Fun date night for married couple

October 27, 2007 2:23 PM

Got a fun 'date night' idea for a married couple?

We're both 35 years old and we'll be leaving our 4-year-old child with grandparents for the night. We're bored with dinner-and-a-movie. My wife had the idea to go bowling, which is sounds better than anything I've come up with. (I like the idea; I just want to bring more to the table than darts, pool, etc.) By the way, we live in Oakland, CA.

posted by msacheson to sports, hobbies, & recreation (15 comments total)

Theme park (I wasn't sure at first, but I was converted) perhaps.

Or, if you managed to get reservations, a night-time Segway tour of San Francisco. I was ready to give my left arm to do this but they're all booked up for the next month supposedly. It'd be a really unique date though.
posted by wackybrit at 2:29 PM on October 27, 2007

Dance lessons, followed by a wine bar?
posted by KokuRyu at 2:31 PM on October 27, 2007

All the usual beach related romantic clichés are open to you since you're in Oakland. Normally I wouldn't suggest that, but with a 4-year-old I'm betting the last walk on the beach was a while ago.
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 2:40 PM on October 27, 2007

Go to the Claremont, get a bunch of their fruity girlie drinks, sit on the terrace, and play card games while the sun sets.
posted by migurski at 3:37 PM on October 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

Jupiter, in Berkeley. Sit and enjoy some excellent microbrews and live music.

Dance lessons might be fun. There's always a salsa, swing, ballroom, or tango class going on somewhere in the Bay Area.
posted by lekvar at 3:49 PM on October 27, 2007

The Planetarium at Chabot Science Center? Kinda like a movie, but better.
posted by sarahnade at 3:59 PM on October 27, 2007

This sounds really boring, but my wife and I are bookish. There's nothing like a quiet night away from the kids lounging at a bookstore - preferably one with a coffee shop. Our Border's sometimes has singer-songwriters perform.
posted by adverb at 4:15 PM on October 27, 2007 [2 favorites]

Go to your local tourism office, get a brochure with all your local attractions, be a tourist in your own city. It's amazing how people never really know the city they live in. As a bonus, the local attractions usually make great dates.
posted by blue_beetle at 4:16 PM on October 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

Do something that you did before you got married and had a child. Bring back old romantic memories. I don't know about Oakland, CA, but we always just rode around on the back roads listening to music, singing, talking, parking, etc. Are there backroads in Oakland, CA? If not, then never mind. I've got nothing.
posted by wv kay in ga at 5:54 PM on October 27, 2007

We hit the batting cages last night...it was more fun than we expected...
posted by Exchequer at 5:57 PM on October 27, 2007

I know movies are sort or boring for you, but what about the drive-in? It's not the same. I went there on my first date with my fiance and it was perfect. We brought our own snacks (you could spend some time shopping for snooty snacks) and then watched a double feature for six bucks a piece (two movies we actually wanted to see.) But the nice thing about it was that we could snuggle up in his car and watch the movie until something appeared in the film that would inspire us to chat.
posted by santojulieta at 6:57 PM on October 27, 2007

What about the zoo? Or, this time of year, haunted houses. Live music -- try something different, like the symphony. Live theater, even if its local. What about sports? NHL/NBA, or whatever is in season at the time. Ice or roller skating. Picnic under the stars.
posted by dpx.mfx at 8:32 PM on October 27, 2007

If you can get the grandparents to watch the kids overnight, pop off to a B&B up in wine country, or over to Half Moon Bay.
posted by mach at 9:49 PM on October 27, 2007

Miniature golf or Karaoke.
posted by brujita at 11:49 PM on October 27, 2007

Ride BART?? Orinda, Walnut Creek, Fruitvale...surely other stations have fun neighborhoods to walk around in.

Everything else I can think of would happen during the daytime -- like go for a bike ride around the lake, go to the Berkeley botanic garden.
posted by salvia at 9:50 PM on October 28, 2007