The hardest thing for me when I first moved here was finding cool things to do. I wanted to ask girls out, but wasn’t a believer in the dinner-and-a-movie route—I wanted to be original and impressive. This list represents over four years of creative efforts, and is the section of the book I most wish I would have had when I first arrived. Now it is yours. Use it wisely.

 

The suggestions here are broken into three categories: SIMPLE DATES, INVOLVED DATES, and SEASONAL DATES. The first category focuses on casual, non-time intensive dates requiring minimal advanced planning. The INVOLVED section is just the opposite. The SEASONAL section offers a heads-up to stuff that’s are not available year-round.

 

 

SIMPLE DATES

 

Mezamiz Coffee Shop

Take your date to Mezamiz for a sandwich and a cup of coffee. On the weekends they sometimes have live music, and when the weather is nice there is a small balcony in the back where you can sit over looking a creek and some trees.

 

Bake

Cake, cookies, brownies—what’s your pleasure? If you have access to a kitchen, cooking together can be a lot of fun. It gets to be even more fun when you can both strap on aprons and don’t have to worry about making a mess.

 

Graveyard

            Officially, the graveyard at Treadaway and EN 10^th closes at 5 pm. After the sun goes down, however, it gets interesting. I’ve had a couple dates pass thru here. It is a little eerie, but it is also peaceful—no ghosts, no goblins. BE RESPECTFUL OF THIS PLACE. Desecrating or vandalizing graves is no way to show respect for those who have come before us, and your date won’t be impressed.

 

Super Wal-Mart

            I made several late night trips to Wal-Mart with friends my freshman year—mainly because it was the only thing we knew was open. We always found ways to make it fun. (The toy and sporting goods departments were especially entertaining.) Super Wal-Mart offers 24 hours of merriment to anyone creative enough to make their own fun.

 

ArtWalk

            The second Thursday of every month presents an amazing date opportunity. Go downtown and enjoy the shopping, the museums, live music, and occasional food samplings—all for free until 8 pm. You may even want to check out the art film at the Paramount (sorry, the balcony is closed for art films).

 

Grace Museum

            Want to know if you and your date could ever make beautiful music together? Try the wall sculpture under the stairwell on the first floor—each block makes a musical noise when you push on it! Look at art on the first floor, learn about local history on the second, and play in the children’s museum on the third.

 

NCCIL

            Take turns reading the children’s books to each other as you walk around the circular hall and begin to appreciate Illustrated Literature as an art form. Ask nicely and they may even let you sit down in the craft room and paint watercolors together!

 

The Zoo

            Get some crackers at the front gate and feed them to the giraffes and elephants; make fun of the monkeys; try to get the lions to roar; have a great time together.

 

The Leaf

            This is a great hang out spot. If you and your date smoke, you may find great bonds can be built in the time it takes to burn down a cigar.

 

Hardin-Simmons

Hardin-Simmons University has some of the prettiest grounds in Abilene. Features include a duck pond complete with gazebo, historical markers, and a lot of grass to walk through and enjoy. You may even want to buy coffee across the street at Java City. Get creative and you will have a wonderful time. (Hint: there are power outlets near the duck pond.)

 

Rope “Cattle”

Dairy cows exist in suspended animation just south of South 14^th and Hwy 83/84. These steel sculptures are fun to see and offer a great photo op. There is a lot of grass between you and traffic, so you don’t have to worry about drivers on their cell phones. If you can get a cowboy to tie a lasso before hand, perhaps you could teach your date how to throw it.

 

Nelson Park

Nelson Park offers the best sunsets in town. Sit on the east side of the lake and watch as the sky becomes a lyrical poem of light. With several playgrounds and a duck pond in the northwest corner, this park offers lots of dating opportunities—whatever mood you want to set.

Be cautioned: while you will often see steamy-windowed cars parked in the city’s parks, police do patrol these parks regularly after nightfall. “Suspicious” car dwellers will be interrupted, and asked to move on to someplace else.

 

Rose Park

Watch skateboarders do their thing on the concrete skate park, attend the Community Theater, play your guitar in the amphitheater, climb a tree, or just have fun on the playgrounds. This park offers a variety of options, so make the most of them.

 

Go in Costume

            Whether your plan is to pick up some school supplies at Wal-Mart, grab a bite to eat at Whataburger, or just swing in the park, everything is more fun in a costume! I’m not (necessarily) referring to witches and Halloween goblins, just something distinctly unorthodox and attention getting. Simple or elaborate, dressing up adds to the entertainment value of any activity.

 

Downtown

Grab some dessert at Cypress Street or Spano’s, then explore downtown on foot. Go window shopping, take a picture in the sculpture at Everman Park, and cross under the railroad tracks through a “scary” tunnel behind the Visitors Center. Abilene has a quaint downtown with a wonderful date-ambiance at night. Enjoy it!

 

Bingo

            I never tried this, but several friends who have tell me it’s fun. Try Ambler Bingo (3374 Ambler) or Super Bingo (1204 N. Mockingbird). This won’t be the young, hip crowd you are accustomed to hanging out with, but that’s part of what makes it worthwhile.

 

Theater

            It never hurts to show your date you have at least an appreciation of the arts. Live theater is better than the movies because it shows planning and creativity, it’s three dimensional, and it grants you the morbid excitement of watching to see if something goes noticeably wrong (somebody forgetting a line or missing an entrance).

 

Philharmonic

Show your date you not only have an appreciation of the arts, but a bit of culture as well. Dressing up from time to time can be fun, and going to the Symphony certainly gives you a good reason to do so. I can’t handle an entire evening of classical music, so my dates and I usually sneak out after about three songs. (Caution: be careful to sneak out, between songs—not during them.)

 

Live Concerts

            If the Philharmonic doesn’t offer the music venue you’re looking for, perhaps your favorite local band is playing in town somewhere. Go to the Entertainment section of the local newspaper (www.reporter-news.com) each week to find out who’s playing and where.

 

Play a Board Game

            This super-simple approach to a date allows you an inexpensive way to explore the competitive spirit and sportsmanship of your date. If you don’t have your own games, ask your dorm director or apartment manager if they have some you can borrow. Make it a double date and triple your competition!

 

Picnic Inside and Watch a Storm / Movie

            Abilene’s flat landscape offers the perfect setting for experiencing this uniquely spectacular West Texas sound-and-light show. Known elsewhere as a “thunderstorm,” these events are more awesome here than most places—especially if you have large windows and an upper floor to view from. Combine the experience with a picnic and a loved one to make the event even more memorable. No rain in the forecast? Settle for a good movie instead.

 

Shooting Range

                 Abilene Gun Club (1102 Beltway South; 692-9002) Trap skeet & sporting clay

                 Abilene Gun Club North Range (East Lake Rd; 672-0100) Rifle/Pistol range

                 Abilene Indoor Firing Line (1309 Ben Richey Drive; 698-4224) Pistol range

            This is an extremely creative date idea—I wish I could say it was my own. A girl actually told me about it! You will need to bring your own gun. The hours change from time to time, so call ahead of time to make sure they will be open when you want to go.

 

Pint of Ice Cream

Buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a bottle of water, drive somewhere (preferably where you can see the  stars), sit in the back of your truck with your date. Eat, talk, and cuddle if you can.

 

Snow Cones

            During the late spring and summer you may want to opt for a snow cone instead of ice cream—just know it’s going to turn your teeth a funky color!

 

Drive-In Movie

Not standard movie environment, the Town & Country Drive In offers a relaxed movie environment and allowing for a lot of interaction. Come here to see a movie you and your date have both seen before—that will take off some of the pressure to ignore each for the sake of following the plot.

INVOLVED DATES

 

The Beehive, the Courthouse, and Star Gazing

            The Fort Griffin General Merchandise Store and Beehive Saloon offers the best grub in a 200 mile radius. Jump on Ambler, head east, you’ll be there in half an hour. After dinner, continue in the same direction you started and arrive at the courthouse. The architecture is attractive, the grounds are pretty, and the whitewashed gazebo has some romantic potential. Bring a portable radio (or just roll your window down) and dance together around the gazebo. Be sure to stay to the left as you drive home.

 

Progressive Dinner

            Use a couple of the ideas in the Restaurant section, or come with your own, to plan a progressive dinner. Eat appetizers or get your drinks somewhere (a convenience store, perhaps), go somewhere else for a main course, and then head out for dessert in a third or fourth location.

 

Hide-&-Go-Seek…Downtown

            I did this a lot my freshman year. If you can rustle up a big group (at least 10 people) it is a lot of fun. My favorite spot is around the Civic Center—you wouldn’t believe the places you can find to hide! We also used to play across the street from the Paramount. There’s no traffic downtown at night, and just enough light to make it interesting. Make sure and set a time for each game to be over so those who hide really well don’t get left behind.

 

Costume Party

            Parties are always fun, but to make them even more interesting pick a theme and have everyone dress up. Costume parties heighten the excitement factor by giving you, your date, and your friends a chance to be creative and stimulating anticipation of the event. The more the merrier.

 

Cat House

            There is an abandoned, white, two-story house on Treadaway and Petroleum, just behind some office buildings. It has graffiti and no door. Legend has it a rich woman with no friends lived there. Her financial advisor was stealing from her, and when she threatened to turn him in, the advisor killed her. Much time passed (she had no friends, remember) before the police checked on her. When they did, they found her remains in the basement—eaten by her cats! She wasn’t happy about it, and still grumpily haunts the home. Take a flashlight and lots of friends!

 

Scavenger Hunt

            Get a group of friends and put together a list of things to find (a can of beans, construction paper, floss). Break into groups (couples) and beat on doors around town asking people if they have any of the items. Establish a time to be back at the starting point. The team with the most items wins (or you could assign them point values so whoever has the highest score wins). As you’re knocking, be aware that some families have children who go to bed by 9 pm, and be respectful of that. Variations on actually bringing back the items include taking Polaroid pictures of the listed items or capturing them on video. Pictures and video also offer a broader spectrum of things you could be searching for (local landmarks, men with bald heads, etc).

 

Cops & Robbers

            This game requires a hoard of people, several vehicles (trucks work best), and dark clothing. Divide the group into cops and robbers, allowing for at least a 2:4 ratio. The “cops” drive around in vehicles looking for “robbers” as the “robbers” attempt to walk from point A to point B. If a “cop” tags a “robber,” the “robber” then becomes a “cop” and assists in the search for the rest of the “robbers.” The game is over when all of the “robbers” have either been tagged or reached point B safely. (HINT: take your cell phones with you and be sure you have each other’s numbers. Otherwise you may lose people!)

 

Antique-ing in Neighboring Towns

            If your girl is a shopper, you may be willing to take a few hours and go antique shopping. Abilene and Baird both have an obscene number of antique shops where the two of you can search for just the right accent piece.

 

Camping

            Some people love the rough and tumble lifestyle camping provides. Check the Parks section for ideas on where to go. Take some wood along (check for burn bans in the area with the Parks & Wildlife department first), because little is more romantic to camper-types than sitting near an open fire and making s’mores.

 

A Day Downtown

            Mix up some of the attractions downtown and make a day of it! Do some shopping, eat some lunch, visit a museum. Hit up Relics and the NCCIL one Saturday afternoon for two very different experiences on the same block—one with margaritas, the other with children’s books. Don’t forget to head across the street and get some chocolate covered strawberries at Vleta’s too!

 

Anson Lights

Anson is famous for their “lights.” Legend has it a boy got lost in a storm an age ago, and his mother continues to look for him out in the fields…with a lantern. Go watch. This has been such a popular activity in the past that Anson has passed a law making it an illegal activity. Directions: drive to Anson, turn right at the stop light (there’s only one), after the dip in the road park on the shoulder and point your headlights North. Flash the headlights and wait. To heighten the fear factor: make baby noises and call out “Mommy.” (Mean trick: have a friend head out there ahead of you and park out of sight. Tell him to sneak up on the car once you’ve sat there a while and scare y’all.)

 

Day Trip

            Take a day trip. A great example would be heading out the Buffalo Gap on the third weekend of the month (4^th weekend in July). In one Saturday you could eat at Perinni Ranch for lunch, visit the Historical Village (to walk off that lunch), and shop at a huge flea market in the middle of town.

Other ideas are presented in the Day Trips section.

SEASONAL DATES

 

Haunted House

            There are several haunted houses around Abilene during Halloween. Walking through a “scary” house offers a great excuse to huddle close to your man.

 

Christmas lights

            Abilene has some great Christmas displays. McMurry decorates all of their trees, Celebration Park puts up tens of thousands of lights, and historical districts, such as those along Sayles, often provide beautiful, picturesque views from the street.

 

Activity Guide

            You should also get an Events Calendar from the Chamber of Commerce or look at abilene.com/visitors/calendar.shtml to find out what open-to-the-community events are going on during any given month—these are gold mines for ideas!