by Tina Tessina

1. You can repeat some of the things you did when you were first dating: go back to the first place you met, watch a DVD (complete with popcorn) of the first movie you saw together, go out for lunch at the little café near your old job, or wander through the park.

2. Try water. There’s something very soothing and seductive about water.  Do a tour of fancy fountains where you live, and if you can find a restaurant with a water feature, go there.  Or, order a catered picnic and eat it during a ferry ride, or enjoy it on a warm evening at the beach, complete with wine.  Here in Southern California, we have gondola rides, complete with a singing gondolier, and an optional repast.  You can get a catered lunch from a fancy caterer or from your local hamburger joint.

3. If your town attracts tourists, do what you’d do if you were a tourist there.  See a show, have dinner in a nice hotel with cocktails afterward in the piano bar, or see the attractions, museums, the aquarium, open house night at the art galleries, dinner at a sidewalk café.  If there’s a great outdoor site: a ski lift (scenic even in summer)  a botanical garden, a beautiful lake or a zoo, spend some time there.  Some towns even still have drive-in movies — the most romantic date ever!

4. Look for local talent: Search out the small theaters; college events and speakers, even high school plays and sports.  The energy in these less-commercial places will inspire you and give you a lot to talk about.

5.  Ask your friends: canvass your friends to find their favorite things to do, an try those.  If friends like ice hockey, and you’ve never seen it, try going with them so they can explain it to you.  If they have a fave restaurant, or hideaway, try that.

Anastasia Strgar, a recent graduate from the University of Oregon with a B.A  in journalism, has been writing about love and relationships for several years. She has written short stories and romance novels, penned the love and sex column  in the  school newspaper and wrote several blogs. As the eldest of founder Wendy Strgar’s four children, she has been inspired by watching her parents’ marriage and strives to put those lessons to use in her own relationship. She believes that teaching her peers early on about how to maintain healthy relationships  is essential to creating a future generation of loving partnerships. She currently works as the Director of Public Relations and Magazine Editor at Good Clean Love.