Category: Date Ideas

Date Night Spots in Ocala, FL

We love a good date night, especially on the weekends. There are lots of great places to explore in Ocala for date night, but I wanted to share our top seven favorite date night spots. Some of the spots are free and others you have an admission fee for or it’s a restaurant we recommend. Let us know in the comments what your favorite date night spots are.

Kayaking at Silver Springs State Park

If you’re into adventure and enjoy being outdoors this is a great one for November-April. Silver Springs is a beautiful natural springs in Ocala that you can explore either on foot, by kayak, or by glass bottom boat tours. We love kayaking with Get up and Go Kayaking here as their kayaks are clear so you can see all of the springs from your kayak including all of the manatees as well. The tour is a 2 hour tour and we recommend doing it early in the morning for the best time. We always see lots of manatees there and it’s such a great outdoor experience. The tour is $60 per person with get up and go kayaking, but you can also check out renting your own kayaks as well there. You also might see alligators and monkeys along the way. If you aren’t into kayaking, check out the park on foot as well as the glass bottom boat tour.

Grab Coffee/Brunch at the Gathering Cafe

We love coffee shops and checking out local places and this is one of our favorites. It’s a great place to just grab coffee or to sit awhile and order brunch. All of their menu items are made from scratch in their kitchen and they offer so many delicious options. I love to grab my computer and go and work there too.

Appleton Museum of Art

We just recently got to explore the Appleton and it was so much fun! If you love culture and you love art this is a great date night. They do close at 5 pm everyday so make sure to plan ahead for a Saturday for this one. Every first Saturday of the month is free as well, the rest of the time admission is $10 for adults. They have so many cool displays of art to see and they also change out some of the galleries every month. Also, be sure to check out their page for events etc.

Picnic or Stroll at Sholom Park

Sholom Park is one of Ocala’s most beautiful parks and is so peaceful. There are tons of trails throughout the park to explore and great spots to bring a picnic along with you. It’s beautiful all year round! We love to take walks here and take in the beauty of nature. It’s also a great place to take photos and videos if you enjoy doing that.

Grab dessert at Soleil Bakery

Soleil Bakery is an all gluten free bakery that also offers dairy free items as well. They are open on the weekends and in the evenings till 9 pm. They have a ton of tables and places to sit where you can bring board games to play etc. It’s a social house as well as a bakery. They offer different events throughout the year and the desserts are so tasty.

World Equestrian Center

This is a place you must visit in Ocala! The grounds are absolutely gorgeous and they have several restaurants and shops you can visit. They also have a coffee/dessert shop in the hotel. They also have several horse shows going on throughout the year on the weekends that you can check out as well.

Zip The Canyons

This is for those who aren’t afraid of heights and love adventure. It’s an entire zip line course in Ocala and it’s a blast. They have different courses you can pick from. The cost varies depending on which tour you take. They also offer horseback riding if zip lining is not your thing. It makes for a fun and adventurous day.

There are several other events that happen throughout the month that would make for a great date night including the art walk and downtown market. We also love biking on the Baseline trail and the Santos trail as well. Here is a website to check out all of the fun things to do in Ocala and best places to check out for date nights. https://www.ocalamarion.com

Last Minute Valentine’s Day Date Ideas

It’s hard to believe that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. I always enjoy doing a special date night with Corbin on Valentine’s Day. Sometimes when Valentine’s Day falls during the week we will the celebrate the weekend before. This year we are planning to grab coffee the day of and the weekend before going out to dinner for our favorite meal and then maybe star gazing. I wanted to give you all several of our favorite ideas for Valentine’s Day to mix it up if you’re trying to figure out a unique date night.

Grabbing Brunch/Coffee Together

This is one of our favorite day dates. We love grabbing brunch together or going to our favorite coffee shop.

Themed Dinner and Movie Night

Grab some supplies at the store and create a themed dinner around your favorite tv show or movie. We haven’t done this yet, but we want to do one for friends or chuck.

Great Outdoors

Grab your outdoor supplies and go hiking, biking, kayaking, zip lining or something fun outside. We love going biking and kayaking. Grab your picnic supplies and bring them along with you.

Make a visit to the Zoo, Aquarium, or an Art Museum

Most cities will have a zoo, aquarium, or art museum. Grab some dinner before hand and head to one of these fun outings.

Board Game Night

This is also a favorite of ours. We love playing board games together. I listed a couple of our favorite two player games.

Go Dancing or take an online Master Class

Many dance studios offer dance classes like salsa or ballroom dancing. There is even online dance classes as well.

Take a master cooking class or bake something together

There are lots of online master cooking classes that teach you how to make chocolate or a yummy meal. You could also grab some supplies together and bake as well. We love doing this together and love the results of it.

Picnic in your favorite spot

I love going on picnics with Corbin. You can go to any of your favorite spots and have a picnic.

Top Three Favorite Unique Date Nights

If you’ve been around here for a little while you know we love our date nights. It’s so important to us to take time away from life and focus on our relationship together. Date night doesn’t have to be a big extravagant thing, it can be simple or a big surprise. Corbin and I think it’s important that you include a little bit of both the simple date nights and the fun extravagant date nights. Follow our page for more FL Travel Guides and Couple’s date night ideas.

Breakfast/Brunch Dates

We love grabbing breakfast/brunch somewhere together and it can be anytime of day. Our favorite spots in Ocala, FL are The Gathering Cafe, First Watch, and Symmetry Coffee. Finding a local place makes it special and you get to enjoy food together.

The Great Outdoors

We love adventuring together outdoors and in FL that is almost year round. We love biking, hiking, going to the beach and kayaking. You could also do snow shoeing, snowboarding, or skiing if you live in a colder climate during the winter. All of these activities are filled with fun and adventure. One of our most recent favorite outdoor activities was kayaking on Rainbow Springs here in Ocala, FL. There is so much to see when kayaking the springs and it’s also very peaceful.

Visiting a zoo or aquarium

Most big cities have a zoo or aquarium and are within driving distance. Make it a day trip and grab lunch on the road and visit your favorite zoo or aquarium. We haven’t visited the zoo or aquarium here in Ocala, FL but when we lived in PA we often visited the DC Zoo together or the Baltimore Aquarium. Orlando has several aquariums and they also have the Central FL Zoo. Those are on our list next to check out.

These are just a few of our favorite date nights. We will be sharing Valentine’s Date Night Ideas next week and more FL travel tips and guides throughout this year! Make sure to follow us along on this journey.

Valentine’s Date Night Ideas

Valentine’s day is right around the corner and it’s one of those years where we all have to be creative with our date nights! I wanted to share our top 6 ideas for a unique Valentine’s Day Date night experience at home.

Themed Dinner and Movie Night at home

We love doing dinner and a movie at home and making it really special with dinner and also popcorn and cookies. I love the idea of a themed dinner though and I would go the extra mile to make it special. Last year for May the 4th, we watched Star Wars movies and made some green milk and cookies. It was so much fun to have a theme to it. So maybe you could do a Great Gatsby theme or 50’s style theme or arabian food while watching Aladdin. The possibilities are endless with this one.

Take a master class on how to make chocolate or any cooking class together

We have yet to do this one, but this date is definitely on our list. There are several places online including Airbnb that are offering special cooking course or chocolate making courses. How fun would it be to make your own chocolate.

Spa trip/create your own spa at home

If you can get out and go to a spa and do a couples massage I highly recommend it! Corbin and I have done several of these and we have not been disappointed. If you can’t go out, then create one at home with a bubble bath, lots of candles, calming music, order a special massage oil or lotion, and complete with chocolate strawberries with a glass of wine.

Board Game Night

If you are the competitive type this one can be fun! We love playing board games together. I added a couple of our favorite board games that we can play together just the two of us. Maybe think outside of the box with games you can play that make the night romantic. Make it complete with some snacks and your favorite dessert.

Order in your favorite meal

I love this idea, especially if you live in a big city near lots of restaurants. Order in your favorite meal and enjoy over a candlelight dinner together. Make it extra fun by blindfolding your spouse and seeing if they can figure out what flavors the food has in it.

Take a dance class online

We love going dancing and actually went to a dance studio last year who was giving free salsa dancing classes on Valentine’s Day. It was so much fun! This year is a bit different do why not sign up for one online or look up dance tutorials on youtube. I listed some ideas below.

Free Ballroom and Latin Lessons, Free couples dance lessons, At home couples dance lessons, Virtual Online Dance Lessons, Beginner Salsa Free Lesson

Create a Scavenger Hunt at home

I did a small scavenger hunt for my husband back in our first little apartment together for Valentine’s day with clues and everything. I think it would be fun to try it again at our bigger house. I also think it would be fun to maybe to have some of the clues take you to either a restaurant you both enjoy or a coffee shop. I did clues with different types of candy and the last clue led him to a dessert I had made. So whatever you come up with, just make it fun for the both of you.

Valentine’s Outfit Ideas For Home

It’s hard to believe that Valentine’s Day is only a month away! I wanted to give you all some different Valentine’s Day outfit ideas for home and going out if you are able to. I also put some ideas on here that you can recreate with some pieces that might already be in your closet.

This sweater is perfect for Valentine’s Day since it’s a neutral color. You can pair it with your favorite jeans and a pair of ankle boots.

I love a classy neutral look like this for Valentine’s Day. This bodysuit pairs well with any skirt or jeans for a more casual look. I love a classy faux leather skirt. Wearing a size small in the bodysuit and size medium in the skirt.

This cozy chenille sweater is perfect for a casual Valentine’s Day look. You can pair it with jeans or a pair of your favorite leggings. I am wearing a size small and it fits true to size.

I love a casual dress for Valentine’s Day. This burgundy dress is perfect for it! Wearing a size XS in the dress and it fits true to size.

This heart sweater is perfect for Valentine’s Day and pairs well with leggings for a comfy look. I love the neutral color, it also comes in pink and purple as well. Wearing a size XS and it fits true to size.

I love a pink dress for Valentine’s Day. This sweater dress is perfect for a special at home date night. Wearing a size small and fits true to size.

I absolutely love a cardigan for winter going into spring. This pink cardigan is great for Valentine’s Day and pairs well with a cream bodysuit and jeans. Wearing a size small and fits true to size.

I love a cozy sweater for Valentine’s Day and this pink heart one is my fav! The material is super soft and you can pair with either jeans or leggings. Wearing a size small and it fits true to size.

I love a classy sparkle skirt and this one is perfect for Valentine’s Day. It pairs well with a white sweater and is so fun! Wearing a size small and it fits true to size. I love that it has some stretch and room in it.