Next month my husband and I will be married for 38 years. We have been together for 40. When we were discussing marriage and having kids, one of the things I said was that it was important to me that we continue to have date nights. I felt it was necessary for us to keep our relationship with each other strong, especially after having the kids because eventually they would move on and have their own lives. Let’s face it, being together for 40 years is a long time and things definitely can get routine and mundane. Lots of outside pressures, financial, health, jobs, etc., can get to be overwhelming and without some release it would be easy to put the relationship on auto-pilot and take each other for granted.
While we haven’t actually set a “routine” for date nights and there were many years when dates were few and far between, I think we’ve done a pretty good job. We go to many concerts, baseball games and out to dinner or lunch at least monthly. In searching for something to write about for the A to Z, I came across a few lists for different activities that you could do on a date. Some of them we have already done, some I hope to do in the future and some we probably won’t do but I thought I’d include them anyway because you might like to do them. Are you ready?
A is for Aquarium. I mentioned the Aquarium of the Bay last year in my A to Z of San Francisco under the P for Pier 39, because that’s where it is. There is also the Steinhart Aquarium in the Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park. We have been to that one many times on field trips with the kids. If you want to travel a bit further, there is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We’ve been to that one too and I was going to try and find the pictures but time got away from me.
Why is an aquarium a good thing to do on a date? Well, it is a good place to show off your knowledge of and/or love for animals. There are interesting things going on underwater sometimes too.
Another fun place for a date is an arcade. We haven’t been to the Musee Mecanique yet but there is an arcade area in Circus Circus casino in Reno. My husband loves to show off his skills tossing the ball into the milk carton and last time we were there he won this huge stuffed dog for me. Of course I was the one who had to carry it around for the rest of the day but before we left he found a little child and asked the parents if it was okay for him to give the dog to them. Thank goodness because I don’t really need a big stuffed dog.
Rounding off our A adventure is Amusement Park. We used to go to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and to Great America but haven’t been in a long time. Honestly there was a point where I was so overweight I was afraid I wouldn’t fit on the rides. Then hubby’s back injury happened and now I don’t want to go for fear he’ll hurt his back on a roller coaster. We went to Disneyland for our honeymoon and while you might not consider that a date, it was pretty romantic. Bill had never been there before so it was fun for me to see his reaction.
So there we have the A complete! I may or may not get more detailed as the letters go on. I tentatively have 3 examples for each letter planned but who knows what will happen!
And in order to save space on my site I’m only posting the A to Z badge once, in honor of Jeremy who was the graphics guru for so many years. Your turn. Any A ideas for great dates that I missed? Please make sure to visit others participating in this fun challenge!
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Hi, Janet!
ReplyDeleteHappy April Fools' Day, dear friend, and congratulations on throwing your hat into the ring and entering this year's A to Z Challenge!
Yessum, I would say that you and your hubby have gone more places and done more things than most couples. It certainly applies to Mrs. Shady and me. We love to visit aquariums. In recent years, we went to the new Tampa Aquarium shortly after it opened and, more recently, we visited Mote Marine Aquarium in Sarasota. It was there that I saw manatees for the first time. They had three whoppers swimming in an above ground glass tank. You could walk right up the the glass and get an amazing view of the gentle sea cows.
Yessum, I love arcades too, ever since I was a kid. On family vacations at the seashore. I'd hang out in arcades along the boardwalk and mainly play skee ball. It's laudable that your hubby had the skill to win that large plush dog for you, and nice of him to give you the honor of carrying it around the rest of the day. :)
I also love amusement parks. Here in central Florida there are many. Tragically, a boy fell to his death from one of those vertical drop towers a in Orlando a week ago. During my youth in Pennsylvania, I went to the York Fair every year where they had rides galore.
It was nice to see your patented Janet Smile in these pictures showing good times at three types of "A" places. I enjoyed the post. I'll be with you every step of the way as you progress through the 2022 A to Z Challenge. Enjoy the rest of your day, dear friend Janet, and I suspect I'll be seeing you again tomorrow!
Dear Shady, I certainly don't expect you to visit every day of the challenge OR to write such lengthy comments, although I love reading them! I heard about that boy who died last week. Friends of ours were actually there at the time and had left the park about 1/2 hour before it happened.
DeleteI remembered carrying around that dog when we were picking out Benny and made sure to get a smaller version - LOL. Again, thanks for the visit!
Sounds like some great places. We have Knoebels, America's largest free-admission amusement park, and Hershey park (yes, the gift shop "Chocolate World" does smell awesome). The Aquarium in Baltimore is really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing the #AtoZChallenge - writing a speculative fiction short story.
On the main A to Z site today for "B" I shared a list of books. Check it out!
At Operation Awesome we're doing the A to Z Challenge and running a survey to pick the next Pass or Pages query contest genre.
Free admission? That's great. I can imagine the Hershey smell. My hubby worked as a mechanic in a chocolate factory for a while and boy did he smell good when he came home! I'll be by to start reading your story. Love your posts for the main A to Z too!
DeleteWhat a fun theme! My husband and I go on dates, too. A few years back, a neighbor made fun of us because of our dates. Later, when her and her husband divorced, she apologized for teasing us and admitted that dating after marriage would have been helpful to their relationship. I look forward to your posts!
ReplyDeleteWe've been to that aquarium, and we LOVE amusement park rides!
(I'm not participating in the A to Z Challenge this year, but I hope to check in on your posts throughout the month.)
Hi Trudy! Sorry you are not joining us this year but grateful for the visit. I think date nights are very important and it's too bad your neighbor learned the hard way. Hope I can entertain you!
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