by Naomi Santana
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, planning a romantic or fun day for two is on many individual’s mind. While being a college student may hinder you from having extravagant plans, Ventura County offers a variety of places such as beaches, restaurants and movie theaters that are perfect for dates. Even if you don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, these place are good to go on date at any time of the year.
Outdoors
One of the major perks of living in Southern California, is that there are so many different date ideas that allow people to be outside. Many students like going to the beach because they can enjoy a relaxing view on their date. “Is the beach too obvious an answer?” remarked Jon Fant, a senior anthropology major, when asked where he would go on a date.
If you are planning to go to the beach, students should look to go to the Ventura pier. There you can enjoy a nice scenery while walking on the pier or while walking along the beach shore. At the Ventura pier you can also go to one of the restaurants that are scattered around the area.
In between Ventura and CI is Oxnard, where students can go enjoy water activities. There are many popular spots such as the Channel Islands Harbor. “(I would say) kayaking at the Channel Islands Harbor (because) students get a discount,” said Jennifer Gutierrez, a senior communication major. CI’s Boating Center is also at the Channel Islands Harbor, where students can learn how to sail, kayak, stand up paddle board, or go on a sunset kayak, all good activities for a date.
Students can also look to go hiking in the surrounding areas. In the Thousand Oaks areas, there are many places to go for a walk-in nature, like at The Gardens of the World, Wildwood Regional Park, Santa Monica National Recreation Area and Paradise Falls. These hikes range from easy to difficult, so be sure to look up what you are going to do prior to heading out. There’s no better way to ruin a date if you feel like you are going to die on it!
Food and Drinks
If students aren’t looking to go on a date outdoors, there are plenty of different options throughout the county that will allow them to have a good time. In Ventura, there are a lot of different bars and restaurants that allow for a lot of selection. “Ventura is known for a bar nightlife, in my opinion,” said Hannah Allison, a senior communication major.
Although some students like Allison consider Ventura to have a great bar nightlife, there are various restaurants to visit and other activities to do on a date there. “I would recommend Casa Bella in Ventura for a romantic date,” said Gutierrez. “They have Frank Sinatra nights on Thursdays.”
A fun, different activity that individuals could do is go to Painting with a Twist in Camarillo. This fun painting studio allows for normal people to learn how to paint amazing pictures, but with the help of wine or beer! Unfortunately, this studio only allows people over the age of 21 but is still a fun and unique dating idea.
One of the most popular places that people said that they went on dates was at The Collection, an outdoor lifestyle center, off the U.S. Route 101 on the east side. There are many restaurants and a movie theater, which can create a good scenario for dates. “Most people do the cliché dates around the Collection,” said Allison.
No matter what your idea of a perfect date is, there are various options to choose from. There are thousands of other places to go on a date in Ventura County, all you need to do is Google it!
