether you’re looking for an exciting first date or to spice up a long-term relationship, think outside the box for unexpected dates. The best dates I’ve been on were not the usual dinner and a movie dates but rather dates that had been planned out but were completely out of the ordinary.
I was impressed that my date had taken the time to plan an outing (really, who does that anymore?) and that his plans were a reflection of what he wanted for the date—a fun, original, memorable experience.
One of my favorite dates was when I went to a shooting range with my date. Neither one of us had ever been to a shooting range before, so we were both a little nervous but super excited. We had a blast figuring out the gun we were going to shoot with and picking out our targets. We took turns shooting and when we were done we compared our shots—the best shooter was treated to dinner.
Dinner wasn’t the usual Red Lobster, either. We went and tried Ethiopian, another first for the both of us. We struggled to pronounce the words on the menu and laughed at our blunders. We ordered different foods and shared, and we found that we really enjoyed the food—and each other.
I’m a sucker for animals. I’m one of those people who posts funny cat videos all over Facebook. So when a date took me to the Georgia Aquarium, I was stoked. In the years I had lived in Georgia, I had never gotten the opportunity to go. My date held my hand when we felt the stingrays and little sharks and didn’t let go until we left. We went to all of the exhibits and even saw Dolphin Tales, which was geared towards kids, but we still had a great time. After, we walked around Centennial Olympic Park and had our first kiss.
Going to a dive bar and seeing an amazing Jazz band was another exciting and memorable date I had. My date wouldn’t tell me anything beforehand except that I should dress up. I did, and when we pulled into the parking lot for Northside Tavern, I was a little worried. When I had to go to the bathroom and realized there weren’t any doors to the stalls and I would have to do my business in front of strangers, I was even more worried.
This was not what I was hoping for—until the music started and we started dancing. The band was excellent but our dancing wasn’t. We didn’t care, though—we danced like it was 1999, and laughed the whole time. When the show was over (around 1 am) we went to Waffle House for coffee and hash browns while our feet rested and we talked about the show and our pathetic attempt to dance.
Lastly, a date took me and my pup to Kennesaw Mountain, and we hiked all the way up to the top of the mountain. We were all exhausted, even my dog. As we were panting, my date pulled out lunch that he had made that morning from his backpack. He had even packed snacks for my dog.
I was impressed that he had thought about and prepared lunch, and even more impressed that he remembered my dog. We sat on the top of the mountain, exhausted, but happily eating and talking with the nature surrounding us. Luckily, going down the mountain was much easier.
The best dates are the ones that reach outside of the normal, typical dates. When you put an effort towards showing your date you have thought about the outing and how you want to impress him or her, it not only will give you dating “points” with that person but it will also leave a lasting impression.
