Thoughts by Richard Bleil
A recent dream included the concept of a “date list”. It’s actually not a bad idea; the concept was that, in my dream, I had created a list of my favorite places to take a date. In reality, I do not have such a list, but mainly because nobody would go out with me in the first place, but it did strike some interesting thoughts as to what might be on the list.
A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that chocolate releases the same chemicals in the brain that are released when one is in love. This makes chocolate a great gift for a first date as long as you don’t mind what it does to the color of her teeth. Yeah, good luck getting THAT image out of your head. As it turns out, I read a second study that suggests that a first date that gets adrenaline going is also an excellent choice. In an experiment, the “interviewer” took the participants out on a walk to complete the “survey”, walking the control group over a low, safe, stable concrete bridge, and the “experimental” group over a high, scenic swaying bridge. At the end, the people being “interviewed” were given the “interviewers” phone number. A statistically significant higher percentage of them called explicitly for the purpose of asking the “interviewer” out on a date in the experimental group. The hypothesis is that the feeling of euphoria that accompanies higher adrenaline activities was often associated with the person giving the “interview” than the activity they were doing.
This suggests that, along with chocolate coated teeth, exciting dates are excellent first dates. I grew up in Ohio where, between Dayton and Cincinnati, is an amusement park that used to be called “Kings Island”. It might still be, but it was bought out originally by Hannah Barbera, then a major movie studio (MGM I believe). When I was living there, they were very proud of their roller coasters, claiming to be home to the “world’s tallest, fastest, longest roller coaster.” Obviously, eventually, newer roller coasters knocked it out of its top spot, but they still loved their roller coasters. This would be a great first date idea, as the excitement of roller coasters will likely be associated with the person accompanying the date rather than the ride.
In Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati, was a revolving restaurant. This was a great place for a romantic first dinner date. The booth seats were designed so the couple would sit more or less on the same side, obviously looking out the window. The angular velocity of the restaurant was high enough that they put the plates on the wall and you just ate you food off of them. Oh, that’s a joke; actually, if you hit the restaurant at the right time it was perfect. In one revolution you could see Cincinnati (and surrounding country) in daylight, then in the second at dusk and the third at night. The meals were slow to be delivered; they understood that their patrons would spend at least a couple of hours so it was a great opportunity to sit with your arm around your date, in a quiet(ish) restaurant very well suited for conversation.
My first girlfriend and I used to like to go to this very nice little lake in Ohio. There were marvelous trails, and it was quiet and sparsely populated. It was great for us since we both enjoyed hiking, and being outdoors, and making out. I mean, we both enjoyed hiking and being outdoors. Niche places like this definitely belong on the list, but it’s a little riskier. You probably wouldn’t want to take a date their until you knew it was something that she liked.
It’s also a good idea to have some places for quick and casual meetings on a first date. “Go out with me so I can take you to a secluded lake where we’ll never be seen” can come off as a bit “and she was never heard from again”. I’ll be honest, I don’t know how I’m supposed to ask women out anymore. Is it better to offer to pick them up, or meet them somewhere? Picking them up on a date is more old-fashioned, and most definitely gentlemanly, but for safety reasons, sometime in the ‘90’s, women started wanting to drive themselves and I certainly can’t blame them. The drive to our lake was a good forty-minute ride, which for us was an opportunity to talk and for her to tell me she’s a prostitute. Yes, I wrote about this already. This is great when you’ve known each other well enough that trust is not an issue, but first dates are very different.
This post isn’t intended to really provide date ideas, but rather to get you, my royal and beloved reader, to think. What would go on your list? Or do you even have a list? I’m thinking I might create one, not so much so I can use it, but it seems like a nice excuse to explore the area, don’t you think?
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