5 Dates in 5 days Inspired by Romantic Comedies
Fort Collins, Colorado
When most think of romantic comedies, a sense of joy and positivity comes to mind. This charisma does not have to stay in the movies. I created five dates inspired by romantic comedies, and took them to the streets of Fort Collins over the course of five days.
1. Tuesday: Salsa at the Rio: “Silver Linings Playbook”
In “Silver Linings Playbook”, the romance between Bradley Cooper and Jenifer Lawerence blooms from preparation for a dance competition. For this date, a dance competition is not required. All that is needed is a beautiful place to dance, and the Rio Grande with its Tuesday night salsa is just the place!
Dancing off-beat to the music, my date, Brookie Hardesty, and I were looking like fools, but we did not care. The whole purpose was to have fun, and we did! As Hardesty got ahold of the rhythm, I continued to stumble over my feet; not even the great Jennifer Lawrence could have helped me. By the end of the night, I managed a successful dip!
Salsa is a fun dance and is very inclusive (even for bad dancers like me). Every Tuesday night starting with a lesson at 7:30 at the Rio Grande (look under the happenings tab for information about Salsa) in Old Town there is Salsa dancing. It is a stunning venue, and I had an even more stunning date.
Pro Tip(s): Go on the first Tuesday of the month for a live band. Also, know what this thing called the “beat” is.
2. Thursday: The Chase: Based on every romantic comedy ever!
There is almost always a chase scene in a romantic comedy, so this date is a chase to Fort Collins Downtown Transit Center to beat our bus before it departs. A great example of a chase on Netflix is “Hitch”.
Starting from my apartment, Katrina Lems and I galloped our way down to the station just in time. Despite cutting it close, our bus pulled up right upon our arrival. We made it!
The Chase is definitely a fun date for those couples that enjoy being active together. Plus, it is good practice for the day that we might have to chase down love!
Pro Tip: Run to a bus that can take you home.
3. Thursday: Hitting up the bookstore and the ice: “Serendipity”
“Serendipity” revolves around the faith of a magical night that includes ice skating, and the purchase of a book that determines the fate of the relationship.
Starting out in Old Town at Old Firehouse Books Anna Burchfield and I found the book at the center of the movie (“Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez). We enjoyed the rest of the bookstore, and we continued our exquisite conversations to the Edora Pool and Ice Center (EPIC).
It was time to hit the ice! As a former hockey player, I was in my element, and Burchfield was a sound skater! We skated seamlessly together for the remainder of the date. It was the definition of a terrific night out!
This is an easy, fun date. I would recommend it to everyone! The intrigue of exploring the world of books followed by thrill of the ice is a great combo!
Pro Tip: Do not be like me and get lost on the way to book store and to the ice rink.
4. Saturday: Exploring Old Town with music: “Begin Again”
First step, if you have not already, watch the movie on Netflix. Second, get a headphone jack splitter. It is essential that you can both listen to the same groovy sound waves. I got mine on Amazon for a couple bucks. All that is left is to get some music ready, and bogie to the streets.
I had an absolute blast with Tessa Hoenig! She has a great taste in music and was a good enough sport to put up with me singing loudly in public. We danced to the music in our heads through Old Town and ended up at the Ace Hardware (the best place in Old Town … they have free popcorn!). After we checked out the toilet seats, we marched onward to some open grass to sit down and enjoy the rest of the date. Here is the playlist from the date.
This date is a great way to get to know your date through their taste of music and the most exhilarating way to explore Old Town.
Pro Tip: Use headphones. They actually stay on your ears!
5. Saturday: Waffle house building at Lucile’s: “50 First Dates”
I decided to take Hardesty out on a second date because of the connection from the first. This time we were at the scrumptious Lucile’s attempting to recreate the waffle cabin that Drew Berrymore makes when her and Adam Sandler meet for the first time in “50 First Dates”.
From the pictures above its obvious we failed, but it was still fun to play with food! Laughing at our defeat, we decided to destroy all the evidence of our failure with our mouthes.
Lucile’s is a great place to go on a cute date and have some great food! After five amazing dates with four even more amazing women, it is hard to imagine a better ending, even in a romantic comedy.
Pro Tip: Playing with food is always fun!
