San Diego readers share their best first dates
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Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
We asked our readers recently to tell us their San Diego first date stories and got some great responses.
Why it matters: We have some romantics among our readers.
Driving the news: With Valentine's Day upon us, you can steal these dates as inspiration for your own romantic evening.
Zoom in: Here are some readers' first dates:
⛈️ 🏍️ A rained-out picnic turned into an effortless eight-hour conversation for Wendy E.
- "Dating during the pandemic required a unique kind of patience. Between virus fears and limited venues, I spent weeks vetting online suitors through texts and phone calls," she wrote. "By the time I agreed to a first date with one particular man, I felt safe enough to hop on the back of his motorcycle."
- They spent the afternoon cruising Point Loma before settling into a picnic on Shelter Island. But then it started to rain!
- The weather didn't dampen the romance because, Wendy reports, "two weeks ago, we celebrated five years together."
🔥🍻 Matt H. took his date to Shabu Shabu House on Convoy for dinner, where you cook your own food.
- "I always recommend these types of restaurants because it allows you to focus on something as well to help with any awkward pauses that inevitably might come up, especially with two introverted people," he wrote.
- Next, they went to O'Brien's. Matt ordered a beer, and his now-wife got the same one.
- "She didn't want to order her usual Dirty Shirley, and looking back, it's hilarious because she HATES beer," Matt wrote. "Second date happened shortly afterward."
🧺 🎆 Mariah A.'s first date ended with fireworks. She and her date went to Presidio Park for a picnic.
- "As we were packing up, we heard fireworks," she wrote. "We sprinted across the grass and up the hill to see them launching from SeaWorld."
- Later, that same gentleman proposed in the same spot, and Mariah got a tattoo to commemorate the memories.
Other last-minute Valentine's ideas:
🥾 Hike Mt. Woodson and take a cute photo on Potato Chip Rock, or pick a trail in Mission Trails or along the coast.
🧘🏼♀️ Take an open-air yoga or sound healing class at the San Diego Botanic Garden.
🍺 Go to a brewery and play a board game or enjoy a beer and cookie pairing at Pure Project.
📚 Visit a bookstore like Verbatim, Meet Cute or Warwick's and pick out gifts for each other.
🎨 Paint pottery at Hot Spot Studios in Liberty Station (it's BYOB!).
🍕🍷 Share a heart-shaped pizza and wine at Bernardo Winery.
🌅 Enjoy a sunset picnic at Kate Sessions, Harbor Island, Sunset Cliffs, Torrey Pines Gliderport or another scenic park.