Five Great Dates that will Enhance Your Marriage

Remember when you were just dating your spouse how hard you would work at coming up with creative, romantic, innovative dates? But once you get married all creativity comes to a halt. You recognize the importance of continued dating and may even have a specified date night but it just seems to be routine. So here are 5 ideas for great dates to enhance your marriage

1. Explore your City– Cindy and I live in Charleston, SC and one of our favorite dates is to get in the car, drive downtown and find something we have never noticed before. Try a new restaurant, walk a new street, find a new store to explore. Searching for and finding something new never fails to stimulate great conversation and many times builds special memories. If you’re in Charleston here are a few of our favorite places to explore:  Downtown Charleston, The Old Village, Patriots Point and Francis Marion National Forest.
2. Take a Hike – Outdoor dates are great for your physical, emotional and relational health. We are fortunate to live in an area that has some great outdoor trails to explore. We have discovered 9 different areas in Charleston that we love to hike or bike. For those of you in Charleston they are…The West Ashley Greenway, Ravenel Bridge, Streets of Downtown Charleston, Patriots Point hiking trail, Swamp Fox trail, HOA Camp off of Hwy 17 hiking trail, Palmetto State Park, Ion Neighborhood trails, Hibben neighborhood trail, Park West trails, Rivertown trails, Francis Marion hiking trails)
3. Bucket List Date.This one’s a blast. Find a comfortable coffee shop that creates a conversational environment, bring a notebook and pen and work together to build your Marriage Bucketlist.  What are 10,20 or even 50 things you want to do during your lifetime as a couple?  To make this date even better rent the movie The Bucketlist before going out.  After making your bucket list you may end up with a bunch more exciting dates you can look forward too.
4. Physical Challenge Date– Okay you may think this one sounds crazy but it really is a great date. On many Fridays (Our specified Date Day/Night) we come up with a physical challenge for the day. Unlike the hiking date this a date we push ourselves to get our heart rates high.
5. Nachos Night– One of our favorite dates that doesn’t cost a lot of money is our Nacho Date. Yours doesn’t have to be nachos but here’s the concept. Find a restaurant that has a really, really good, big, delicious appetizer combined with a great atmosphere. Ours is Coconut Joe’s which is on the beach at Isle of Palm, they have a $7 plate of chicken nachos that could serve 4 people and we split it, sit outside where we can see and hear the ocean and just have a relaxing date.
6. BONUS DATE for those who have been married longer:  Mentoring Date– If you’re an older couple invite a younger couple to go out with you and just enjoy swapping marriage stories. This serves to mentor them and by sharing your story reinforces the strengths of your own marriage.

What are some “Great Date” ideas you can share?