14 Memorable Date Nights

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I thought I would post some things with 14.
My first installment is date nights...

1) I guess I should begin with our first date. For us, we call it our first "official date." We were friends for several years and did a few things before we were actually dating. So, our first official date was on Halloween and if I remember correctly, it was a DeGarmo & Key concert in Lancaster. (ski: It was Geoff Moore and Petra) It was very fun. I don't remember much about it, really. I think this was the concert where Farrell and Farrell opened and the female half slipped on stage during the first number and injured herself. But this could have been on another occasion entirely. (ski: yep, that was WhiteHeart--see item 6 below)

2)One year, right before Christmas, Ski came to my house to visit. He then took me to Peddler's Village in Lahaska where we wandered around the shops and looked at the gingerbread houses. In the parking lot, he gave me his class ring. It was such a fun day that we had together. The parking lot was a gigantic sheet of ice and my mother fretted about us going out, but we had a safe trip and Ski made it home to NJ with not trouble at all. (ski: I remember eating a VERY late lunch at Burger King and NOT being hungry for your Mom's dinner--oops.)

3) Our worst Valentine's Day by far was the year that we went to Inner Harbor in Baltimore. It was ice cold and we had a huge argument. I can't recall what the problem was, but we ended up splitting up and wandering in through the shops by ourselves. I remember we somehow managed to meet in the middle and resolve our conflict. I presented him with a bouquet of flowers and he had bought himself a boxful of fudge. Somehow, we made it through ok. I don't know how. We used to have the worst arguments when we went out together. All I remember about that night is that I ate pizza with asparagus and crab meat which was absolutely delicious.

4)I love birds of prey. So, when Ski proposed, he took me to a high cliff that overlooked a river where hawks were soaring. There, he gave me a bouquet of flowers and nestled in a rose was an engagement ring. I was completely speechless. I didn't even give him an answer until about 10 minutes later. I had no idea because he had picked the ring out all by himself. Unfortunately, I had to work that afternoon so we couldn't spend the entire day together. But it was the most romantic thing Ski has ever done for me.

5) My dear Ski loves trains so one year I decided to take him to the Horseshoe Curve for his birthday. This place is an engineering feet in the world of trains. Unfortunately, they were doing some renovations so we were not allowed to go there. We had a huge lunch at Ponderosa and then made our way to my second stop of the day. There is a cool little park in Altoona, PA called Lakemont. I had planned to stop here and then perhaps a state park for some swimming. Since we had just eaten, we decided to go on simple rides like the train and paddle boats. We were having a grand time. Then, we walked past The Monster. I am not much for amusement park rides, but when I did like them, The Monster was one of my favorites. I begged Ski to go on it, so off we went. All went well, but the entire time I was spinning in circles, I felt a bit queasy. I kept telling Ski that I was going to be sick. He assured me that I would be fine. The ride ended without an incident. However, we happened to be the VERY last car that they let down. So, there we were stuck up in the air and suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. I lost my lunch all over the place. When they finally let us out, the guy opened the bar and let out a huge "WHOOOAAA!!!" I scurried to the bathroom and Ski ran to the car to get my clothes. While I waited for him to return, I tried to be inconspicuous in a pavilion. Not far away from me, I heard a kid exclaim "Ewwww!!" while the guy at the ride hosed my seat down with a giant hose. I cannot tell you how grateful I was that I had packed extra clothes to change into. I don't think we ever ate at Ponderosa again after that and I don't think I have been on The Monster again, either.

BTW, the pic above is actually from Lakemont Park. Cool, huh?!?!

6) Once, before we were dating, Ski asked me if I wanted to go to an signing party at a bookstore an hour away from our college. I happily agreed and as it turned out, I was the only one who went with him. We drove down there and went to the party. It was a good time and fairly unmemorable. When we went to leave, we got in the car and at the first stop we made, the car died. Now, this was in the late 80s and Ski had a big old '72 Pontiac. The thing was a beast, but it always needed fixing. We figured out it was the carburetor. So, Ski went into the mall and bought some spray starter stuff in a can. We managed to go about a mile more with me spraying and him starting. It was indeed a comical scene. Then, it finally died -- the first car at a stoplight. You can imagine the honks, stares and angry drivers. We called AAA and a friend. It took an eternity for the tow truck to get there. The friend who was available to come get us just happened to be the son of my aunt's co-worker. He gave us a ride back to campus, but the people that we were going to go to a concert with had already left and we didn't have a card. Ski finally borrowed a little VW Rabbit or something and we chugged back to Lancaster. We ended up sitting by ourselves and talking a lot. Despite all of the drama, we had a really fun time, I think. At Thanksgiving, my Aunt asked me about dating Ski since her friend's ds told his mom that we had something going on. My mom was not too pleased that I had been stuck with a boy in Lancaster.

7) Once, we decided to go on a hike and have a picnic. This used to be one of our favorite things to do. This particular park had lovely falls throughout. We had a lovely afternoon walking and talking. Unfortunately, we didn't time our hike very well and it began to get dark. I thought that we would have to spend the night in the woods. The only way that we made it back to our car was by looking up at the sky as we walked. This wass no easy task and involved lots of bumping into things.

8)"The Athens," "The Landmark," and "The William Penn." Let's just call these bad culinary experiences. Thanks to "The Athens," any time we see free jello listed on a menu, we head for the hills!!!

9) Most recently, bowling. I think I never laughed so much in my life. It was hysterical and I think I bowled my best ever. I actually HIT pins!!!

10) Once, in the dead of winter, we drove 4 1/2 hours one way to the Eastern Shore of MD, found everything closed, ate dinner and drove all the way home.

11) NYC on Memorial Day. We had big plans, but everything was closed. We went a few places -- like the rest rooms in Trump Towers. We heard "music" on the subway and walked until our feet were numb. It still was great fun just being together. (ski: the Bronx Zoo was the only thing open)

12) Every Christmas in PA, we went to Hershey's Christmas Candy Lane. Afterward, we would stop in the shops and buy fresh chocolate chip cookies. So many fond memories we had there.

13) Trying to find every covered bridge still in existence in PA.

14)When I broke my leg, Ski started a fire, baked brownies, and we snuggled watching movies.

I could go on and on, but as I said....only 14. :D