Ideas For Unusual Dates
There are nine-and-sixty ways
of constructing tribal lays
and every single one of them is right!
Rudyard Kipling
- Kite flying in the meadow, amidst the running, laughing children
- Hiking, in the mountains, or in the stillness of the shady woods
- Renting bikes and together touring the town, or countryside
- Swimming... floating on your back while she splashes water in your
face
- Touring the neighborhood together on foot
- Exploring a nearby town by tour bus
- Going to the circus
- Going to the carnival
- Going to the zoo
- Going to a secluded beach
- Visiting a ghost town
- Walking the tracks of an abandoned railroad
- Touring a ship in the harbor
- A hot air balloon ride (expensive, but unforgettable)
- Collecting mineral specimens at a nearby mine or quarry
- Searching an abandoned homesite for coins and jewelry with a metal detector
- Seeing Saturn's rings at the observatory
- Horseback riding (let her teach you if you don't know how)
- A hayride
- A ride together in a horse-drawn carriage
- A train ride to a nearby town
- Ride the ferry across the harbor
- Going to a museum to see the Mayan relics exhibit
- Dancing at the local ballroom
- A poetry reading (bring your own bad poetry, definitely)
- Ice skating under the lights, at night
- Ice fishing on a frozen lake
- Tobogganing
- Cross-country skiing
- White-water rafting
- Rollerskating in the town square at dawn
- Building a snow fortress
- Planting a tree in her back yard
- Gathering blackberries
- Playing tennis or handball
- Playing board games at the local coffee house
- Playing hopscotch together
- Exploring an antique shop or used bookstore
- Going to a flea market
- Going to an estate auction
- Having a picnic
- Sitting on a park bench and telling each other stories
- Reading parts from a book of stage plays
- Writing a short story together
- Attending a neighborhood street fair
- Star watching, seeing how many of the constellations you can
learn from a handbook of the night sky
- Together, visiting a nursing home and entertaining the sick and the
elderly
- Doing the wash together at the local laundromat
There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be
offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin a
series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount of
food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of affection
increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. When the
affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. Under no
circumstances can the food be omitted.
Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behaviour