Hers & His' Next Round of Hot Dating!

"Exploring the Sunnyside of Life"

J:
This week, Zane and I wanted to pick a date that really resonated with us. We selected 7 Walks because going on walks has been something he and I have always enjoyed. It’s a great go-to date that begins as a simple thought, but turns into an adventure! Typically once a week we go out on a weeknight and just explore our neighborhood, breathe in the warm summer air and catch up on our week. Some days we don’t need to talk at all, just walking together hand in hand is enough to reconnect us as a couple.

Z:
When we’re not following cryptic craigslist ads, or making use of some “buy 3 get ½ for full price” coupon we are searching for some part of the city we have never explored before. Having lived here for six years in three boroughs, I have seen that there are both a lot of great sights to behold, and a tremendous amount of blocks yet to be explored.

J:
As avid “people watchers” one of the greatest things about walking, especially in NYC, is soaking in the culture of whatever neighborhood you’re in. Hipsters in the Lower East Side, wealthy chic folk in the Upper West Side, geriatric Grecians in our area of Astoria.

Z:
Seeing as we've been walking a combined total of 48 years now, walking dates never fail at being easy and fun. Our history of going on long pedestrian travels dates back to our third meeting.

J:
When Zane and I first met we were introduced by a mutual friend at a party. Right off the bat we hit it off intellectually and had a very similar sense of humor. We ran into each other once more before finding each other online to continue our modern day courtship. I’m still not sure if I asked him out or just convinced him to ask me out, but either way we found ourselves meeting up one warm summer day in Union Square, one of my favorite places in this city.

Z:
As a student at NYU I would take a long walk at the beginning of each semester, as a way of conditioning myself for the year to come. No matter what situation might arise where I had to forgo using public transportation, my legs would be prepared. These "Great Outdoor Walks" as they would come to be known were always done solo; they were in areas I had never been before, lasted several hours, taken without breaks, and were often spur of the moment. While our first date wasn't as epic as some of my previous endeavors (Such one from the upper east side, through central park to the west-side highway, then down to the eastern seaport totaling 200+ blocks) walking at a leisurely pace while getting to know Julie was much more enjoyable.

J:
The plan was just to meet up at noon and walk around the city, simple enough and great for two people who just wanted to get to know each other. I freaked out right before we met up because it had been weeks since our first chance meeting, would I remember what he looked like? Thankfully out of a sea of tourists came one cute familiar face eager with the possibilities of the day. We never set an end time to the date and thank goodness because our adventure swept us away and led us over half of the city – enjoying the market in Union Square, walking around NYU to learn about his college, exploring the less touristy areas with my own personal tour guide, eventually sitting on the Brooklyn Bridge for hours with some Cheez-Its and soda and playing a game we made up on the spot. How many cyclists pass us in 10 minutes? How many people with maps in their back pockets? Well that just turned into us checking out stranger’s butts.

We played getting to know you games, telling one truth and one lie about ourselves, making the other guess which was which. In the end, it was my best first date ever, and it was 12 hours later. We didn’t even end the date with a kiss, just a friendly hug, but I knew that butterfly feeling in me meant this was something greater than just a new friend.

Z:
Did I mention I didn’t know it was a date? At the time I wasn’t in the position to be looking for that kind of companionship, so when Julie and I had agreed to meet up it didn’t even occur to me that I might be inadvertently courting her. Having always gravitated toward female friends in the past, I didn't think much more of the outing than getting to know a new great friend. After twelve hours of hanging out, and tentative plans to see one another again in a day or so, it became clear to me that I just went on the best first date I ever had, without even realizing it.

It was probably for the best. Completely unabashed and not expecting any future romance I gladly laid all my cards on the table without nerves or care for how they may be perceived. While there is a lot of loaded advice out there on how to quell your nerves on a first date, none works better than going about it like you are meeting with someone who could be a good friend. It just happens to work out for me that I like girls who can tell a good dirty joke over those who have perfected their make-up/hair do.


J:
Did I mention he had a girlfriend at the time?

Anywho… Fast forward to today, Zane and I are making the most of our weekend, doing work all around the house, AC blasting. We’ve accomplished a lot, but what greater way to reconnect before the start of another hectic week than to go for a walk? And with friends.

Z:
On this weekend's outing Julie and I decided to make it a double date by accompanying our dear friends Jane and Melissa as they visited Queens looking for possible neighborhoods to move to. Their destination was an area called Sunnyside, which neighbors our town.

J:
Sometimes the greatest way to increase the love in your relationship is to surround yourself by other people you love. There’s no better chemistry than gathering with great friends and sharing in something you enjoy. So when given the opportunity to explore the unfamiliar neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens with our friends Jane and Melissa, we jumped at the chance. They are in the browsing stage of looking for a new place to live and we were just feeling out the area and judging its good and bad qualities. (i.e. Margaritas)

Z:
Often times Julie and I walk around as though we are looking for apartments. After numerous moves over the past two years we have decided never to move again (at least not for five years or so). Still, we are constantly on the lookout for a real starter home, should we still be living here when a little bundle of torment enters our lives.

J:
Day dreaming about a potential future place to live is always fun and a great way to quickly find out what is important to your partner. Do you prefer brick to siding? Secluded or near a busy area? Is it private enough to have lots of naked time or do you plan to alienate your neighbors? I like being close to a park and then realized Zane’s definition of “park” was a little broader than mine. To me, a park is an area with grass you can hang in, to him a park could be an area with a basketball court. Just when you think you know a person… okay, so that’s not an extraordinary thing to learn, but it’s helpful in one day choosing a home.

Z:
Well excuse me, but my friend Apple Dictionary and I both seem to think that a park is “a large public green area in a town, used for recreation” shrubbery, or no shrubbery.

J:
Checking out the food scene in a new neighborhood is always fun. All four of us enjoy Mexican food and have forgotten great times had by all due to a few too many strong margaritas in the past. Sunnyside has a large amount of Mexican cuisine to choose from, so we ducked into a little place called Chips. The margaritas were strong, and the nachos were pretty decent. I’m kind of a nachos fiend, so they rated a 6 on my “Best Nachos Ever” scale. The best place ever is in Connecticut, but for New York City I haven’t found anything better than Blockhead’s yet. Mmm.

We even tried fried ice cream for the first time which was delicious and very refreshing considering it was a muggy 90 degrees out. But back to walking…

Z:
As we walked we sized up the neighborhood for our friends, the prospective tenants. As Julie was set from the get-go that this neighborhood was in no way comparable to our own it did yield some very nice features. Some of the more business-laden avenues were reminiscent of the best parts of Brooklyn, there were beautiful views of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building just down the road, and some of the blocks were jaw-dropping (one in particular jumped to the top of my list in terms of future homes).

As with many nice strolls you can’t really say that much “happened.” We walked around, saw some nice buildings, noticed a few places we would like to eat at sometime, and caught up with great friends. There was one moment when we noticed a vast courtyard filled with trees and park benches (pictured, us on one of those benches). This large apartment complex practically housed a forest (by New Yorkers’ standards) that more than made up for the disappointment Julie had with the “Park” next door.

J:
The local meteorologists had predicted massive thunderstorms and even put us in a tornado watch for the day, so the skies were quite ominous. However, no tornado was keeping us from having a grand old time! Up and down many beautiful, tree-lined streets, looking into people’s windows, judging people’s decorating choices. It was fun just walking all over until we got lost, then quickly using Jane’s iPhone to orient ourselves. We even had some excitement as the wild winds ripped a decorative piece off the front of an apartment building and it came flying down from 3 stories above! Everyone was fine and we decided to meander in a less dodgy area.

Z:
It wasn’t long before the rain came. After all the Doppler readings showing massive amounts of red, and dark clouds threatening a downpour, we were a little disappointed when all we got were about ten minutes of light sprinkling. I suppose the silver lining to those clouds were that we could continue our walk in partial shade as this was the last day of what felt like a week-long heat wave.

J:
The date was very fun and enjoyable; we all chatted about the latest news, their foster dog Alvin (adoptable now on PetFinder.com), our new niece Matilda and everything else in between. And when the rains came, because of course they did, we just kept on walking. We laughed as we all got a bit wet, but eventually the storm passed and we all chalked it up to being “refreshed.” The key to a fun date is to take the unexpected in stride and come out the other side laughing.

In the end we were out for a good 4 hours walking and enjoying time together. If you are planning this for a first date, I highly recommend it. Pick an area neither one of you know and just get lost. Literally. Some of the places we stumbled upon were quite romantic. We trespassed into a very lovely courtyard of an apartment complex to take some photos. Don’t be afraid to pick a place to perch for a bit and just have some face to face time. It can be easier to talk to someone walking next to them, but to connect a bit more, make sure you get some eye contact in. And as Baz Luhrmann croons “Wear sunscreen.”

Zane’s Review:
Perhaps I am bias towards aimlessly wandering, but I think that casually strolling through a new part of town is about as good as it gets when it comes to simple, memorable, and inexpensive dates. Especially if you live in an urban area where there are a lot of little details you might normally overlook in your day-to-day life, walking can bring a new gratitude to the place in which you life. However, in the same respect, finding a new trail through nature could spark the same revitalization of appreciation.

Adventuring excites the imagination with all sorts of endless possibilities. Even for the more conservative dater who wishes to stay within her or his comfort zone and stick to the beaten path, wandering gives that feeling of being adventurous and outgoing. Just as long as you’re prepared to walk a few miles just to wind up where you started.

I give this date idea 10 “pairs of comfortable walking shoes” out of 10.

Julie’s review:
Happy times had by all. Tired feet and a small buzz from the margaritas. In terms of our first date of walking, the whole adventure would rate a 10. Today’s walk was a solid 8. It was a great adventure and a fun new area and great company, but I’m saving the higher numbers for some more out on a limb, adrenaline pumping activities. We stayed a little close to our comfort zone this time around and came out comfortably pleased.