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So. They really really love zombies. Shoot. Who doesn’t? There’s something about the undead that screams romance. Words like: undying (love), unstoppable (to no end), and pursue (her when she walks away) tickle a girl’s subconscious. What girl doesn’t want a dude with braaaaiiiiiinnnnns? Take your date on an undead walk with some of So Cal’s finest zombies in Santa Monica!

The So Cal Zombiewalk is an annual walk in spring where people dress up like zombies and terrorize the LA Coast. It’s great fun and definitely out of the ordinary. Impress away, fellas.

April 16th, 2011
3rd & Promenade in Santa Monica
Meet up time: 6:00 pm at location TBA

NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIE DATE

Photo: http://www.socalzombiewalk.com

With any good zombie anything, preparation is best. You should start by getting your zombie game proper. Hit up your local thrift stores for some good trash-able clothes (Remember: this is a hipster girl; dress to impress). Don’t know of any? She will. I recommend a good pin-striped suit that fits well on the shoulders, legs, and arms; keep it cheap. Thrift store suits should be under $20-$30 for the complete 3-piece set and should be thoroughly shredded. Chicks dig suits. You’ll always looks better in a suit – dead or not.

Once you’ve give your zombie attire a good shredding, you’re going to need the make up. While she might have some good accents to use, glitter sucks – you don’t want to come out looking like an undead RuPaul. Hit some Halloween or party stores up for white, red, and black facial make up to start the facial basics (white for the base coat, black under/around the eyes, black to accent the cheek bones, and red/black on your mouth/shirt/sleeves/etc). Get some of those flesh-wound kits for good measure.

Once you and your date are looking at your worst, head out to 3rd and Promenade in Santa Monica. Make sure to continually check: http://www.socalzombiewalk.com/ for updates. That’s about it! Happy haunting!

FREE BEACH FISHING!!!!

Photo: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1105127/wordless-sundays-myrtle-beach-sc

I don’t know how useful of a date idea this is considering your lady-friend might be a bit squeamish. Even if she is, she’ll have plenty of opportunity to catch up on her tan as you grow a beard and do other awesome manly things that fishing involves. Shoot… you should make yourself a badge if you do end up CATCHING A CRITTER from the beach water.

The issue when fishing in California is that most sport fishing requires you to own a fishing license (good for an annual year for around $40) when fishing out of state, county, or shore water. If caught without a license in these situations, the rangers will take your critters, your gear, and your money. Don’t do this.

The only free spots to fish out of California are off of public piers.

Taken directly from the Department of Fish and Game:
Anyone 16 years and older must have a fishing license to take any kind of fish, mollusk, invertebrate, amphibian or crustacean in California, except for persons angling from a public pier in ocean or bay waters. A license is required to take reptiles, except for rattlesnakes.

According to this statement (on the DFG site as of 3/10/11, or this posting date), you must have a sport fishing license in order to fish in California unless on a PUBLIC PIER.

“What is considered a public pier,” you ask? The DFG defines a public pier as:
A public pier is defined in the sport fishing regulations as a publicly owned man-made structure that has the following characteristics: is connected, above the mean high tide, to the main coastline or to the land mass of a named and charted natural island; has unrestricted free access for the general public; and has been built or currently functions for the primary purpose of allowing angling access to ocean waters.

My personal general rule-of-thumb is that if you have 3 bodies of water surrounding you (left, right, front), you are probably on a place legal to fish.

Here is the list of our free California angling spots on BeachCalifornia.com
Free Fishing in Southern California

The Laguna Beach “Art walked” showcases the first Thursday of every month from 6-9 pm. Most of the exhibits in the area are as mild as one can expect from Laguna Beach display. You shouldn’t expect to see anything controversial (such as naked women folding into themselves while covered in paint). You’d have better luck finding that in Downtown Hollywood. As a so cal date idea, this should be used to test the waters with someone who seems conservative. It includes a walk, some art that you can appreciate without a deep knowledge of art history, and the beach across the road. Simple. Clean. Effective.

Here are the dates for the rest of 2010:

Source: http://www.firstthursdaysartwalk.com/

The common consensus is that every girl wants to be treated like a princess. Now, you can give her that fairy-tale date with the Cinderella Carriage Ride kit. AMAZING! WOW! BLAM-O!

San Diego locals are blessed with some of the most scenic views in Lower-California. If you have a bit of extra cash and don’t mind riding around in a horse-drawn attention-getter, a Cinderella carriage ride might be the ticket to a day of exploration and winning your lady’s heart. The crowds will stare as your horse stalls traffic.

I’d love to write more but I’m on vacation in Seattle, WA. It’s amazing here.

Read more at SDLoveBug

Los Angeles Date Ideas
Specific Location: Downtown Hollywood, CA

Image: Eric Castro

Downtown Hollywood – if you can handle the gridlock traffic, lack of parking spots, parking tickets, and bums with cellphones; it might be just the place to bring your date. The best part? It’s cheap (if you can dodge the parking tickets, eating, souvenirs, drinks, clubs, and attractions. As one of the top date ideas in Los Angeles, Downtown Hollywood is the place to be on a budget (or not).

Motion-film history is littered at your feet. This acts as a huge conversational piece and allows you and your date to get a sense of one another’s take on film. Be sure to pay attention as this can lead to future movie date ideas. As with all dates, its nice to come somewhat prepared – watch some old movies and read your google.

If coming prepared isn’t your thing, don’t worry. The best part about Downtown Hollywood as a date idea is that there are characters and sights to discuss; there shouldn’t be too much awkward silence on the date. You should also bring a camera just in case Lindsey Lohan or similar decides to come flopping out of a club in a drunken mess. If  your date flops face down, at least you can sell  your photographs to the leading entertainment website. Getting cliche pictures with your hands on stars is also an option.

The characters of Downtown Hollywood span from celebrity look-alikes to people that dress in space clothes. A good plan would be to grab a coffee, find a seat, and aimlessly tourist-watch. If you’re the type for having a silly-fun time, check out the souvenir shops. You’ll find tons of useless t-shirts, shot glasses, magnets, posters, and movie memorabilia. They’re super tacky and awesome.

Last, but not least, Eric Castro notes, “Go in the week or earlier in the night, so your date doesnt wish you were taking her to an expensive club.” This could turn your culture-influenced date in to something terribly disastrous. She will probably want to crash a club in this situation; be prepared to spend money and dance if you are brave enough to go during a weekend. We both know you’re a terrible dancer.

Contributer: Robert Abitia of KeepItSquare.com

Disclaimer:  Bringing a date to enjoy a day of paintball takes either a large amount of confidence in your ability to apologize to your date or a similarly sized amount of idiocy. First of all, no paintball field in Southern California (that isn’t a private field) has a clean bathroom facility. Secondly, your date will get dirt under her fingernails, bruised, pelted with welt-causing projectiles, poison oak, sprained ankles, snake bites, etc. Aside from the physical trials she will have to endure, there are the psychological harassments. Paintball is a predominately male played sport. Men will stare. The reason, for the most part, isn’t to be rude or sexual in anyway. Really, its because they know you are about to get pelted. Its sorta like being in an all-male prison. Everyone is out to get you. While there are girls (as well as nationally recognized female teams) out there, you won’t find many on the recreational field. If you do happen to find another girl out there, she was probably brought along by her boyfriend as well. In the words of a comrade, “This is not a girl’s DREAM DATE.”

That being said, if you are brave enough to use this idea as a date idea in Southern California, you and your date might find love while climbing trees and rolling around in dirt. The top three recreational parks in Southern California are: SC Village, Tombstone, and Jungle Island. The first two are located in Corona (Chino, specifically) while the last is out towards Lake Elsinore.

Images: SC Village

For this article’s sake, we’ll use SC Village as our example.

Date Plan:

Before heading down to the field, make sure to visit a local paintball store to buy paint. For a full day of rec-ball, I suggest buying about a case to a case and a half for the both of you. Also, I’d invest in a few extra pods (paint carrying tubes) that you can stuff in some sort of pack…or if you can, in to your pockets. If neither of you have gun problems from the rentals they provide, you might need more paint. It all depends how trigger happy you are. To be safe, I’d suggest getting two cases. Realistically, you probably won’t finish both cases. Also, the game is messy. Go to the cheap-clothes store and buy big sweaters, cheap jeans, etc.

Upon arrival, there will be an exceptionally pungent aroma in the air. This thick and murky smell comes from the various cow farms that neighbor the field. Don’t worry, you get used to the SC Village air after 20-minutes or so of getting acclimated. Make sure to get there early as you will both have to sign consent forms and get your rentals. Entry, rental gear, and refills for air will all cost you money. Keep this in mind. Also keep in mind that most players on the recreational side of paintball are beginners. Don’t feel intimidated, but feel free to ask questions. Everyone out there is friendly.

Taken from the SC Village website:
Full day: $25 (7:30am – 4:00pm)
Half day: $20 (12:00pm – 4:00pm)
Rentals: Package A includes All Day Entry, Gun Rental, Mask, 200 rounds for $55
Rentals: Package B includes All Day Entry, Gun Rental, Mask, 400 rounds for $65

Get all of your gear, get signed in, and then get all the gear on your body before the rounds start. Listen to the guy brief everyone on safety before the day starts. Listen closely. When they call your group out to the field, start walking towards the field and grouping up or you will miss your games. Each group should have at least 2 referees to situate the games and to get you guys started.

SC Village offers a spectrum of scenarios to play on. Each field is themed after a historically war-battled location. Such locations are: North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Bosnia, Kosovo, Baghdad, Kuwait, Somalia, Iraq, Beirut, Germany, etc. Over all, there are about 20-different fields, however, you most likely won’t cover all fields. All of these themes have certain props to commemorate the era and to really put you in the scene. The fields offer props from small huts to stripped down helicopters and tanks. If not for the game, appreciate all of the work that has been put in to provide the community with such an intricate recreational activity.

From here, just have a blast. Make sure to keep hydrated and eat food. They do have a hot dog stand out there on most days, but packing a hefty lunch will be a good idea. You will be able to have easy access to your vehicle between rounds and during the lunch breaks. Keep safe and remember to always keep your goggles on when on the field.

On a final note, you want to avoid fields and players that look like this:

This is tournament style “speedball.” That is me standing.

If you have a bit of cash and want to do something really extraordinary, Southern California has whale watching charters. I guess the area this particular charter sets out of is actually considered Long Beach, CA, however, I believe it borderlines Orange County. Regardless, this is an amazing date idea in Southern California.

HarborBreeze Cruises offers an exceptional whale watching experience. The prices for a day’s trip aren’t too outrageous and the activity is something very unique.

Images: 2SeeWhales

The ship sets out of a Long Beach port and out in to the Pacific ocean for around 2 to 3 hours. While on the water, the captain narrates what you are seeing and seeks out all sorts of marine mammal life.

December to mid-May is actually the prime season to catch grey whales out in the water. Prior to now (from June to December) was actually blue whale season. Most charters averaged 2 blue whale sightings in November.

Anyways, for an awesome and unique day out, this Orange County date idea is top notch. A 2 to 3-hour date will probably run you from $60 – $90 without food.

Prices:

According to their website, adult admission is $45. The tickets I paid for and the link directly on their site that puts you to http://tickets.harbor-cruises.com (for WHALE WATCHING) is $30. I’d expect to pay around the same price.

If your date is one with an ability to take in the beauty of nature, the Corona Del Mar tide pools might be a cheap and free date idea in So Cal. Keep in mind that this idea could be considered a heightened walk, so tennis shoes are usually preferred. You will be climbing, hiking, and falling over things;  dress accordingly as you will actually walk over and around tide pools that are nested in rocks.

Images: NewportBeachRealEstateCafe

The Newport tide pool areas aren’t public attention grabbers, however, the beaches between big public beaches are what you are looking for. The best, in my opinion, are the Corona Del Mar tide pools. During low tide, the water gets low enough to connect both Big and Little Corona. The easiest way to get down towards the marine life is by walking down the hill on the left side (facing the beach) while you are in the residential areas near Marguerite.

My personal suggestion to using this as a date idea is to casually ask your date on a simple walk. Make sure he or she is wearing the proper attire before heading out to the beach. He or she will be wonderfully surprised when the idea of a simple walk turns in to something so spontaneous, yet planned.

As a preservation message, please don’t touch, poke, or destroy the wildlife. The Corona Del Mar tide pools is an excellent date idea and we all hold a special place in our hearts for it. Hopefully you can also make it apart of yours.