The Plunge Blog

What do you do for a date? Or, more specifically, what do you do when the obvious stuff runs dry?

Let's look at the classic date pattern:

1^st date: Drinks.
2^nd date: Drinks.
3^rd date: Dinner + Drinks + Sex.
....
10^th date and beyond:  Sex.

The trick, therefore, is that awkward middle ground between the 3^rd and 10^th date.  After the 10^th date--more or less, depending on a host of variables like age, personality, and income--you're bunkered in with a double-feature of Netflix and Trojan.

This leaves some gaps to fill: the 4^th through 9^th-ish dates.

None of these ideas are earth-shattering novel. We don't expect any reader to say, "Holy shit! Wine tasting. I've never heard of such an activity. Brilliant!"  They are, however, just different enough from dinner/drinks to give you Creativity Points, and they're not so far-fetched that you're scaring her with weirdness (like, say, visiting a homeless shelter).

Consider the following.

1. Museum Exhibit

Granted, there's the potential that both of you could secretly hate this. You might both feel obliged to smile, stare at the exhibits in mock-curiosity, squint at the little white index cards, and pray for a bomb threat that will close the bastard down. Still. Suggest this and you'll seem like an okay guy.

2. Hike

Not just for granola-crunchers. Even most jaded city-girls will be (sort of) enchanted by the idea of a get-away-from-it-all hike. Not outdoorsy? Then that makes it an even wackier adventure. Every city--every city--has nearby trails. Choose terrain that's more scenic than strenuous. Carry a backpack with snacks, blankets, and wine.

3. Ambitious cooking

Cook dinner together. But not just any dinner--a daring dish that, ordinarily, you would never tackle. Shrimp bisque with bourbon, rack of lamb with figs and port wine sauce, cappuccino soufflé--that kind of junk. Cooking together is a First Tier date. It's playful, it's fun to tackle a project together, and if it's not fun...well, better to know now.

Ideas 4-10, here: 10 (Less-Obvious) Date Ideas.