Dates are delightful during the summer when more places are open because there are more options available. A date is fun to go on and the best part is, they don’t have to be ultra expensive to count as a date or as fun. Depending on your budget, a date can actually be fairly cheap. In the end, the most important part is that you grow closer together in your relationship and enjoy one another’s company on a date. Here are five places that you can go during the summer that are budget-friendly date.
1 & 2) Dates and Destinations: Historical Places and Ghost Haunts
If you’re into history, there is always some historical landmark or something relatively close by that you can visit that is within a short driving distance of your home. A historical landmark is anything that can be from an old house or inn used during the Civil War to ghost stories and signposts where old buildings used to stand or, maybe, some still stand today. Going to historic places is very romantic in a sense because this is where someone else lived and enjoyed life. Old antebellum homes are also gorgeous places to visit!
Speaking of ghost stories, some places like New Orleans and Savannah Georgia tell of hauntings year round. Perhaps if you wanted to “cool off” you could get chills running up and down your spine by listening to a ghost story on an old plantation. There are many places to go to find a good ghost story. Where I live in Tuscumbia, Alabama, there are a few places that come to mind (perhaps one of the blessings of living in the South). One such place is in downtown Florence called Pope’s Tavern.
Go exploring! Take a drive and enjoy the scenery. If you live relatively close to one, maybe go driving through a Civil War battlefield. Many battlefields have a driving guide to help you with your tour. Half of the fun is getting to the destination. Enjoy a nice relaxing car ride with some low music or no music at all and have a quality, in-depth conversation. It makes the trip go by much quicker! My husband and I often talk during car trips and it makes for great quality time together. We get to know each other more and are thankful to spend quality time together.
3) Dates and Destinations: Splash Pad and Shaved Ice
Another place to visit is your local splash pad! These places are either very low cost or free in some cases. Make sure you bring a towel, sunscreen, and flip-flops along with your favorite bathing suit or tee shirt with a pair of shorts combo. A splash pad is a little different from a pool. It is a fun place to meet new people. The optimum time to go might be late morning if you’re both off work on a weekday. There are fewer people there at that time.
My husband and I took our then fifteen-year-old daughter to one that was about 10 minutes from our house. We got out and played in the water and showed our angsty teenager what it’s like to have some fun. Loosen up a bit. Don’t be afraid to take your children with you on a date every now and again! Show them what it is like to have some fun and to treat each other with respect. Your children need your example and will appreciate it later even if it makes them a little uncomfortable.
After the splash pad, definitely go for some shaved ice! Again, look these up in your area. We have a couple around the Muscle Shoals/Florence area that’s called Miami Ice. Google “Shaved Ice” in your area and see what pops up. Sometimes it won’t pop up as a standing store on Google. A lot of times shaved ice can be found in food trucks in a random Wal-Mart parking lot. Made with shaved ice, condensed milk, and the choice of your combination of flavors, this sweet treat is a delicious ending to a perfect day at the splash pad.
4) Dates and Destinations: The Mall
Another great place to go on a date is your local mall. Of course, if you live in bigger cities the mall is a wonderful place to go. The smaller city ones tend to be trashy-looking and don’t have many stores in them. Unfortunately, the mall is more something of the past. But, in a larger city, it is still very much alive and well. You have a ton of stores you can window shop at like Box Lunch, Hot Topic, Build a Bear, Hallmark, shoe stores, clothing stores, etc.
There is also the food court which is one of the main attractions for going to the mall: having everything in one place! If you’re one to walk around for a couple of hours and look into stores while sipping on a Starbucks, then the mall is the place you want to go. A lot of people visit the mall for the comfort of being indoors while shopping. Well, there are several different types of malls. There are outdoor malls, as well as indoor malls, outlet malls where they sell clearance items, and, of course, strip malls.
If you’re looking for scenery, then go to the outdoor mall especially when the weather is nice and balmy feeling like in May right before it gets really hot. If you’re looking to stay cool and get out and do something, more of the indoor mall is your type. Strip malls can have a lot of stores down one strip. From Burlington Coat Factory and Michael’s all the way to Books A Million and Christmas ornament shopping (even during the off-season). If it’s July, maybe get a jump on your Christmas shopping!
5) Dates and Destinations: The Drive-in Movie Theater
I have personally never been to a drive-in theater, but I bet the last place you want to be is in your car with the engine off for an hour and a half while it’s freezing outside. No amount of hot cocoa will ward away that kind of chill. But if it’s mid-May- early June then that would be perfect weather to go to a drive-in theater. Google “drive-in theaters near me” and some should pop up in your area, especially if you live in a town or rural area.
If there are no drive-in theaters near you, though, try going to see an actual movie. Now, while this is not exactly what I call a budget-friendly outing with tickets alone being expensive depending on when you go (usually people go on the weekend at night which is when prices skyrocket), and if you forgo the refreshments then this could be more doable. In today’s economy, we are all trying to save a buck while still enjoying those same pleasures we used to. Just don’t overdo it.
There are still ways you can enjoy going to a movie theater without stepping over your budget. Go to a matinee instead at the $2 and forgo refreshments. Instead, eat a nice dinner before the movie. Unless refreshments are cheap at the $2 theater in town, refreshments will run the bill up. There also an app that literally says “Run Pee” that literally tells you when it’s safest to go run and pee at places in the movie, which is a hazard you have to think about while eating during the movie. If I were you, it’s safest just to go to the movie and enjoy the show.
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About the Author
A freelance journalist, Corinne Crowe has been writing for about five years. She worked as a journalist for three years for a small-town newspaper called The People Sentinel based out of Barnwell, South Carolina, and an online newspaper, AntiochTenn based out of Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated Suma Cum Laude from Amridge University with her Master’s in Human Services in 2020.
She is an avid collector of Pop! figures with an emphasis on Stitch and Disney Princesses. In her spare time, she loves to read. Her favorite genres are historical fiction and nonfiction, biographies, and young adult. Corinne lives with her husband, Andrew, of eight years, daughter Aspen, and her dog Piper who thinks she’s a lap dog, in Tuscumbia, Alabama.