Editor’s Note:
Dr.Date is on hiatus. The Following column previously ran in the Daily:



Dear Dr. Date,
At this time I would like you and your readers to pool their vast knowledge and many experiences and help me out with a little problem. I have a first date coming up. I would like to do something more original than going out to dinner, and I’d like to get to know this person better, so a movie/theater performance where we can’t talk is out of the question. I need ideas!
— Spoonman

Here’s my three favorite first date scenarios. I’d love to hear others from readers, too.

Becky
I told Becky my two fantasy dates: A demolition derby or tubing down the Apple River. She chose the latter, and on a bright summer morning we threw some junk in the car and wheeled it out to Somerset, Wis.
The ride out was great and we talked a lot about theater, family and life in general. It turned out to be a great day for tubing and after filling a cooler squeezed into a third tube with beer, we commenced to float. The thing I like best about tubing is that we were totally relaxed and we had to talk. We had a great time and weathered the thunderstorm in stride.

Jenn
I met Jenn at midnight in a coffeeshop in St. Paul. She was there with mutual friends and as they were leaving I told her we should stay up all night and watch the sunrise. That’s just what we did, too, but not before we drank coffee, flirted and talked so long we got kicked out of the aforementioned coffeeshop.
Shortly before sunrise we went to the Como Park pavilion, scaled the locked gate and sat there talking about anything and everything as the sky lightened and then flamed orange with the rising sun. Then we shared our first kiss.

Heather
My most successful relationship started with a monster truck rally in the Metrodome (another dream date come true). We watched in awe as Gravedigger exploded out of its crate in flames. This spectacle is an American original and there was plenty to muse about in that fevered sea of testosterone patriotism. We got along great and talked all night. Incidentally, there is a monster truck rally tomorrow night.
Afterwards we went to Little Tijuana’s at 26th and Nicollet for some flirtatious late night banter and topped it off with a spirited game of cribbage at my house.