You Don’t Need a Big Plan to Make a Good Memory

The Best Couple Dates Are Usually the Unplanned Ones

After a solid month of grey skies and rain, the moment we spotted blue sky through the deck door we looked at each other and grabbed the car keys. No plan. No reservations. Just five minutes down the road to the little lake area in our town that, honestly, we don't visit nearly enough.

And it turned out to be one of those afternoons you tuck away and keep…...one of those spontaneous afternoons that turns into a date you didn't know you needed.

The walk comes first (obviously)

Well, after a brief negotiation.

Standing in the parking lot, we had to settle the age-old question: do we walk first and then get coffee, or coffee first and then walk? We compromised — walk, then coffee, then walk again with coffee in hand. Honestly the correct answer every time.

The lake area was quiet, the sun was warm, and we just wandered. Over the bridge, along the water, no particular destination in mind. It’s so pretty there, and not crowded like it can get on Canada Day, (which seems to be the only time we used to visit there) and we loved the casual stroll.

The bench that started a conversation

Us, circa 2019, same location.

At one point we passed a bench by the water and we realized we’d been there before.

A few years back, on another summer day that had no particular agenda, we'd found ourselves hungry and out and about in town. We could have gone home. We could have grabbed fast food and eaten in the car.

But it was too beautiful a day to waste sitting inside somewhere, so we stopped at Oodle Noodle, took it to go, found that bench by the water, and had ourselves a proper little picnic lunch — followed by a walk, because that's just what we do.

Warren remembered it immediately. The bench, the day, and most importantly, exactly what we'd eaten.

(The man never forgets a meal.)

Best picnic lunch, July 2019.

That little impromptu picnic is a good example of something we've come to appreciate more and more as the years go on — that some of our favourite memories weren't planned at all. Someone just said "what if we..." and the other one said "sure." It really is that simple with us, and we don't take that for granted. If we were asked marriage advice from a young couple one of the things we’d say is keep doing the mundane, casual things and add something unique to make it POP in your memory! (taking a few pics helps too!)

The Ivy, and a cinnamon bun that deserved its moment

(⏩back to present day!)

We made our way to The Ivy Bakery and Cafe, where Warren held the door and we spent a few happy minutes staring at the bakery case before ordering lattes and a cinnamon bun that was a delicious afternoon treat.

We took our drinks to go, found a bench outside, and sat there with our legs swinging, pulling apart the cinnamon bun in the sunshine.

No agenda. Nowhere to be.

What we've figured out after nearly 40 years

We're not big planners when it comes to our own downtime. We don't need to book something weeks in advance or drive hours away to have a good day together. Some of our best afternoons have literally started with nothing more than "want to go for a walk?" and ended with a memory that sticks around for years — surfacing unexpectedly when we walk past a bench by the water.

Happy couples our age don't need elaborate events. We just need to keep saying yes to the small things. The spontaneous ones.

If you're looking for spontaneous date ideas, just grab the keys and go somewhere five minutes away.

That's where the good stuff lives. Wouldn’t you agree?

Watch the full YouTube video HERE to come along for the afternoon with us.