Date Night

I'm sure you've heard of couples who occasionally have a "date night". Although married or living together for years, they set aside a night to enjoy "date" activities such as dinner and a movie. I've always thought this was a great way for couples to reconnect on a slightly different, almost romantic level. But please don't call it "date night" in front of Joe, as he would surely scoff at the monaker. (We occasionally have slightly different ideas of what is romantic.)

This past Fri, without any planning or forethought, we had a "date night". We had a free Fri night and rather than stay home and watch TV or surf the internet, we decided to go to the movies. Without anyone else. Just the two of us. Sort of like a date. Very unusual.

We decided to see the 8pm showing of "X-Men III". Normally I do not buy popcorn, soda or snacks at the theatre in protest to the exorbitant price of the food - to say nothing of the $9.50 to see the movie. But we hadn't eaten dinner, and with the 8pm movie likely letting out near 10pm, I knew I wouldn't be able to make it. So we got a large popcorn and soda for $9.25 and just enjoyed the 'splurge'. We liked the movie, although there were parts that seemed just too far 'out there' even for X-Men. All-in-all we thought of it as a fun summertime film. The popcorn and soda did the trick and tied me over until the movie ended around 10pm.

Then we had a late dinner at Coastal Flats, a southern/nouveau restaurant with a Charleston/Savannah kind of feel and decor. We'd eaten there before and really enjoyed our meals. Fri night we decided to do something a little different. Since it was after 10pm and neither of us wanted a full-on meal, we ordered the crab imperial appetizer to start, wonderful salads of wild field greens, cranberries, goat cheese, and champagne vinaigrette, followed by dessert. I had the key lime pie and Joe had the homemade banana pudding. Of course we traded bites of our desserts so we'd both be able to enjoy them both. I love to order food that is shared with a loved one. That is romantic to me.

It was almost 11:30 when we left the restaurant, but I didn't feel sleepy so we watched a little TV before going to bed. Although I'd never call it "date night" in front of Joe, we had a lovely... night doing things that are typically done by two people who are on a date.